Public policy informed by good science?
The Health Bill is currently winding its way through Parliamentary processes. If enacted in its original form it will lead to a partial ban on smoking in public places, against the advice of health experts. Why has this happened and does it herald a new low for scientific advice to government?
Experts and politics
Jack Stilgoe wants more openness about their relationship
Two years ago, I was lucky enough to interview Professor Sir Richard Doll for a project on expertise.
Right up until his death last year at the age of 92 Doll worked tirelessly to convince the world of the dangers of smoking. Thanks to Doll and others we now know, and are constantly reminded by our cigarette packets, that smoking kills – active or passive.
Leaving aside any uncertainties that might blur its edges, this piece of knowledge has saved lives, and allowed policymakers to make better decisions. But, as David Hume told us long before the invention of the cigarette, you can’t get an ought from an is. Science can inform policy, but it can’t determine it. The issue of smoking in enclosed public places might look like a scientific one, but it is also deeply political.
Evidence-based policy
As part of New Labour’s attempts to modernize policy, the men in white coats are increasingly told to work with the men in Whitehall to create ‘evidence-based’ policy. But this is often a way of abdicating responsibility for making decisions.
The recent history of controversies around BSE and GM have reminded us that it’s never as easy as science speaking truth to power. Most recently, the clashes over the MMR vaccine have told us that, even when the science seems clear, we must at least take into account the politics of trust. As Doll told me, ‘Government are never going to handle those issues correctly.’
Messy politics
Liam Donaldson is the latest scientist to be dragged into the messy politics of expert advice – a victim of an attempt to take the politics out of a political problem by making it appear like a scientific one.
As we have seen from media coverage of the issue, the question of whether we should allow or forbid smoking in pubs is about much more than what we know of its dangers. At the very least, it’s also about liberty, it’s about responsibility and it’s about economics.
We must acknowledge that, most of the time, science cannot tell us what to do. Science’s voice must be heard, but it must not drown out others. The smoking ban that disappeared and then reappeared is a political mess. But this should only come as a surprise to those people who thought that there was an easy answer.
Dr Jack Stilgoe is a researcher at Demos. He is co-author of The Public Value of Science, available to download from the Demos website.