Day 033 - 10 Oct 94 - Page 48
1 MR. MORRIS: So, they reached the point, is that true, where
2 the evidence becomes so compelling, even if there are
3 holes, that recommendations start being made; is that
4 correct?
5 A. Yes. In spite of the fact that there are (and will
6 remain) people who are sceptical of that association,
7 they, in my judgment, are a minority, an ever shrinking
8 minority, but they do exist and they certainly have a
9 right to their opinion, even though it is not shared by
10 others and even though for me (as a physician) I feel that
11 it would be irresponsible for me and dangerous for me to
12 ignore this overwhelming information, because patients and
13 individuals will not have their diets controlled by other
14 people. They have to make choices. They have to make
15 choices on the basis of the best available evidence.
16
17 That evidence is, in my judgment, quite compelling.
18 I agree with those other -- virtually every American
19 research organisation has already gone to the point of
20 issuing recommendations based on that evidence. To fail
21 to inform the American public, as I mentioned early in my
22 statement, we found that only 20 per cent of American
23 women even were aware that there might even be a link
24 between high fat diets and breast cancer. The other 80
25 per cent had absolutely no basis whatsoever for making
26 modifications in their diet. They did not have any
27 knowledge base whatsoever.
28
29 So, I have felt that it is very important, as a physician,
30 to get the message out to individuals, even though there
31 are sceptics who remain, even though, admittedly, there
32 are some holes in what we know, the case is long past the
33 point of being good enough; the dietary recommendations
34 are not only justified but I would say absolutely
35 essential.
36
37 Q. I want to take you through another document while we are
38 on this subject. It seems a suitable time while I think
39 of it. It is document No. 3 in the miscellaneous
40 supplementary list. You have not seen this document.
41 (Handed) This document is from the European Journal of
42 Cancer Prevention, 1991. It is the title: "We have a
43 duty, as scientists working on cancer prevention, to give
44 dietary advice to the whole population rather than simply
45 to high-risk groups." That is by Dr. Wheelock, I think
46 now Professor Wheelock. He puts the case for that. Would
47 you agree, first of all, with the title, with the premise
48 in the title?
49 A. Yes, I would.
50
51 Q. If we look at the paragraph on the right-hand side of that
52 first page, the main paragraph in the middle, do you want
53 to read that to yourself? What are your thoughts on that
54 paragraph?
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Tell me why you are asking this witness
57 about it.
58
59 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, what is written there would be common
60 ground in this case.
