There are health warnings on cigarette packets, on alcohol labels, on packets of nuts and on all kinds of medical products. So why on earth aren’t there health warnings on health research? The kind of research which medical writer Melissa Sweet has been reporting recently in Crikey:

“Children should be eating more fish and more omega-3 fatty acids” (funded by companies promoting or researching the use of Omega-3 fatty acids).

“Chocolate boosts heart health” (funded by Nestle and the chocolate industry).

“The many health properties of red meat” (funded by Meat and Livestock Australia and launched by Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott).

When reputable mainstream media publish “research” spruiking the use of products as healthy — when the research has been funded and distributed by organisations who benefit commercially from public belief in the research — it’s worse than just lazy, PR-facilitated journalism. It’s potentially dangerous.

If the media won’t introduce their own disclosure rules on the funding on medical research, someone else should impose the rules on the media.