A Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 Associated Press article described ACSH's criticism of America's War on "Carcinogens":
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government has for years been scaring Americans about cancer risks for which there is no scientific evidence, a team of public health scientists said today.
The scientists called on Congress and the National Cancer Institute to take the lead in changing the way the government assesses cancer risks, saying the present system is seriously flawed and misleads the public.
"We will never succeed in reducing the nation's cancer toll if we continue along the current path," warned Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, at a Washington symposium on cancer.
The council released a new study in which nearly 50 leading scientists urge a change in the way government regulators assess cancer risks.
Specifically, the council asserts, the government has wrongly relied on the results of high-dose animal tests to predict human cancer risk from synthetic chemicals.
This assumption is unscientific and has caused great harm, the scientists say, because it diverts attention and funding from real cancer risks. It is also unfair to the public by repeatedly causing unnecessary fears and anxiety.
"Effective cancer prevention should be among our top priorities," Whelan said. "But the current regulatory approach actually compromises our understanding of cancer causation and slows the development of prevention technologies."
The new study, America's War on "Carcinogens": Reassessing The Use of Animal Tests to Predict Human Cancer Risk, including a preface by Dr. George Gray, executive director of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, is available from the American Council on Science and Health, 1995 Broadway, New York, NY 10023; ACSH[At]ACSH.ORG.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: To schedule an interview with the authors of the study America's War on "Carcinogens": Reassessing The Use of Animal Tests to Predict Human Cancer Risk, please contact Jeff Stier at 646-245-1443 or Jeff_stier[At]acsh.org.