The Roanoke Slant

Roanoke Times, 4/19/05, Pg 1: Professor says study not meant to alarm. His study indicated that chlorinated tap water can react with some kitchen agents to produce chloroform, a probable carcinogen.
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Roanoke Times, 4/0/05, Pg A10: Obesity isn’t so bad, CDC now says
CDC reduced obesity from #2 to #7 among leading preventable causes of death in U.S. and all this in just one year! Talk about a good diet!
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These articles are just the latest in a very, very long list of false and or misleading data being broadcast and amplified by the media without regard for responsibility. One of the most serious examples was the early days of birth-control pills in which the media broadcast that the pill was a major cause of cancer. Many women changed to IUD’s and that turned out to be a health disaster. Then the media broadcast that not only did the pill not cause cancer but in-fact reduced the risk of several types of cancer.
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The lesson to be learned is that lots of data being broadcast by the media is not factual. In reality much of the "new immediate news" is suspect. The concept of proving a cause-and-effect relationship is usually very difficult, takes a lot of time, and is not conducive to hype and spin and "front page headlines".
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It would be helpful if "the media" presented data with more restraint and put warning labels on the veracity of the "news". If "experts" are misleading us with the above items, imagine how hard it is to accept complex hypothesis like: global warming, the real causes of cancer and the impacts of second-hand smoke.
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