I really appreciate the comments that were posted in response to my post on bad science.
They were well-argued, extremely articulate and I agreed with many of the points that were made.
However, having wrestled with this for several days, I have decided not to publish them because (without exception!) they made allegations that, legally, might be hard to defend and it was impossible to edit them without mangling the entire comment beyond all recognition.
When deciding what to publish on this blog I always go back to my days in print journalism when no reputable newspaper or magazine would dream of publishing some of the comments or allegations that are frequently found online without the approval of a lawyer, and I am not in a position to seek legal advice.
I know this blog has a small readership but I also know it is occasionally read and monitored by people within the tobacco control industry and I would prefer not to give them the opportunity to sue me!
Some will judge this unnecessarily conservative (or, worse, censorship) but as a student editing a student newspaper I was once sued for defamation. I learned a lot from the experience and have been very careful ever since.
So, apologies to those whose comments I have not published. Most made some valid points but – irrespective of the fact that similar claims may have been published elsewhere – several comments were potentially libellous (even if true!) and although the risk of legal action may be very very small, I'm not prepared to take that risk.
Sorry!