Sue, 49, has read in a newspaper that vitamin C causes cancer. She takes a multivitamin supplement containing the RDA of vitamin C as general 'health insurance' because she says her diet is not always as good as could it be. Sue wants to know if she should stop taking the multivitamin supplement. Think about:

• The questions you would ask Sue
• How you would find details of the newspaper report; it could be in several newspapers. Is it reliable?
• How could you find details of the original research? For instance, it should be possible to find an abstract of a journal report online
• If you can get hold of the original research, discuss with your team and pharmacist questions such as: Was the study done in humans or animals? How many people were in the study? Was there a control group? Who paid for the study?
• Does the newspaper headline reflect the research? Remember, editors may alter headlines to draw readers' attention to a story.