Columnists lampoon the DOT's directive as further evidence of nanny-state overreaction, saying the allergy folks are caught up in a faddish, politically correct hysteria. Judging by the hyperbole, the peanut sounds like this year's tobacco, a comparison that both amuses and scares the fluffernutter out of Redding. Those sandwiches are just as much a part of America as apple pie. This is a joke on Capitol Hill. It's a medical condition.
People go to the hospital.
Relatively little research has been devoted to the issue, but using early data from an unpublished study, she estimates that more than 1 million Americans are allergic to peanuts. Munoz-Furlong's own daughter was diagnosed with an allergy to milk and eggs when she was 9 months old, in 1991. At the time, there was little information on how to raise a child on a restricted diet. Though some of its 18,000 members may be politically active, FAN is not a lobbying group, and it doesn't support a peanut ban. A ban creates a false sense of security.