[Application of the principle of precaution to medicine]

The principle of precaution prescribes taking immediate action to avoid serious damage, rather than waiting for proof of the danger. It was extended to medical field, without taking account of the specificity of medicine, as well in individual medicine as in public health. Radical application of this concept could lead to serious repercussions. After analysis, it will considered as an expression of the historical confrontation between the science and the public opinion.