PubMed · 462385
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
H Cerutti. 1979. [Cancer as a geographic problem].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/462385/
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The programs of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which operates under a broad mandate of regulatory authority provided by the Congress in the form of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, demonstrate the way in which science and law interact to protect public health through the regulatory process. In particular, sections 402, 406, and 409 of the Act provide the means for regulating both new and old food products approved for use by the petition process as well as foods which present a potential hazard because of environmental accidents which result in residues of undesirable or dangerous chemical substances. The episodes of foods contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and the manner in which action levels or guidelines were developed to regulate the allowable levels of these chemicals in foods, describe the pragmatic way in which FDA protects public health by restricting the allowable levels of chemical substances in foods.
This study examined information seeking as a potentially adaptive response to a new environmental health threat. College students in a state with a particularly high cancer rate were offered an opportunity to obtain either a reassuring or a threatening informational message concerning the cancer rate. Interview were later conducted with students who had and had not requested a message (N = 502). The results suggested that unconcern rather than defensiveness was the principal reason for not seeking information. Although a majority of both information seekers and nonseekers preferred the threatening message, the choice of message did depend on an individual's beliefs concerning the seriousness of the cancer threat. Most respondents selected the message which supported their own view of the issue. A preliminary model proposed to explain the data emphasized the ambiguity and controversy surrounding most environmental and health warnings.