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EDITOR'S CHOICE: Kamran Abbasi Public health's Holy Grail BMJ 2004; 329: 0-g [Full text]

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The pitfalls of Public Health via TV medium

Isabelle Payette   (16 December 2004)

The pitfalls of Public Health via TV medium 16 December 2004
Isabelle Payette, Public Servant Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Send response to journal: Re: The pitfalls of Public Health via TV medium	I personaly think that Public Health information should be shown on TV ... Especially the type where you have testimonies. However, it would be difficult to decide what should be on and what should not be on TV, and even more so for who could have that kind of authority - Big Network Executives (!). The WHO and the FDA have enough difficulty to find credibility that it makes me wonder who could be the ultimate watchdog. I suppose we should have basic TV programs in biology and biochemistry to start with and then have specialized areas such as nervous system, endocrine system, circulatory system, etc... Seems to me that things would make more sense to the untrained 'eye', if you explain how thing are supposed to work first and then from there, see what might have gone wrong and let people make their own conclusion. Not feed them preconceived ideas and hypotheses (or try to sell them drugs!). Don't have to scare them with long words either. All we have to do is find people who can explain things in a simple manner so that everyone can understand. Similar to what David Suzuki does for the environment. This could be useful especially for chronic disease prevention (such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) They could show the traditional side of medicine as well as the alternative side, this way people would have choices... In my opinion, empowerment is probably the most powerful medecine you can find anywhere. That was my two cents...Sorry for taking so much of your time. Competing interests: None declared