Scientific drug information in newspapers: sensationalism and low quality. The example of therapeutic use of cannabinoids.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to analyse the quality of newspaper articles (NAs) concerning the therapeutic use of cannabis published in Spanish newspapers.


METHODS
A preliminary questionnaire of the Index of Scientific Quality was used [scores ranged from 0 (no misleading) to 14 (misinformation in each item)].


RESULTS
Of the 29 NAs analysed, 16 (55.2%) were scored as 4 or lower, and 6 (20.7%) scored 7 or higher. Up to 23 NAs (79.3%) did not manage the knowledge related to cannabinoids; 20 (69%) gave a sensationalist message; 11 (37.9%) were able to wrongly influence clinical decision taking; and 8 (27.6%) misled medical concepts.


CONCLUSIONS
The leading medical journals could play an especially relevant role while preparing their press releases if they specify study limitations and context.
Fundació Institut Català de Farmacologia, Hospitals Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035, Barcelona, Spain. eme@icf.uab.es
Eva
E
Montané
Marta
M
Duran
Dolors
D
Capellà
Albert
A
Figueras
D035843:Biomedical Research; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D033181:Information Dissemination; D018156:Journalism, Medical; D008402:Mass Media; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D017594:Publication Bias; D011786:Quality Control; D013030:Spain
D002186:Cannabinoids