Public perceptions of health risks are overblown


	Public perceptions of health risks are overblown

JohnWaterman

7-11-2008 12:25 PM

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/f7b36585-1135-4645-be9b-79326d7681e4/093CA51A-E08D-4310-85DC-085F28F829A1/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science" style="font-size: 11px;">www.guardian.co.uk</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science"><P id="stand-first">From trans fats to chemicals, public perceptions of health risks far outweigh the actual dangers</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science"><DIV>Worried about trace chemicals in the water supply or carbon monoxide in your home? Don't be. From rubber duckies and <A href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/30/sciencenews.health">plastic bottles</A> to pesticides used in agriculture and French fries, the world may seem full of quotidian lethal hazards, but many of these alarms are completely bogus, while most of the others represent only negligible risks. </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science"><DIV>Moreover, the attention paid to them and the wrong-headed (and often very costly) actions taken to prevent or ameliorate them can themselves be harmful, distracting attention from far more significant risks and squandering resources. </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science"> If we followed through by banning all the chemicals we read about that supposedly cause (pick one) cancer, birth defects, low sperm counts, Alzheimer's disease, autism, et cetera, we'd have to ban most of the chemicals in the world - including natural ones</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science"> journalists </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science">politicians</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science">seem not to care whether</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/11/usa.health?gusrc=rss&feed=science">science supports the hype</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/093CA51A-E08D-4310-85DC-085F28F829A1/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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