Supporters

Professor Jim Al-Khalili, University of Surrey 

“It has never been more important for society to be properly informed on scientific issues. Ask for evidence so you know the difference between anecdote and scientific fact.”

Dr Kat Arney, Cancer Research UK

 “You should always be asking ‘where is the evidence?’ Is it just one person who’s been treated with this magic, miracle cure and they got better? Or is it hundreds of people that have taken the treatment and it’s been shown to prolong their survival?

Dr Christian Jessen, GP and television presenter

“Asking for evidence is vital to ensure quality control in science, and to stop vulnerable patients from being exploited. Believing without question has no place in science and medicine.”

Mun-Keat Looi, science writer and editor

“We all want proof to help us make decisions. If I asked you to put your money in my business you wouldn't hand over your savings without looking at the fine print. You’d probably ask for the numbers, the hard facts. So why not when it's about your health?”

Tom Sheldon, Senior Press Officer, Science Media Centre

“Just because there is a product on the market doesn’t always mean there is the evidence to back it up. If the manufacturer doesn’t provide the evidence behind a claim, demand it – it’s your health and your money. And if you don't get the answer you need, ask yourself why not.”

Professor Alan Boobis OBE, Imperial College London

“Decisions on issues such as diet, lifestyle and medical care, can profoundly affect you or your family. Do not believe hearsay in the media or elsewhere, but look critically at the evidence in reaching such decisions.”

Dr John McConnell, Editor, The Lancet Infectious Diseases

“If you were asked to reach a judgement in a court case, would you make your decision based on the lawyers’ statement alone, or would you want to first see the evidence presented? Science stories are very similar, in that to reach an informed opinion it’s important to ask for the evidence.”

Professor Dame Bridget Ogilvie, visiting professor, UCL

“After surgery for cancer fourteen years ago, I was advised to have chemotherapy. As I was dubious, I asked the oncologist what the evidence was. He showed me an article about a trial of the chemo proposed, showing a 10% increased life expectancy. I agreed to have the treatment.”

Ian Sample, science correspondent, Guardian:

“Evidence can be a slippery word. It can range from robust research in a scientific journal to unsubstantiated PR fluff. Unless you can sort the good from the bad, the relevant from the irrelevant, you cannot know what information to trust. A central part of my job is to ask for evidence and ask questions of that evidence. I encourage others to do the same.”

Imran Khan, Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering:

 “If our claims aren’t based on evidence, then we can’t expect the Government to take our advice on what to do with taxpayers money seriously. When we tell politicians they need to invest more in science and engineering, we need to show them it’s an evidence-based policy. That’s why, when we were pushing for science to be safeguarded from the public spending cuts last year, we put scientific and economic evidence at the heart of our arguments.”

Professor David Colquhoun, UCL:

“Medicine should be based on evidence whenever it exists. The alternative to evidence-based medicine is myth-based medicine.”

Ruth Francis, Head of Press, Nature Publishing Group

“People with illnesses can be lured by the prospect of a miracle cure, but it’s crucial they ask for evidence before taking their chances. Both of my parents have been treated for cancer and are fully recovered thanks to evidence-based medicine. I’d hate to think that they could have gone down a different path.”

Lord Taverne, Chair, Sense About Science

 “When, during the Enlightenment, evidence gradually became the basis for knowledge of the world, modern science was born, with its infinite benefits for mankind. But belief in mystical explanations of nature continues to flourish. The popularity of alternative medicine is only one example where the argument for drawing on the actual evidence needs to be made more forcefully.”

Stephen Keevil, Reader in Medical Physics, King’s College London

 “Some unscrupulous manufacturers try to use pseudoscientific claims to boost their sales, particularly when it come to healthcare products. It is important that consumers look behind these messages and ask what evidence there is to support them, to avoid being hoodwinked by impressive-sounding language.”

Professor Richard Wiseman, Author, Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire



“Evidence is vital to every aspect of our lives.  Whether it is someone trying to sell you a car, convince you that you need the latest hi-tech gadget, claiming to be psychic, or saying that God exists, people should ask themselves one key question - What's the evidence?”

Professor Michael Baum, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and visiting Professor of Medical Humanities at University College London (UCL). Prominent critic of alternative medicine.

“If I was a suspect charged with a capital offence I would want the best quality of evidence to be submitted to both judge and jury. Yet if you are a patient with a life threatening disease you are in serious danger of being offered treatments in an evidence-free zone. If the public call for evidence was stronger, then politicians and the Government would have to base their decisions on fact, rather than hearsay or party ideology.”

Janis Hickey, Director, British Thyroid Foundation

“There is much misleading information on the web, which may lead some people to think that they can treat their thyroid disorder by, for example, supplementing their medication by changing their diet or buying expensive supplements online, when there is no evidence that these work. It is important to ask questions and to make informed decisions based on the body of evidence and recommendations of your doctor, rather than on speculative claims.”