title: Health risks associated with excessive warnings about alleged cancer risks.
abstract: As the adage states, "when everything is dangerous, nothing is." If the word carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) is used to designate a spectrum of products, chemicals, and other environmental exposures, then the classification cancer causing when referring to the results of human epidemiological studies becomes meaningless. Thus, the emerging "carcinogen-of-the-week" phenomenon is counterproductive in preventing the toll of human cancer in that it diverts attention from real causes.
authors.affiliation: American Council on Science and Health, New York, NY 10023.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Whelan
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D012306:Risk