On Politics and Science

Should I be surprised that politicians misuse, misconstrue, and outright lie about scientific data in order to further their own agenda.  Probably not, I should not expect much else from the Washington body politic, but I do expect scientific institutions to react and correct the erroneous and misleading perversion of science that these politicians are presenting. Unfortunately, few of us in the scientific community, or the organizations that we belong to, step forward to correct the fallacies that are being presented by these either unscrupulous or ignorant (they have to be one or the other) politicians. 

Here are but a few of the scientific myths that politicians are putting forth:

• Smoking causes cancer. No scientific organization can say that smoking causes cancer.  At most it is a risk factor, yet politicians are continually saying that smoking causes it.¹ 

• Arsenic causes cancer.  Again at most it may be a risk factor.

• The NAS recommends lowering arsenic levels. Politicians are stating that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has concluded that water arsenic levels should be lowered but the (NAS) said no such thing. That “finding” was made by a subcommittee of the NRC, which though a distant offshoot of the NAS, was a for-hire committee with no NAS scientists on it.²  

• Pregnancy causes more deaths than abortion.  Totally false by the WHO's own data.  In fact a woman is three times more likely to die from an abortion than a pregnancy.

• Cell phones cause brain cancer.  Totally false.³  

• CT scans cause cancer in children.  Totally false.⁴ 

• Silicon breast implants cause systemic connective tissue disease.  Totally debunked by studies done at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Mayo Clinic to name a few.

And don't get me started on "global warming" ...

Dr. James P. Siepmann, Editor-in-Chief

"We should all become activists for truth."

References:

1. Smoking Does Not Cause Lung Cancer (According to WHO/CDC Data)

2. National Research Council Poisons Arsenic Debate.

3. Handheld Cellular Telephone Use and Risk of Brain Cancer.

4. Fear-Mongering Where It Hurts the Most.