Drug Claims Often Misleading

"This information was passed on in 'Dear Doctor' letters to 190,000 general practitioners, pharmacists, and directors of public health and was presented in an emergency announcement to the media," the report continues. "The news caused great anxiety, and distressed women stopped taking the pill, which led to unwanted pregnancies and abortions."

The scare was blamed for 13,000 abortions the following year, many involving teen pregnancies.

But who can argue with 100 percent? The report adds:

Related

Is August Dangerous?

To Some, Lights Are Noisy

Edible 'Sensor' Could Alert You to E. Coli

"The studies on which the warning was based had shown that, of every 7,000 women who took the earlier, second-generation oral contraceptive pills, about one had a thrombosis; this number increased to two among women who took third-generation pills. The absolute risk increase was only one in 7,000, whereas the relative increase (among women who developed blood clots) was indeed 100 percent."

That's right. An increase from one to two, but that's out of 7,000.

That omission of key information, namely the numbers, is common to many -- perhaps most -- claims about drugs and medical interventions, regardless of the source of the claims, according to the study. It's routine in drug advertisements. It's common in announcements from many institutions that have found a dangerous side effect and want to be sure they get your attention.

But it's wrong.

There are several other ways that statistics can be very misleading, like overstating survival rates, or implying that in all cases early screening can lead to early detection and more successful treatment, the researchers contend.

In his unsuccessful attempt to win his party's nomination for president, Rudy Giuliani said in a campaign advertisement: "I had prostate cancer, 5, 6 years ago. My chance of surviving prostate cancer -- and thank God, I was cured of it -- in the United States? Eighty-two percent. My chance of surviving prostate cancer in England? Only 44 percent under socialized medicine."

That is flat out wrong, according to the researchers. "Giuliani's numbers are meaningless for making comparisons across groups of people that differ dramatically in how the diagnosis is made," the report states.