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or can Does coffee cause cancer? Does it prevent cancer? Why are there conflicting opin- ions? In this chapter we explore questions such as these, and consider the different types of evidence needed to make causal claims, such as the claim that drinking coffee will give you cancer.

or can Does coffee cause cancer? Does it prevent cancer? Why are there conflicting opin- ions? In this chapter we explore questions such as these, and consider the different types of evidence needed to make causal claims, such as the claim that drinking coffee will give you cancer.

MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications
MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications
6th Edition
ISBN:9781119256830
Author:Amos Gilat
Publisher:Amos Gilat
Chapter1: Starting With Matlab
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1P
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CASE STUDY Dangerous Habit? I Will your coffee habit give you cancer? A court in California considered whether Californians' morning cup of coffee should include a health warning. In 1986, Californians voted for the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires that products that contain harmful chemicals be labeled as hazardous. Coffee contains a chemical, acrylamide, that, in the official jargon "is known to the State of California to cause can- cer." In 2010, a lawyer sued the coffee industry to force companies to either label their product as hazardous or to remove the chemical from their product. As of the date of publication of this book, the lawsuit continues. Complicating this lawyer's efforts is the fact that recent research suggests that drinking coffee is pos- sibly beneficial to our health and maybe even reduces the risk of cancer. Does coffee cause cancer? Does it prevent cancer? Why are there conflicting opin- ions? In this chapter we explore questions such as these, and consider the different types of evidence needed to make causal claims, such as the claim that drinking coffee will give you cancer.
Transcribed Image Text:CASE STUDY Dangerous Habit? I Will your coffee habit give you cancer? A court in California considered whether Californians' morning cup of coffee should include a health warning. In 1986, Californians voted for the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires that products that contain harmful chemicals be labeled as hazardous. Coffee contains a chemical, acrylamide, that, in the official jargon "is known to the State of California to cause can- cer." In 2010, a lawyer sued the coffee industry to force companies to either label their product as hazardous or to remove the chemical from their product. As of the date of publication of this book, the lawsuit continues. Complicating this lawyer's efforts is the fact that recent research suggests that drinking coffee is pos- sibly beneficial to our health and maybe even reduces the risk of cancer. Does coffee cause cancer? Does it prevent cancer? Why are there conflicting opin- ions? In this chapter we explore questions such as these, and consider the different types of evidence needed to make causal claims, such as the claim that drinking coffee will give you cancer.
CASE STUDY REVISITED Dangerous Habit? Does drinking coffee cause cancer? This question turns out to be difficult to answer. It is true that coffee contains acrylamide, but it is difficult to know if it contains it in large enough quantities to cause harm in humans. Acrylamide is produced by some plant-based foods when they are heated up or cooked. (Not just coffee, but also french fries and potato chips.) Controlled studies carried out on rats and mice did show that ingesting acrylamide through water increased their cancer risk. But controlled stud- ies are not possible or ethical with humans, and according to the American Cancer Society, attempts to find significant differences in cancer rates between those who eat acrylamide-rich diets and those who do not have either failed to find an increased risk or have found mixed results. In 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency run by the World Health Organization (WHO), downgraded the risks of coffee from "probably carcinogenic for humans" to "not classifiable as to its carcinogeneticity to humans." In slightly plainer language, this means that the current evidence does not allow one to conclude that coffee causes cancer in humans. This does not mean that scientists have proved that drinking coffee is safe. As time goes on, we will no doubt learn more about the risks, or lack of risks, of drinking coffee as potential confounding variables are ruled out. Sources: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/acrylamide.html https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/2016/DebunkMyth.php
Transcribed Image Text:CASE STUDY REVISITED Dangerous Habit? Does drinking coffee cause cancer? This question turns out to be difficult to answer. It is true that coffee contains acrylamide, but it is difficult to know if it contains it in large enough quantities to cause harm in humans. Acrylamide is produced by some plant-based foods when they are heated up or cooked. (Not just coffee, but also french fries and potato chips.) Controlled studies carried out on rats and mice did show that ingesting acrylamide through water increased their cancer risk. But controlled stud- ies are not possible or ethical with humans, and according to the American Cancer Society, attempts to find significant differences in cancer rates between those who eat acrylamide-rich diets and those who do not have either failed to find an increased risk or have found mixed results. In 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency run by the World Health Organization (WHO), downgraded the risks of coffee from "probably carcinogenic for humans" to "not classifiable as to its carcinogeneticity to humans." In slightly plainer language, this means that the current evidence does not allow one to conclude that coffee causes cancer in humans. This does not mean that scientists have proved that drinking coffee is safe. As time goes on, we will no doubt learn more about the risks, or lack of risks, of drinking coffee as potential confounding variables are ruled out. Sources: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/acrylamide.html https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/2016/DebunkMyth.php
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