E-cigarettes 'can cause more harm than smoking,' experts say
They are billed as a healthier alternative to smoking, yet experts now warn that electronic cigarettes may be more damaging than the habit they replace.
I'm pleased so say that the newspaper has today admitted that this was completely untrue...
The problem is only partly sloppy journalism, it is mostly the professional negligence of so-called experts.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't implausible for a story like this to be written and for it to be literally accurate. By citing self-declared 'experts' willing to say the most ridiculous things about e-cigarettes, any newspaper looking for a contentious angle can find cover via the "Experts say: [enter absurd contentious idea here]" device.
There is no need for the experts to be accurate or right, just accurately reported.
The Mail on Sunday wrote a partial defence of its story based on comments by two experts from Germany, Dr Martina Pötschke-Langer and Professor Elisabeth Pott. This is in the MoS editor's letter to the Press Complaints Commission attached after the signature.
More info on all this here
Hmmm... the article didn't just "say" that e-cigs could be more harmful, it HEADLINED that e-cigs could be more harmful. Methinks that a stronger correction is called for. Perhaps an Op-Ed style piece by Chris?
ReplyDeleteHow about it Mr. Snowdon? I think you'd do a bang-up job on one!
:)
MJM
Yes, as MJM points out, as with the claim about kids in cars being subjected to levels of SHS "twenty three times that of a smoky bar", the original erroneous statement makes headline news, whereas the retraction gets two column inches buried somewhere inside the paper. So it is the headline, and only the headline which impacts on people's minds. I believe TCI are fully aware of this, and use it quite shamelessly in furtherance of their agenda.
ReplyDeleteThat, Nisak, is a result of THE MONOPOLY. The specific monopoly is over the dissemination of information. It is as brutal as the Nazi or communist control. In fact, it is the same.
ReplyDeleteIn order to contest the blandishments, you would need lots of money. You would need to PAY FOR articles in newspapers (which is what ASH ET AL have been doing). But Tobacco Companies are not allowed to. That is classed as 'promoting' tobacco. TCs would need to spend money on ADVERTS, but they are not allowed to do so.
Sooner or later, the bubble must burst. Somehow, the Nazi propagandists must be shown to be so. In that case, the Internet will REALLY come into its own. People like Nathanson will only then be revealed as quacks.