 This
is an age of statistical trickery and witchcraft, in which pure speculations are
passed for 'science' in the pretence of goodness. One of the origins of this
type of trickery is a piece of 'science' published in ”Zeitschrift für
Krebsforschung” in 1939. I am, of course, referring to Franz H. Müllers 'case
control study' titled ”Tabakmissbrauch und Lungencarcinoma”.
In healthist circles, such as the
tobacco control 'movement', this type of 'science' is widely reverred and
acclaimed. Let us dissect Franz H. Müllers study and see what we can learn from
it.
The 'study'
This study was
published in 1939, in the German language publication ”Zeitschrift für
Krebsforschung” (Journal of Cancer Research). The resulting article was printed
in the 49. volume, on pages 57 – 85. It was a central piece in the Nazi German
campaign against tobacco.
The first thing
we note is the title of the study, which translates into ”Tobacco abuse and lung
cancer”. Already in its title the science is suggestive, in pretending that use
of tobacco is an abuse. It seems quite familiar!
Aside from a
lot of anecdotes about experimentation with painting tar and tobacco exctracts
to animal skin, the core of the study is concentrated on 96 ‘diseased’ cases
with suggestive medical histories and 96 ‘healthy’ cases.
The 'cases'
According to
Dr. Müller, the ‘cases’ were gathered at various hospitals, with the ‘friendly’
assistance of the managers. I suppose that anybody not ‘friendly’ to Dr. Müllers
‘investigative’ efforts could have foreseen a visit by the local branch of the
Gestapo (any similarity with current trends is purely coincidential....).
History of each
case was compiled from the medical records of the deceased, no doubt provided by
‘friendly’ family doctors. Smoking history was gathered by questionnaires filled
out by next of kin, typically a spouse. As to the composition of the diseased 96
cases, Dr. Müller states the following:
“Af diese Weise
haben wir folgende 96 Krankheitsfälle zusammengestellt:”
Let us just
pause at the language here. “zusammengestellt” means something like “assembled”,
“put together” or “pieced together”. What I take this to mean is that Dr. Müller
sought out a number of cases that served his purpose and then proceeded to
‘investigate’ what they ‘showed’.
The smokers
The use of
deragoratory terms is rampant throughout the description of smokers. A heavy
smoker is an “Ekstremer Raucher” - an ‘extreme smoker’.
As for the
first smoker in Dr. Müllers list, a pipe smoker that allegedly smoked 750 g of
pipe tobacco a week, and threw in a handful of cigars a day, I dismiss that
completely. That pipe smoker would have smoked 107 g of pipe tobacco a day, plus
the cigars! Cannot be done.
The
‘analysis’
In about 8
pages, Dr. Müller makes an amazing amount of discoveries based on his 96
diseased cases and 96 healthy cases. He discovers that smoking causes lung
cancer, that chromnium causes lung cancer and that lead does not protect against
lung cancer. Perhaps he even discovers something else. I don’t know and I don’t
care. What I smell is that all of the apparant genius that Franz Hermann Müller
displays, is to be found in the fact the he himself planted all of the
discoveries to be made.
Conclusion
The study is
clearly a piece of propaganda, manufactured to suit the whims of the ruling
autocratic nazi elite.
I entirely
dismiss Franz Hermann Müllers case control ‘study’. Let me wrap it up in a
single word:
“zusammengestellt”.
Lessons
Clearly there
are implications that this study is a piece of orchestrated science. Current day
'researchers' frequently refer to it. A prominent name on the list of Franz H.
Müllers admirers is one Richard Doll, the man behind the infamous Doctors Study
on smoking.
Richard Doll
had his eyes focused on Franz H. Müllers case control study from the very
beginning of his studies in smoking and health. In Doll and Hills case control
study of smoking and lung cancer from 1950, Franz H. Müllers study is in the
list of references.
In his final
shot against smoking, the Doctors Study 50 years report, Richard Doll persists
in including Franz H. Müllers case control study as number 2 on his list of
references. One can only speculate as to why Richard Doll would be so fascinated
by this piece of orchestrated science.
Creating
science
It is clear
from the number of claims thrown against ETS that science is being fabricated to
promote hate against tobacco users. While it is fine to critisize the fraudulent
science on its own epidemiological merits, there is potential to further unroll
the junking of science.
The use of
confounders to construct science is evident. In our quest to debunk junk
science, we, as smokers rights activists and citizens might turn to unrolling
the fake science. Surely, with the amount of crap science published today, we
could locate a couple of constructed pieces of science, and make them publicly
known.
Better still,
like guerillas waiting for an ambush opportunity, by learning to unroll
orchestrated science, we might be lucky enough to grab 'researchers' with their
hands in the cookie jar, while the news is still 'hot'. The potential for
counterattack is overwhelming, given the amount of crap that is published.
Considerations
Franz H.
Müllers case control study in smoking and lung cancer from 1939 is a piece of
propaganda, manufacured at the behest of the ruling Nazi autocracy. It was
fabricated in one of the most hideous dictatorships ever seen. The 'smoking
science' left in the smoldering ashes of the Third Reich lingers on today. Like
natives dazzled by glass beads and colored stones, current day do-gooders and
naive citizens let themselves be hypnotized by this Nazi science.
In doing so,
they are ever hastily being consumed by the very ideology that produced it. Do
good 'researchers' have turned themselves into proponants of this hideous
ideology.
We are indeed
in the gravest of danger. We must be prepared for more. We must brace ourselves.
That is the
brutality of the situation.
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