Doctors Recommend…
Around much of the world, the coronavirus pandemic has triggered intense debate about the trustworthiness of medical experts. The power that government-employed health experts have to determine health policy has also been scrutinized. As a healthcare professional, I do not want to understate the importance of sound, evidence-based medical advice; it has the power to save lives. However, I think it’s worth considering the fact that sometimes medical experts get it wrong, and unfortunately sometimes there are external influences that cause them to turn their attention away from unpopular and uncomfortable truths. Here, I outline a few examples where the medical community, for whatever reason, simply got it wrong.
Cigarettes: From 1936-1950, many doctors endorsed the use of cigarettes (and some went so far as to actually recommend cigarettes to pregnant women because of the “obvious” benefits to the mother). Tobacco companies relied on the testimony of “eminent” doctors and research scientists to refute research that found a link between smoking and increased risk of lung cancer. We now know smoking accounts for nearly 90% of lung cancer deaths and 80% of deaths from COPD (CDC). In an age where the government is so heavily invested in the health of its citizens, it’s a wonder the CDC and FDA still permit these products to be marketed to the public.
Low-Fat Diets: Pressured by “Big Food” (the companies spending billions of dollars lobbying the government in order to influence food and agriculture policies), doctors began to recommend a low-fat diet in order to “help people stay lean and healthy.” Instead, rates of obesity and diabetes surged, and even though the limit on dietary fat has been lifted, the low-fat diet remains “deeply embedded in public consciousness and food policy,” according to nutrition expert David Ludwig of Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Instead of compensating Americans for 40 years’ worth of medical expenses and untold pain and suffering resulting from adherence to their expert guidelines (or at least issuing an apology), the USDA and Health and Human Services have remained silent, quietly backtracking as they subtly adjust each new edition of dietary guidelines.
Fen-Phen: In the 1990’s the FDA-approved drugs fenfluramine and phentermine (marketed as “fen-phen”) made a splash among consumers looking to lose weight. Many physicians touted these medications as “miracle drugs” and prescribed them even in spite of a lack of long-term safety research. The FDA recalled fenfluramine in 1997 after the drug was linked to serious damage to heart valves.
It’s clear that paid experts and medical professionals have an important role in medicine and the formation of public health policy, but let’s please pause to consider that sometimes, unfortunately, they don’t always get it right. They are only humans, after all.
