UK Mesothelioma and Asbestos Radio PSA Called “Misleading”

A conflict regarding the total number of cancer patients who could potentially die from mesothelioma attributable to asbestos exposure has prompted the British Advertising Standards Authority to agree with a charge against the country's Health and Safety Executive. The very rare critique of the British government's public health office centered on a group of radio public service announcements titled "Asbestos: The Hidden Killer". These radio spots talk about the perils facing construction workers and contractors who deal with older buildings that use asbestos insulation in walls and pipes.

The agency's efforts to raise awareness of the asbestos problem included a statement that more people die annually from asbestos-related diseases than from traffic accidents. The statement takes as its basis the fact that the total number of death certificates that cited the lung disease mesothelioma, a type of cancer whose main causal agent is known to be long-term exposure to asbestos debris, as well as on calculations of the number of cases of other forms of lung cancer related to asbestos.

Estimates for death figures, especially among construction workers and plumbers, have been on the rise in recent years. The British health agency calculated that roughly twelve thousand patients died of asbestos-related lung diseases from 2004 to 2006. However, a complaint sent to the Advertising Standards Authority stated that the agency spots inflated the risk to contemporary workers as virtually all of the deaths cited had been caused by exposure from many years ago and over a long time period from more hazardous types of the mineral that have been taken off the market in the last decade.

As a result of the complaint, the ASA ruled that the spots could misinform listeners by portraying figures based on estimates as actual fact and, thus, could be considered deceptive. The office was told not to air the spots again.

HSE asbestos program director Steve Coldrick reacted to the decision by saying that the agency was frustrated with the outcome, especially due to the fact that the ruling was evidently based on a sole complaint. He also said that he plans to have the decision reviewed by an independent agency and is hopeful that the ruling will be overturned due to the fact that it was based on what he considers “a technicality.”

Mr. Coldrick also noted that the HSE office did not set out to create a deceptive campaign. He said that the public service announcements have their basis in similar methods that have shaped British policy on the use of asbestos and that the efforts to inform workers on the dangers of asbestos exposure should not be hindered by semantics.

Brendan Barber is the general secretary with Britain’s Trades Union Congress, one of the leading labor organizers in the country. Mr. Barber also stated his disappointment at the ASA’s ruling. He said that the “Hidden Killer” efforts have been among the most effective awareness campaigns put forth by the health office and has the full backing of the nation’s labor unions. He also said that many workers who have had first-hand experience with asbestos contributed their knowledge to the campaign.

Sources: The Guardian, Google hosted news

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