A child is for life, not just for Christmas | Brief letters

Regular breast checks | Populism | Bergamot | Hungry children | ‘Non-essential’ period products

Your article (Almost half of British women do not self-examine for breast cancer, 26 October) implies that women are doing themselves a disservice. It is widely accepted by authoritative sources such as the World Health Organization and the Cochrane Collaboration that regular self-examination does not prolong lives. Perhaps your headline should have read: “Over half of British women persist with breast self-examination despite no evidence of benefit.”
Dr Sarah Wookey
Oxford

• The YouGov poll on populism included the statement “the power of a few special interests prevents our country from making progress” (European support for populist beliefs falls, YouGov survey suggests, 26 October). Why should agreement with this statement imply populist tendencies? It is compatible with traditions like socialism and leftwing elite theory, neither of which is populist.
Michael Cunningham
Wolverhampton

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HviA2Z