Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

1. Please can you provide me with the ‘strong scientific evidence’ of nocebo effects or nocebo responses leading to sometimes severely disabling illnesses from environmental exposures that are perceived as hazardous, as stated by the Committee on Toxicity in their Position Paper on Cabin Air?
(I have asked the Committee of Toxicity for this information but they do not have it.)
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‘While there is strong scientific evidence that nocebo effects can lead to (sometimes severely disabling) illness from environmental exposures that are perceived as hazardous there is no simple and reliable way of establishing that nocebo responses are responsible for individual cases of illness. However, they are a plausible alternative explanation if toxicity seems unlikely.
https://cot.food.gov.uk/sites/default/fi...

2. Please can you advise what illnesses are known to be caused by a nocebo effect or nocebo response?

3. Please can you explain how toxicity is determined/confirmed within NHS hospitals immediately following exposures to hazardous chemicals in aerosol or gas form onboard aircraft, and provide me with the information held on the subject by Accident and Emergency Departments within the U.K.?
(I am already aware of the CAA/NHS Care Pathway which does not address this issue.)

Yours faithfully,

Trudie Dadd

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Thank you for your reply to my request.
I do not believe the UKHSA or Department for Transport will be able to answer as they are not responsible for healthcare or the NHS. My understanding is that the DHSC is responsible for health and social care in the UK and my request was not concerning health security or transport.
As you cannot provide the information I have requested, please can you instead, provide me with the current NHS definition of Nocebo Effect or Nocebo Response?

Yours faithfully,

Trudie Dadd