Michaels David, Monforton Celeste
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, 2100 M St. NW, Suite 203, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2005;95 Suppl 1:S39-48. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.043059.
Opponents of public health and environmental regulations often try to "manufacture uncertainty" by questioning the validity of scientific evidence on which the regulations are based. Though most identified with the tobacco industry, this strategy has also been used by producers of other hazardous products. Its proponents use the label "junk science" to ridicule research that threatens powerful interests. This strategy of manufacturing uncertainty is antithetical to the public health principle that decisions be made using the best evidence available. The public health system must ensure that scientific evidence is evaluated in a manner that assures the public's health and environment will be adequately protected.
公共卫生和环境法规的反对者常常试图通过质疑法规所依据的科学证据的有效性来“制造不确定性”。尽管这种策略最常与烟草行业联系在一起，但其他有害产品的生产商也采用过。其支持者用“垃圾科学”这一标签来嘲笑那些威胁到强大利益集团的研究。这种制造不确定性的策略与公共卫生原则背道而驰，公共卫生原则要求依据现有最佳证据做出决策。公共卫生系统必须确保以能充分保护公众健康和环境的方式对科学证据进行评估。
