A nice little illustration of how the field of 'public health' science works comes from Sweden this week. Recently the Karolinska Institute (which readers of The Art of Suppression may recall is very anti-tobacco) was commissioned by Sweden's National Institute for Public Health to carry out a study on whether graphic warnings work. I have mentioned in previous posts that they do not work and that is exactly what the Karolinska researchers found.
The result? The National Institute for Public Health cancelled the contract and refused to pay them their 400,000 krona (£37,000).
Long live science!
Policy-led research: Start with a pre-determined conclusion, and if your researchers are unable to back it up, simply find new researchers.
ReplyDelete