New Yorkers to be Entered in Science Experiment

Michael Bloomberg and Thomas R. Frieden forego the constraints of compelling evidence and consent to engage NY in the largest unapproved science experiment in a long time.

Check out this article by John Tierney from the NYT:

Suppose you wanted to test the effects of halving the amount of salt in people’s diets. If you were an academic researcher, you’d have to persuade your institutional review board that you had considered the risks and obtained informed consent from the participants.

You might, for instance, take note of a recent clinical trial in which heart patients put on a restricted-sodium diet fared worse than those on a normal diet. In light of new research suggesting that eating salt improves mood and combats depression, you might be alert for psychological effects of the new diet. You might worry that people would react to less-salty food by eating more of it, a trend you could monitor by comparing them with a control group.

But if you are the mayor of New York, no such constraints apply. Read more...

Do you want New York's mayor and health commissioner leading a nationwide initiative to halve the salt in your food? Join the discussion. Go to TierneyLab »