Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [public-health]

Use this tag for questions about the health of people on a community or population level. Do not use this tag for questions about the health of individuals or biological mechanisms.

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. Overall, public health is concerned with protecting populations. These populations can be small, for example, a local neighborhood, or large, for example a country or region of the world.

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Did a series of PSAs about surveillance culture lead to schools in New Mexico getting Ritalin eliminated as a behavior-modifying drug?

I was reading up on Godfrey Reggio’s film, Koyaanisqatsi (1982) when I came across this claim on Wikipedia regarding some PSAs (public service announcements) he made for the ACLU in New Mexico in the 1970s; bold emphasis is mine: The television…
Giacomo1968
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Are polyfluorinated chemicals linked to men's penises being smaller?

A recent story in Huffpost raises the spectre that cooking in non-stick pans could be harming male fertility, not least by making penises smaller: Chemicals used to make non-stick pans have been linked to men having smaller penises. Yes, you read…
matt_black
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Is non-fluoridated toothpaste any more effective in tooth decay prevention than mere mechanical brushing?

Quote from healthcare.utah.edu, emphasis mine: Interviewer: It seems like when you go down the toothpaste aisle now, you're starting to see more and more natural options and a lot of those have no fluoride in them. Are those toothpastes…
user22132
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Are chicken haunches especially toxic?

There have been some health concerns raised (mainly through word of mouth) with regards to the toxicity of chicken haunches. Apparently, in the industrial breeding and rearing of chickens many harmful chemicals, excessive antibiotics and growth…
Huey
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Is the number of syphilis cases in the US the highest in 70 years?

In this article of the Financial Times about a "sexual health crisis" in the US, the following claim is made: The number of syphilis cases in the US jumped more than a quarter last year to 171,000, the highest level in more than 70 years, according…
An old man in the sea.
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Did NIH ask the EcoHealth Alliance to provide information about the “apparent disappearance” of a Wuhan Institute of Virology researcher?

In a long story in Vanity Fair that has some interesting twists it's claimed at one point that At a White House COVID-19 press briefing on April 17, 2020, a reporter from the conspiratorial right-wing media outlet Newsmax asked Trump a factually…
Fizz
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Do heavier people need to drink more water?

A 2013 article by Yuri Elkaim, a holistic nutritionist, in the health section of U.S. News & World Report says: if you weigh 200 pounds [90 kg], you would need 100 ounces [3 l] of water per day if you're not doing anything strenuous. If you're…
Chris Rogers
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Did several countries have very low Coronavirus deaths thanks to inhaled steroids?

A West Texas physician named Richard Bartlett has been making the rounds on social media, claiming that Taiwan, Japan and Iceland have been using inhaled steroids such as budesonide to treat Coronavirus infections, and that it’s the reason Taiwan…
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Do ice cubes with holes in them come from a purified water source?

Water in generally considered unsafe to drink in a number of South American countries, for example Ecuador. Even locals regularly buy bottled water. Ice also risks transmitting the contaminants. While traveling there, I've also heard that it's safe…
Dan Dascalescu
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Are the 2016 UK guidelines on alcohol consumption evidence based?

The UK government issues public health advice about how much booze people ought to consume. It has recently revised those guidelines. The previous guidelines were the subject of this SK.SE question: Recommended alcohol drinking quantity: are they…
matt_black
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Is up to 95% of the human population genetically safe from leprosy?

In the article How Armadillos Can Spread Leprosy at the Smithsonian.com they state that "Even more reassuring: up to 95 percent of the population is genetically unsusceptible to contracting it." Is this true? From my understanding, as well as a…
Himarm
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Is water with extra oxygen tastier, healthier, or otherwise desirable for humans?

In Japan, it is apparently common to add oxygen to bottled water. But this isn't standard H20. It's a new mix containing 12 to 15 times as much oxygen as regular water. (...) "It's totally different. It's delicious!" says Ms. Nagisa, a…
gerrit
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Is social media bad for the mental health of youth?

Multiple sources have blamed on social media for having (or potentially having) negative impact on mental state of young people. To name few: NPR writes SEATTLE — The public school district in Seattle has filed a novel lawsuit against the tech…
pinegulf
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Is there more salmonella in organic eggs

This paper elaborates the rates of salmonella in organic and other chicken: Salmonella prevalence in free-range and certified organic chickens A friend recently claimed that the same was true from eggs and then I was later pointed to this…
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Does significant consumption of French fries double your chance of death?

A report on an Australian news site claims that: Eight-year study finds heavy French fry eaters have ‘double’ the chance of death The report quotes some of the details of the research: On average, we each eat roughly about 14kg of hot fried…
matt_black
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