Re: Iowa GIGO, not Cohen's "Fallacy"

[RuthWeiner@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 1/30/02 9:13:51 PM Mountain Standard Time, healthrad@hotmail.com writes:



> But, remember, it was the Surgeon General who said radon is 
>
> the second leading cause of lung cancer.  


What Surgeon General and when, please?  I am afraid I don't remember any such pronouncement.


However, I do remember the overwhelming evidence, gathered over many years, that finally led to a Surgeon General's warning on smoking, and even then it was a pretty weak and ambiguous warning ("the S.G. warns that cigarette smoking may be harmful to your health").  I find it hard to believe that a few studies done by one group, and pretty hotly disputed studies at that, would lead to a stronger public pronouncement ("radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer").  But I could be wrong.


And please, folks, could we keep this discussion reasonably civil and free of snide backchat?  I confess to letting my own temper show a few times, and I regret it.


Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

ruthweiner@aol.com