opposing the seizure of his medical files in an investigation of drug charges for limbaugh's alleged misuse of prescription drugs. the aaps stated the seizure was a violation of state law and that "it is not a crime for a patient to be in pain and repeatedly seek relief, and doctors should not be turned against patients they tried to help." tobacco philip morris executives worked with aaps executive director jane orient to help oppose growing support for indoor smoking bans in the early 2000s. in the fall of 2009, economist michael marlow published an article in aaps' journal arguing that tobacco tax would decrease public health when people "switch to higher tar and nicotine brands as they smoke less." journal of american physicians and surgeons journal of american physicians and surgeonsdisciplinemedicinelanguageenglishpublication detailsformer name(s)medical sentinelhistory1996–presentpublisherassociation of american physicians and surgeonfrequencyquarterlystandard abbreviationsiso 4 (alt) · bluebook (alt1 · alt2)nlm (alt) · mathscinet (alt )iso 4j. am. physicians surg.indexingcoden · jstor (alt) · lccn (alt)miar · nlm (alt) · scopusissn1543-4826 the association's journal of american physicians and surgeons (jp&s) was previously named the medical sentinel from 1996 to 2003. it is not listed in academic literature databases such as medline, pubmed, or the web of science. the quality and scientific validity of articles published in the journal have been criticized by medical experts, and some of the viewpoints advocated by aaps are rejected by other scientists and medical groups. the u.s. national library of medicine declined repeated requests from aaps to index the journal, citing unspecified concerns. as of september 2016, jp&s was listed on beall's list of potential or probable predatory open-access journals. quackwatch lists jp&s as an untrustworthy, non-recommended periodical. an editorial in chemical & engineering news described the journal as a "purveyor of utter nonsense." investigative journalist brian deer wrote that the journal is the "house magazine of a right-wing american fringe group " and "is barely credible as an independent forum." writing in the guardian, science columnist ben goldacre described the journal as the "in-house magazine of a rightwing us pressure group well known for polemics on homosexuality, abortion and vaccines." publishing of scientifically discredited claims articles and commentaries published in the journal have argued a number of scientifically discredited claims, including: that human activity has not contributed to climate change, and that global warming will be beneficial and thus is not a cause for concern. that hiv does not cause aids. that there is a link between abortion and the risk of breast cancer. that there are possible links between autism and vaccinations. that government efforts to encourage smoking cessation and emphasize the addictive nature of nicotine are misguided. a series of articles by anti-abortion authors published in the journal argued for a link between abortion and breast cancer. such a link has been rejected by the scientific community, including the u.s. national cancer institute, the american cancer society, and the world health organization, among other major medical bodies. a 2003 paper published in the journal, claiming that vaccination was harmful, was criticized for poor methodology, lack of scientific rigor, and outright errors, according to the world health organization and the american academy of pediatrics. a national public radio piece mentioned inaccurate information published in the journal and said: "the journal itself is not considered a leading publication, as it's put out by an advocacy group that opposes most government involvement in medical care." the journal has also published articles advocating politically and socially conservative policy positions, including: that the food and drug administration and centers for medicare and medicaid services are unconstitutional; that "humanists" have conspired to replace the "creation religion of jehovah" with evolution; that "anchor babies" are valuable to undocumented immigrants, particularly if the babies are disabled. the organization published on its website an article claiming that obama hypnotized audiences with his speeches (see above). notable people paul broun, physician and member of the u.s. house of representatives from georgia madeline cosman, medical lawyer and faculty member of city college of new york john cooksey, member of the u.s. house of representatives paul driessen, attorney, author, and climate change denier simone gold, physician, attorney, activist and founder of america's frontline doctors william hurwitz, physician convicted by u.s. government for prescribing opioids stella immanuel, cameroonian-american physician and pastor peter a. mccullough, former cardiologist at baylor university medical center and advocate for covid-19 hydroxychloroquine off-label medication joseph mercola, american alternative medicine proponent and purveyor of anti-vaccination misinformation rand paul, united states senator ron paul, member of the u.s. house of representatives art robinson, biochemist and member of oregon state senate tom price, secretary of health and human services under donald trump andrew schlafly, american lawyer and christian conservative activist vladimir zelenko, ukrainian-american physician