At 14:53 13/11/00 +0100, you wrote:
(KH)
> Intuitively, ordinary people are well able to judge the sincerity and
> expertise of specialists -- so long as their debate is fully accessible.
(CR)
Their debate is never nearly "fully accessible" -- neither by medium
(scientific journals) nor by participation (forums) -- and even if it
was, how should "ordinary people" be "well able to judge the sincerity
and expertise of specialists" ? Can you name a single issue where this
would be the case ?
Yes, I can. This is the issue of drug efficacy. The National Institute of
Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK is composed of pharmaceutical
chemists, biologists and doctors who investigate the cost-effectiveness of
drugs on behalf of the National Health Service (NHS). Its chairman, Sir
Michael Rawlins, had become worried by attempts by the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry to keep NICE's findings secret. However,
its recent investigations of drugs such as the taxanes (for cancer), beta
interferon (for multiple sclerosis) and Relenza (for flu) are obviously of
great public interest. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pateints
and lay people in the UK have a vital interest in these drugs and a large
number of these have become expert enough to be able to carry on an
informed debate about these.
On Wednesday this week, the board of NICE will consider whether it should
keep to the status quo or whether its findings should be transparent. It's
possible, of course, that the board will decide to maintain secrecy, but
hardly likely. Otherwise, why would NICE have made the knowledge of this
board meeting public?
I may proved to be wrong in this instance and at this point in time, but
this is but one example of democratic pressures being mounted against
confidential deliberations on important matters, the pressures increasing
from year to year.
Keith
___________________________________________________________________
Keith Hudson, General Editor, Calus, www.calus.org
6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England
Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727;
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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