Day 030 - 03 Oct 94 - Page 54


     
     1
     2   MS. STEEL:   Orange volume IV.
     3
     4   MR. RAMPTON:  Volume IV, tab 26.
     5
     6   MR. MORRIS:  Has everyone got the sections from the World
     7        Health Organisation Report that have been disclosed
     8        before?
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is the one Mr. Rampton has just given
    11        us the reference for.  I am turning to page 66.  Is it
    12        paragraph 3.3.9?
    13
    14   THE WITNESS:  That is right, my Lord, yes.
    15
    16   MR. MORRIS:  Is there anything on page 66 and following that
    17        you want to draw the court's attention to?
    18        A.  Yes, because I think the statement on page 66 is
    19        admirable as a statement of the state of scientific
    20        opinion, partly for the reason I have given and partly
    21        referring back to some of the things I said this morning.
    22        What this paragraph says is:  "A review of the evidence
    23        indicates that a high intake total fat - and in some
    24        case-studies also saturated fat - is associated with an
    25        increased risk of cancers of the colon, prostate, and
    26        breast.  The evidence is strongest for cancer of the colon
    27        and weakest for breast cancer.  The epidemiological
    28        evidence is not totally consistent, but is generally
    29        supported by laboratory data from studies in animals."
    30        Then it goes on to make other points.
    31
    32        What that is saying, hence the analogy or parallel with
    33        the term proof as used in a court of law is that, indeed,
    34        there is evidence on the other side, but that evidence has
    35        not convinced the scientists whose job in this case is not
    36        just to review the scientific literature, but whose is
    37        judicial.  They are judging the evidence and drawing
    38        conclusions on it.  I do not know if the court has the
    39        facing page 67, but again you can see there a little
    40        graphic system of indicating the strength of the causal
    41        association.  Then again later on in the report, page 157,
    42        "Conclusions", do you have that?
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, we have been through that already.
    45        That was put to Dr. Arnott and Professor Keen in
    46        cross-examination.
    47
    48   MR. MORRIS:  Would you like to comment on the conclusions?  I
    49        will just read out the first sentence:  "Dietary factors
    50        are now to known influence the development of a wide range 
    51        of chronic diseases, eg. coronary heart disease, various 
    52        cancers, hypertension and cerebral vascular disease and 
    53        diabetes."   It goes on to talk about diet below.  There
    54        is a sentence in the middle:  "This change in diet that
    55        has happened in developing countries can now be linked to
    56        the increasing incidence of chronic diseases and of
    57        premature death".
    58
    59        What is your point you want to make about this?
    60        A.  What it says is:  "This change of diet which has

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