Public policy dictates the health risks the public routinely takes  Statistical arguments about health risks are used primarily to deflect public fears, while contributing little to policy debate
For example, statistics are cited to imply that wearing a seat belt reduces one' s risk of death in an automobile accident, deflecting attention from the fact that a transportation policy that promotes increasing use of automobiles inherently increases any individual' s risk of death in an automobile accident
Statistics indicate that an individual's risk of contracting cancer from radiation emitted by a nuclear power plant is less than that of contracting cancer from sunshine. These statistics draw attention away from the fact that a policy of energy conservation is safer for human health than a policy based on nuclear energy.