Retracted papers originating from paper mills: cross sectional study.

Objectives: To describe retracted papers originating from paper mills, including their characteristics, visibility, and impact over time, and the journals in which they were published.

Design: Cross sectional study.

Setting: The Retraction Watch database was used for identification of retracted papers from paper mills, Web of Science was used for the total number of published papers, and data from Journal Citation Reports were collected to show characteristics of journals.

A Critique of Helsinki Criteria for Using Lung Fiber Levels to Determine Causation in Mesothelioma Cases.

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and the chief known cause of mesothelioma. In 1997, a group of experts developed the Helsinki Criteria, which established criteria for attribution of mesothelioma to asbestos. The criteria include two methods for causation attribution: 1) a history of significant occupational, domestic, or environmental exposure and/or 2) pathologic evidence of exposure to asbestos.

A Review of the Talc Industry's Influence on Federal Regulation and Scientific Standards for Asbestos in Talc.

The talc industry and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have asserted that talc has been asbestos-free since 1976 when the industry created a voluntary specification for the asbestos content of cosmetic talc. However, recent evidence reveals that cosmetic talc is not and never was asbestos-free. This narrative review examines the talc industry's role in delaying and ultimately blocking federal regulation of cosmetic talc from the 1970s to today.

Serous Ovarian Cancer Caused by Exposure to Asbestos and Fibrous Talc in Cosmetic Talc Powders-A Case Series.

Objective: Asbestos is a known cause of ovarian cancer. We report 10 cases of serous ovarian cancer among users of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) asbestos-containing "cosmetic" talc products.

Methods: We conducted an asbestos exposure assessment during talc application and analyzed surgical tissues and talc containers for asbestos and talc.

The marketing of OxyContin®: A cautionary tale.

This paper provides a review of Purdue Pharma, LP's development and marketing of the long-acting oral narcotic OxyContin®. Within five years of the drug's launch, OxyContin® became the number-one prescribed Schedule II narcotic in the United States. This commercial success was in part the result of a marketing campaign that promoted questionably "distinctive" benefits and minimised the very real dangers of OxyContin®, which include abuse, addiction, overdose, and death.

Use of Anti-Warnings to Falsely Reassure Downstream Users: An Asbestos Example.

Product warnings are theoretically designed to reduce injuries associated with occupational, environmental, or consumer product exposures. Unfortunately, in an effort to protect sales, some companies have produced media and information to falsely reassure their customers about the risks associated with their products. These tactics have been termed "anti-warnings.

Commentary on "Assessment of Health Risk From Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder".

In response to recent litigation, Colgate Palmolive hired Exponent to determine if various samples of their cosmetic talc products contained asbestos. Anderson et al., Exponent employees, claim to report the findings of these analyses in their paper "Assessment of Health Risk from Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder.

The Production of Corporate Research to Manufacture Doubt About the Health Hazards of Products: An Overview of the Exponent Bakelite® Simulation Study.

Although corporate sponsorship of research does not necessarily lead to biased results, in some industries, it has resulted in the publication of inaccurate and misleading data. Some companies have hired scientific consulting firms to retrospectively calculate exposures to hazardous products during use that are no longer manufactured or sold. As an example, this paper reviews one such study-a litigation-generated study of Union Carbide Corporation's asbestos-containing product, Bakelite®.

Grave fraudulence in medical device research: a narrative review of the PIN seeding study for the Pinnacle hip system.

In 2001, DePuy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (J&J/DePuy), initiated a seeding study called the "Multi-center, Prospective, Clinical Evaluation of Pinnacle Acetabular Implants in Total Hip Arthroplasty" (PIN Study). J&J/DePuy designed this study to develop new business opportunities during the launch of their Pinnacle Hip System (PHS) and generate survivorship data for marketing. This article, the first review of a seeding trial for a medical device, examines internal company documents relating to the PIN Study; the analysis herein focuses on the integrity of J&J/DePuy's research practices in conception, implementation, and analysis.

Corporate corruption of science-Another asbestos example.

Background: Kelsh et al. [2007]: Occup Med (Lond) 57:581-589 published a paper reanalyzing one of the few data sources publicly available on mesothelioma amongst brake workers, the Australian Mesothelioma Surveillance Registry (AMSR). This reanalysis was commissioned by lawyers representing the automobile manufacturing companies and did not align with an independent analysis published by Leigh and Driscoll [2003]: Occup Environ Health 9:206-217.

A commentary on Roggli's "The So-Called Short-Fiber Controversy".

Dr. Victor Roggli republished a "literature review and critical analysis" of the toxicity of short fiber asbestos. His paper was originally prepared and presented at a conference of asbestos defense lawyers.

Withdrawn: The production of corporate research to manufacture doubt about the health hazards of products: an overview of the Exponent Bakelite™ simulation study.

Withdrawal statement Egilman DS. The production of corporate research to manufacture doubt about the health hazards of products: an overview of the Exponent Bakelite™ simulation study. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Short fiber tremolite free chrysotile mesothelioma cohort revealed.

In 1995, Dell and Teta published a cohort mortality study of asbestos molding compound workers at a Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) plastics manufacturing plant in Bound Brook, New Jersey. They reported that the factory workers were exposed to "asbestos (mostly chrysotile)," implying that the asbestos used at the Bound Brook plant occasionally contained amphiboles. However, UCC statements and testimony from recent litigation indicate that the Bound Brook plant exclusively used short fiber chrysotile asbestos.