Day 036 - 13 Oct 94 - Page 06
1 A. Go ahead. I think I have finished.
2
3 Q. The identification of mechanisms, hypothetical or
4 plausible and, if possible, certain, has an important role
5 to play in the aetiology of disease, does it not?
6 A. Can you say that question again?
7
8 Q. The identification of mechanisms, whether hypothetical,
9 plausible and (one most hope occasionally) certain, has an
10 important role to play in the aetiology of disease, does
11 it not?
12 A. The identification of mechanisms ----
13
14 Q. Yes.
15 A. - plays an important role in research.
16
17 Q. Yes.
18 A. And is certainly something that is useful for
19 researchers to try to sort out, but it is not essential in
20 determining cause-and-effect or in overall, nor is it
21 essential for determining public health information and
22 public health interventions.
23
24 Q. My word is not "essential", it was "important".
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: "Important role" was what Mr. Rampton said.
27
28 MR. RAMPTON: An important role.
29 A. I am having difficulty sorting out what you are asking
30 me. You are saying the identification of mechanisms is
31 important in -----
32
33 Q. The aetiology of disease.
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What it may be is in seeking to identify the
36 aetiology of disease.
37
38 MR. RAMPTON: Yes.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Are you content with that?
41 A. Yes.
42
43 MR. RAMPTON: Can I put it in rather, perhaps, plainer
44 English? I do not know whether it is plainer or not. The
45 trouble is with plainer English, one tends to go off the
46 rails if one is not careful. If we want to be as sure as
47 we can be that X causes Y, it helps to be able to say what
48 is the mechanism by which that is thought to happen, does
49 it not?
50 A. When one can do that it is very, very helpful. It is
51 not essential, but when one can do that it certainly is
52 helpful.
53
54 Q. That is all, I think, I was putting to you. May I read
55 on: "However, the overall impact of diet and cancer rates
56 throughout the world appears to be significant. For
57 populations in developed countries where cancer rates are
58 highest and account for approximately one and a quarter of
59 all deaths, some epidemiologists estimate that 30 to 40
60 per cent of cancers in men and up to 60 per cent of
