Kat makes a good point, in that if it's at all possible to get this woman to see reason, Trailer...to get her to critically examine why she believes what she believes...then perhaps you can turn this situation around.
Assuming that she's intractable though, we have a problem.
I do not for one minute believe it is acceptable - at all - for our government-employed health "specialists" to have less expertise than a potato. Or embrace demonstrably harmful misinformation. Or refuse to critically examine such misinformation, or even look at the basic facts that objectively disprove it.
Barring a prompt turnaround, this woman is not qualified to work that job anymore. She is a danger to public health. People assume a smoking-cessation specialist, hired by the government to a position of authority & responsibility, has competent & up-to-date knowledge. That's not an unusual standard. Unqualified people have no business working in our health care system. Her obvious lack of competent & up-to-date knowledge, while claiming to have such...essentially constitutes fraud. I know that sounds harsh - but that's what it is!
Either is she is totally incompetent (i.e. not at an expert at all, and willfully lacking basic, crucial, relevant knowledge to top it off) - or, she is deliberately providing fraudulent information to smokers, in her capacity as a government employee. With a clear financial benefit to herself as the result.
Either way - in her position of trust & authority, her misinformation can & likely will directly result in deaths. This is preventable; this is atrocious.
This is so basic. Why are we standing by & meekly allowing liars & idiots to go unchallenged? Why do we react with surprise when we do nothing - and nothing changes for the better? The next time a healthcare worker tells you that we don't know what's in e-cig vapour, challenge them. We do know. Ask them to call Dr. Michael Siegel of the University of Boston. It's been conclusively proven to death! Lies have only the power that we allow them to have. We must challenge them, or they prevail. If we'd effectively use facts to challenge b.s. when we encounter it - we might actually see the tiniest bit of good come from it.
Our tax dollars are meant to hire qualified, educated, honest people to these healthcare positions. Not quacks with an obvious conflict-of-interest, who either lie or spout easily-disproven quackery. Who angrily refuse to admit that water is wet...even when it's pouring rain on their heads.
Maybe this woman is just misguided; maybe, as Kat suggested, she's just read some incorrect bulletin somewhere. But remember, she's passing herself off as an expert. If she's such an expert, why is her knowledge so lacking? She's accountable on that score! If she really doesn't know what she's talking about, because all she read was the headline from some blurb or bulletin etc...she should admit it, as follows:
"I'm really not qualified to comment on e-cigs; I'm not up to date on them or the details about them. My expertise doesn't cover them." She didn't do that though.
Her present ignorance is not the problem. It's the fact that she's willfully clinging to her ignorance. She actually got angry when you challenged her misinformation. She completely dismissed the fact that you were now smoke-free! Clearly she doesn't want to see the truth. And that's the most dangerous kind of mindset out there.
Assuming that she's intractable though, we have a problem.
---
I do not for one minute believe it is acceptable - at all - for our government-employed health "specialists" to have less expertise than a potato. Or embrace demonstrably harmful misinformation. Or refuse to critically examine such misinformation, or even look at the basic facts that objectively disprove it.
Barring a prompt turnaround, this woman is not qualified to work that job anymore. She is a danger to public health. People assume a smoking-cessation specialist, hired by the government to a position of authority & responsibility, has competent & up-to-date knowledge. That's not an unusual standard. Unqualified people have no business working in our health care system. Her obvious lack of competent & up-to-date knowledge, while claiming to have such...essentially constitutes fraud. I know that sounds harsh - but that's what it is!
Either is she is totally incompetent (i.e. not at an expert at all, and willfully lacking basic, crucial, relevant knowledge to top it off) - or, she is deliberately providing fraudulent information to smokers, in her capacity as a government employee. With a clear financial benefit to herself as the result.
Either way - in her position of trust & authority, her misinformation can & likely will directly result in deaths. This is preventable; this is atrocious.
This is so basic. Why are we standing by & meekly allowing liars & idiots to go unchallenged? Why do we react with surprise when we do nothing - and nothing changes for the better? The next time a healthcare worker tells you that we don't know what's in e-cig vapour, challenge them. We do know. Ask them to call Dr. Michael Siegel of the University of Boston. It's been conclusively proven to death! Lies have only the power that we allow them to have. We must challenge them, or they prevail. If we'd effectively use facts to challenge b.s. when we encounter it - we might actually see the tiniest bit of good come from it.
Our tax dollars are meant to hire qualified, educated, honest people to these healthcare positions. Not quacks with an obvious conflict-of-interest, who either lie or spout easily-disproven quackery. Who angrily refuse to admit that water is wet...even when it's pouring rain on their heads.
---
Maybe this woman is just misguided; maybe, as Kat suggested, she's just read some incorrect bulletin somewhere. But remember, she's passing herself off as an expert. If she's such an expert, why is her knowledge so lacking? She's accountable on that score! If she really doesn't know what she's talking about, because all she read was the headline from some blurb or bulletin etc...she should admit it, as follows:
"I'm really not qualified to comment on e-cigs; I'm not up to date on them or the details about them. My expertise doesn't cover them." She didn't do that though.
Her present ignorance is not the problem. It's the fact that she's willfully clinging to her ignorance. She actually got angry when you challenged her misinformation. She completely dismissed the fact that you were now smoke-free! Clearly she doesn't want to see the truth. And that's the most dangerous kind of mindset out there.
