[Public health and environmental protection. Political, legislative and public aspects]

Environmental and preventive medicine are closely related to each other as well as to politics and public awareness. To illustrate this, the example air pollution and the evolution of knowledge thereon are outlined and compared to four other environmental hazards: cigarette smoking, lead, asbestos and electromagnetic fields. The role of the media, of scientists, industry, legislation, and the courts in relation to each of the five hazards are assessed in a table.