John Cannell

John Jacob Cannell(born June 21, 1948) is an American doctor. An anti-smoking activist, Cannell was featured in theNew York Timesin the 1980s for turning away smokers from his clinic inWest Virginia.Cannell founded a nonprofit group to address perceived problems with educational testing. Cannell has described several hypotheses regarding the health benefits ofVitamin Dand is the founder of the Vitamin D Council.

John Jacob Cannell
Born	(1948-06-21)June 21, 1948 United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Maryland, College Park(B.S. in Zoology),University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine(M.D.)
Occupation(s)	Physician, psychiatrist, non-profit founder
Organizations	Vitamin D Council,Friends for Education
Known for	Anti-smoking activism, educational reform efforts, Vitamin D health hypotheses
Notable work	Research on educational testing discrepancies, advocacy on Vitamin D health benefits
Father	Skipwith Cannell(Imagist poet)

Background

Cannell is the son of the late imagist poetSkipwith Cannell.In 1972, he graduated from theUniversity of Maryland, College Parkwith a degree in Zoology. He attendedmedical schoolat theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hilland graduated in 1976.He is a member of theAmerican Medical Associationand became a board-certified psychiatrist in 1993.

Anti-smoking stance

In 1988,The New York Timesreported that Cannell, a doctor inBeaver, West Virginia,had taken a "novel stand" against smoking.In local advertisements, Cannell pledged to turn away from his clinic patients who were smokers. He granted an exception to those needing emergency care. Cannell's stance received praise from some medical colleagues, while others criticised his approach as fraught with potential ethical problems.

Educational reform efforts

Cannell, noticing discrepancies between his young patients' performance in school and their grade level, formed the nonprofitFriends for Educationto study the reported test score rankings of poverty-stricken states such as Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky. Cannell found that all were reportedly "above the national average." Cannell extended the results to all 50 states, each of which was said to be above average. Cannell's findings prompted wider study of the issue and were reported in the national press including theNew York Times,NBC Newsand theWall Street Journal.

Friends for Education filed sexual discrimination complaints against Raleigh County and the West Virginia State Department of Education, claiming women held 80% of the low paying teaching jobs, but men held 80% of the higher paying administrative positions.

Friends for Education also advertised a "Dirtiest Public School in West Virginia Contest," the winner of which would receive $100.00 worth of mops, brooms, and soap from Friends for Education.

The Vitamin D Council

Cannell has hypothesised that Vitamin D deficiencies may predispose to influenza. In the controversial and non-peer-reviewed journalMedical Hypotheses,Cannell also suggested a tie to autism.He founded the Vitamin D Council as a tax exempt, nonprofit,501(c)(e) corporation and is its executive director.

Bibliography

• Cannell, J.; Vieth, R.; Umhau, J.; Holick, M.; Grant, W.; Madronich, S.; Garland, C.; Giovannucci, E. (2006)."Epidemic influenza and vitamin D".Epidemiology and Infection.134(6): 1129–1140.doi:10.1017/S0950268806007175.PMC2870528.PMID16959053.
• Cannell, J. (2008). "Autism and vitamin D".Medical Hypotheses.70(4): 750–759.doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2007.08.016.PMID17920208.
• Grant, W.; Cannell, J. (2010). "Pregnant women are at increased risk for severe a influenza because they have low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels".Critical Care Medicine.38(9): 1921, author reply 1921–2.doi:10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181e28603.PMID20724898.
• Evatt, M.; Delong, M.; Grant, W.; Cannell, J.; Tangpricha, V. (2009). "Autism spectrum disorders following in utero exposure to antiepileptic drugs".Neurology.73(12): 997.doi:10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181af0b95.PMID19770480.S2CID207115638.
• Cannell, J. J. (2010)."On the aetiology of autism".Acta Paediatrica.99(8): 1128–1130.doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.01883.x.PMC2913107.PMID20491697.
• Cannell, J.; Zasloff, M.; Garland, C.; Scragg, R.; Giovannucci, E. (2009)."On the epidemiology of influenza: reply to Radonovich et al".Virology Journal.6:121.doi:10.1186/1743-422X-6-121.PMC2729747.PMID19671177.
• Cannell, J. J.; Hollis, B. W.; Sorenson, M. B.; Taft, T. N.; Anderson, J. J. B. (2009)."Athletic Performance and Vitamin D".Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.41(5): 1102–10.doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181930c2b.PMID19346976.
• Cannell, J. J.; Vieth, R.; Willett, W.; Zasloff, M.; Hathcock, J. N.; White, J. H.; Tanumihardjo, S. A.; Larson-Meyer, D. E.; Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A.; Lamberg-Allardt, C. J.; Lappe, J. M.; Norman, A. W.; Zittermann, A.; Whiting, S. J.; Grant, W. B.; Hollis, B. W.; Giovannucci, E. (2008). "Cod liver oil, vitamin a toxicity, frequent respiratory infections, and the vitamin D deficiency epidemic".The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology.117(11): 864–870.doi:10.1177/000348940811701112.PMID19102134.S2CID31269560.
• Cannell, J. (2008)."Discovering the obvious, damaging the defenseless".Nutrition Research.28(11): 809–10.doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2008.09.008.PMC2598748.PMID19083492.
• Cannell, JJ; Hollis, BW (2008). "Use of vitamin D in clinical practice".Alternative Medicine Review.13(1): 6–20.PMID18377099.
• Cannell, J. J.; Zasloff, M.; Garland, C. F.; Scragg, R.; Giovannucci, E. (2008)."On the epidemiology of influenza".Virology Journal.5:29.doi:10.1186/1743-422X-5-29.PMC2279112.PMID18298852.
• Cannell, J.; Hollis, B.; Zasloff, M.; Heaney, R. (2008). "Diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency".Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy.9(1): 107–118.doi:10.1517/14656566.9.1.107.PMID18076342.S2CID18737820.
  • Cannell, J.; Hudson, J. I.; Pope Jr, H. G. (2001). "Standards for informed consent in recovered memory therapy".The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.29(2): 138–147.PMID11471779.
• Cannell, J. J. (1987)."Nationally Normed Elementary Achievement Testing in America's Public Schools: How All Fifty States are Above the National Average".Nonpartisan Education Review.13(1): 1–17.
• Cannell, J. J. (1989)."How Public Educators Cheat on Standardized Achievement Tests: The" Lake Wobegon "Report"(PDF).Nonpartisan Education Review.13(2): 1–125.
• Cannell, J. J. (2005).""Lake Woebegone," Twenty Years Later ".Nonpartisan Education Review.2(1): 1–14.

External links

• Vitamin D Council
• A Tribute to John J. Cannell, M.D.
• The Source of Lake Wobegon
• Point-Counterpoint: The Lake Wobegon Effect Twenty Years Later