The Power of Scientific Misinformation – Retracting a Scientific Paper

Original Post here:

This week the Journal of the American Heart Association retracted a widely cited study by Stanton Glantz that found vaping to be associated with an increased risk of heart attacks. The retraction of a scientific article is quite unusual as most flawed studies are rejected prior to publication. It should be noted however that there are many scientific papers that have methodological problems that make it through the peer-review process and get published.

In most cases these papers are challenged by other academics following publication in the letter pages of the journal. In fact, this often leads to insightful comments and rebuttals which can make even flawed studies useful additions to the scientific discourse.

Retractions are primarily made because the study results were later found to be fabricated or the methodological flaws were so egregious and the conclusions so distorted that the editors felt obligated to retract it. Such was the case with this particular study.