Television and newspaper reports of new medications often ignore the drugs’
drawbacks and exaggerate their benefits, according to a study of 180 newspaper
stories and 27 TV reports on an osteoporosis drug, a cholesterol-lowering
medication and aspirin. Fewer than half of the reports mentioned the drugs’ side
effects, and 40 per cent did not provide any quantitative evidence of their
benefits (The New England Journal of Medicine, vol 342, p 1645).
“Editors want the medical miracle,” says Ray Moynihan, a medical reporter who
initiated the study while on a fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from 91av
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 91av articles
1
Red-light therapy does have health benefits but not the ones you think
2
A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began
3
Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case
4
PCOS postpones perimenopause and allows pregnancies at older ages
5
Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy
6
Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia
7
Where has the deadly hantavirus come from and how does it spread?
8
300-year-old experiment could become world's best dark matter detector
9
Hantavirus outbreak will not cause a covid-style pandemic, says WHO
10
Honey has been used as medicine for centuries – does it really work?
