Dr Aric Sigman has made the following statement in response to the questions about his credibility:
Some of the questions below imply that I am either not particularly qualified or that my background, along with my motives regarding children and alcohol, are in some way questionable. So to make it clear, I do health education for children in schools as part of the PSHE curriculum. My focus is on preventing health problems in children. I am not a clinician who cures existing diseases. I have been involved in health education for over 20 years and with the successive births of my four children, I have taken an increasing interest in child health and wellbeing.
My qualifications are a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Psychology, a Masters of Science degree in the Neurophysiological Basis of Behaviour and a PHD, not in hypnosis, but in the roles of attention in controlling human heart rate through the use of hypnosis and biofeedback. I gather that by saying Sigman?s ?got a PHD in hypnosis? it is hoped to make mumsnet members view me as some sort of elevated stage hypnotist. While the reality is I spent years in a windowless laboratory with polygraphs, heart rate monitors and signal detection equipment... a far cry from ?Your eyes are feeling heavy. Now you can lose weight and give up smoking.?
I am a Fellow of the Society of Biology, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. The Science Council has conferred Chartered Scientist status on me. These are not professional qualifications but it is unlikely that these organisations would admit and tolerate members who are either ill-qualified or bring the professions into disrepute.
Regarding me deviously misappropriating research on alcohol and children with bad intentions in order to sell books, it?s important I point out two things.
The first is that both the US and UK health authorities have very clear positions on the effects of alcohol on adolescents.
US Department of Health:
?The short- and long-term consequences that arise from underage [under the age of 21] alcohol consumption are astonishing in their range and magnitude ? Underage drinking can cause alterations in the structure and function of the developing brain, which continues to mature into the mid- to late twenties, and may have consequences reaching far beyond adolescence.?
Department of Health and Chief Medical Officer for England, United Kingdom?s Chief Medical Adviser:
?Our guidance makes it clear that an alcohol-free childhood [under 18] is the healthiest option.?
A large proportion of parents and teachers are simply unaware of these positions, and if they are, they may not understand what underlies their reasoning. My book is intended to help parents and teachers to understand what has led to these position statements and what the best way of protecting our children from the effects of our drinking culture might be.
The second point: regarding me making profits by selling books, if only this were true! Authors like me actually lose money and do not expect to make a profit from selling books of this type. If any of you look at the bestseller list, you?ll see that only a fool would write a health education book with dollar signs in mind. The amount of time and the cost to the author of producing a book like this does not make it a viable method of being a good capitalist. If every one of you in this Q & A bought a copy of Alcohol Nation I would end up with a total of about £5.82 ? less than half the price of a Chinese takeaway. I?ve never blogged, I don?t have a blog, I?ve never used Twitter or Facebook ? I simply don?t have the time, but if I wanted to make money and sell books or ?raise my profile?, I?m told I?m a fool for not doing all of these things as a form of ?viral marketing and promotion?.
On a general note, the way that I arrive at a course of action for any area of health education is of course by looking at empirical research but often ?the data? is not a sufficient basis upon which to make decisions to protect our children?s health. So I try to reconcile the data with other sources of information, in particular I travel to many very remote and disparate cultures, including North Korea, Republic of Congo, Bhutan, Timbuktu, Borneo, Tonga, Burma, West Papua, Laos, Iran, Vietnam, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Far Eastern Siberia, Sumatra, South Korea, Cambodia and others, where I speak to doctors, nurses and teachers, and occasionally teach at local schools. All of which is very informative regarding universal themes of child health and wellbeing. And I cannot ignore the experiences I have with my own children, their friends and the many children I teach every week.
My beliefs are based on a combination of all of the above and I try to adhere to the ancient medical imperative ?first do no harm?. In short, when it comes to children?s health and wellbeing, it should always be the principal of precaution. Better safe than sorry.
I can?t possibly imagine how writing about my concern for the effects of alcohol on children can be seen as in some way wily, canny, exploitative or harbouring any form of mal-intent. This isn?t quite the same as selling snake oil or health food supplements.
Now let?s get on with the business of discussing children and alcohol?
You can read the full transcribed Q&A here
Dr Aric Sigman Q&A