BMJ  2004;329 (6 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7474.0-g

Editor's choice

Should journals mix medicine and politics?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Along with easy access to pornography, gambling (p 1055), and school friends who best remain forgotten, the internet has unleashed instant—and mass—complaint. This incredible people power makes publications instantly accountable. Why bother sending a written complaint or organising a paper petition when you can flood a website or an editor's inbox with cries of pain, anger, and sometimes vitriol? In addition to this welcome development bmj.com amplifies that criticism by posting electronic letters—we call them rapid responses—within 24 hours, provided they do not breach our rather laissez-faire rules of engagement (see bmj.com for rules).

We now encourage all readers to submit their letters electronically via our rapid response facility—it's easier than you might think—and select the best of these to publish in the print version of the BMJ. This week we publish a selection of responses to Derek Summerfield's personal view on the public health effects of . . . [Full text of this article]

Kamran Abbasi, acting editor

(kabbasi@bmj.com)


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Betting your life on it
Mark Griffiths
BMJ 2004 329: 1055-1056. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: Personal view was one sided and unhelpful
Mark Berelowitz
BMJ 2004 329: 1101. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: Only way forward is to open up a dialogue
Liz Lightstone
BMJ 2004 329: 1101. [Extract] [Full Text]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: "But about who's suffering worse—there's no argument"
A M Rouse
BMJ 2004 329: 1101-1102. [Extract] [Full Text]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: More heat than light in this debate
Tom Marshall
BMJ 2004 329: 1102. [Extract] [Full Text]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: Summerfield's outrage is misplaced
Irwin J Mansdorf
BMJ 2004 329: 1102. [Extract] [Full Text]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: Personal view from Israel
Alexander J Lustman
BMJ 2004 329: 1102. [Extract] [Full Text]

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes: Summary of responses
Birte Twisselmann
BMJ 2004 329: 1102-1103. [Extract] [Full Text]

Palestinian health: the truth, the lies, and the statistics
Simon M Fellerman
BMJ 2004 329: 1110. [Extract] [Full Text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Government Policies almost always affect the health of the Nation-positively or negatively!
Dr.Wayengera Misaki
bmj.com, 4 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Medicine and politic should be separated
Yair Liel
bmj.com, 5 Nov 2004 [Full text]
"Medicine on a grand scale"
Graham Ellis
bmj.com, 5 Nov 2004 [Full text]
By all means mix but don't confuse
Keith Kudkins
bmj.com, 5 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Stimulating debate or stirring up ill-feeling?
Ayan Panja
bmj.com, 5 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Re: By all means mix but don't confuse
Bert P. van Leeuwen
bmj.com, 6 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Striking a balance
Sharif S Hussain
bmj.com, 6 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Pandora's e-box
Adrian S. Blaj
bmj.com, 6 Nov 2004 [Full text]
To be or not to be...political --- that's the question
Adrian S. Blaj
bmj.com, 7 Nov 2004 [Full text]
BMJ Politics
Phil Taussky
bmj.com, 8 Nov 2004 [Full text]
A more constructive approach to writing about health and conflict
Bruce E Laurence
bmj.com, 8 Nov 2004 [Full text]
politics is medicine writ large
Hyman Davies
bmj.com, 8 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Health and politics are now closely twined?
Dr.Naseem A. Qureshi MD, IMAPA, LMIPS
bmj.com, 8 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Medicine and politics are intertwined whether we like it or not
Maurice Conlon
bmj.com, 8 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Waste of an entire BMJ issue
Abhijit Bal
bmj.com, 9 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Open letter to Dr Abbasi
Daniel Y. Ellis
bmj.com, 9 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Re: politics is medicine writ large
Gabrielle J. Halpern
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Re: politics is medicine writ large
Mark Struthers
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Re: Re: politics is medicine writ large
Mark Struthers
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Re: Re: Re: politics is medicine writ large
Gabrielle J. Halpern
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Re: Re: politics is medicine writ large
Hyman Davies
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2004 [Full text]
The Inseparability of Medicine and Politics
Stefan P. Kruszewski, M.D.
bmj.com, 10 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Finding Neverland
Mark Struthers
bmj.com, 11 Nov 2004 [Full text]
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ