A few years ago there was a big push to clear landmines from places like Cambodia. The reasoning was that if hundreds of people were getting their legs blown off, clearing mines ought be a worthy use of charitable organizations’ resources.

Well clearance turned out to be a rather labor intensive proposition, and therefore expensive. They decided the same amount of money would do more good spent on clean water, vitamins, and such. Pragmatic prioritization works wonders.

I have watched with horror as this idiocy gained strength. I can think of no advance of civilisation that could pass this unprincipled “Principle” sinnce the discovery that paws could pick something up better than teeth.

The examples cited by Sir Colin Berry are things we have heard so often before, and yet still embraced by fanatics, exemplified by environmentalist wackos who are running wild in the United States. A lot of outlandish theories are disseminated, yet with little evidence to back them up. I get reminded of the recent movie, The Day After Tomorrow, which was more fiction than anything else (except, I suppose, to Al Gore.)

In medicine, the application of the precautionary principle would have been devastating. No new drugs, no new treatments, no new technology would have been possible if medical scientists were shackled by the fear of the unknown and adherence to what is “absolutely safe.” Sir Colin Berry was careful to caution that he was not advocating recklessness, but actions grounded in common sense, years of substantiated evidence, and beliefs in discovering things better than what we have before.

As I articulate these thoughts, I also get reminded of those who have been questioning the efficacy of vaccines, particularly those used against common childhood illnesses. It is true there are risks, but these are minuscule, and ought not to obliterate the vast benefits we have seen in almost eradicating these childhood diseases. This is akin to the cholera epidemic and re-emergence of malaria that are cited in this article, caused by hysterical overreaction to
warnings from a few alarmists.

This piece, indeed, is must reading for physicians and policy-makers who make life-and-death decisions for millions of us.