There is no evidence that…

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7398.1095-a

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Kevin Barraclough, general practitioner

Painswick, Gloucestershire

I was in a medical meeting discussing the extent to which mental attitude influences the natural history of disease. In an interesting debate the mantra “there is no evidence that…” was repeated at diverse moments by several colleagues. Although I am an enthusiast of evidence based medicine I must admit that I have begun to find it irritating that the phrase is used like some sort of runic spell to negate all opposition. Surely it encompasses two …