regulation
The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with NHS England, the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to collaborate where there is suspected criminal activity on the part of a GCC member in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making.
I find this interesting and most laudable!
But I also have seven questions, e.g.:
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if a chiropractor explains that the patient’s problem is caused by a subluxation of the spine, an entity that does not even exist? Apparently this happens every day.
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if a chiropractor treats a patient without prior informed consent? Apparently, this happens regularly.
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if a chiropractor fails to warn a patient that his/her manipulations can cause harm and even put him/her in a wheelchair? Apparently this (the lack of warning) happens all the time, and some chiropractors even insist that their manipulations are entirely safe.
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if a chiropractor claims that spinal manipulations are effective for curing the patient’s problem, while the evidence does not support the claim? Apparently this happens more often than not.
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if a chiropractor persuades a patient to have expensive long-term maintenance therapy for preventing health problems, while the evidence for that appoach is less than convincing? Apparently this happens rather frequently.
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if the chiropractor issues advice that is both outside his/her competence and detrimental to the health of the patient (for instance, advising parents not to vaccinate their kids)? Apparently this happens a lot.
- Does it amount to criminal activity in relation to the provision of clinical care or care decision-making, if a chiropractor advises a patient not to do what a real doctor told him/her to do? Apparently this is far from a rare occurance.
I would be most grateful, if the GCC would take the time to answer the above questions.
Many thanks in advaance.
It is already 7 years ago that I listed several ‘official verdicts on homeopathy‘, i.e. conclusions drawn by independent, reputable bodies evaluationg the evidence for or against homeopathy:
“The principles of homeopathy contradict known chemical, physical and biological laws and persuasive scientific trials proving its effectiveness are not available”
Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
“Homeopathy should not be used to treat health conditions that are chronic, serious, or could become serious. People who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness.”
National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia
“These products are not supported by scientific evidence.”
Health Canada, Canada
“Homeopathic remedies don’t meet the criteria of evidence based medicine.”
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
“The incorporation of anthroposophical and homeopathic products in the Swedish directive on medicinal products would run counter to several of the fundamental principles regarding medicinal products and evidence-based medicine.”
Swedish Academy of Sciences, Sweden
“We recommend parents and caregivers not give homeopathic teething tablets and gels to children and seek advice from their health care professional for safe alternatives.”
Food and Drug Administration, USA
“There is little evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment for any specific condition”
National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health, USA
“There is no good-quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment for any health condition”
National Health Service, UK
“Homeopathic remedies perform no better than placebos, and that the principles on which homeopathy is based are “scientifically implausible””
House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, UK
Since then, there have been many more statements from similar organisations (does someone know of a complete list? if so, please let me know). One such statement is from French veterinarians: Avis 2021- 3 sur l’Homéopathie vétérinaire. Aloow me to translate the crucial passages for you:
Opinion 2021- 3 on Veterinary Homeopathy. The Report of a Working Group on Veterinary Homeopathy, an Opinion on Veterinary Homeopathy adopted in the academic session on May 6, 2021. The report ecommends that :
no medical discipline or practice claiming to be a medical discipline should be exempt from the ethical duty of testing its claims;
in this respect, clinical studies on the individual, reconciling scientific rigor and practical constraints, be explored, and in particular the N of 1 trials described in human medicine;
veterinary medicine be defined as evidence-based medicine, and not as allopathic medicine;
it is reaffirmed that veterinary medicine must above all be holistic, and that consequently the label of holistic veterinary medicine cannot be monopolized by particular practices;
homeopathy in veterinary medicine, as in human medicine, is not currently recognized nor can it be claimed as an exclusive veterinary medical activity;
institutional communication provides ongoing information on the scientific approach, evidence-based medicine and complementary medicine, tailored respectively to veterinarians, the general public and, in particular, animal keepers;
veterinary surgeons who, in the absence of recognized scientific proof of the efficacy of homeopathy in particular, wish to pursue this activity, particularly as a complementary medicine, should be fully aware of their increased responsibilities due to the current lack of scientific confirmation of efficacy;
it is possible to use homeopathic preparations, insofar as the medical decision to use a complementary and non-alternative therapy systematically requires informed consent, and does not result in a loss of opportunity by delaying the diagnostic procedure and/or the establishment of a recognized effective treatment;
that, in order to provide the information needed to obtain informed consent, a prescription for a homeopathic preparation should be accompanied, on any suitable medium, by a statement to the effect that, in the current state of knowledge, veterinary homeopathy has a contextual effect;
that the term “homeopathic medicine” be eventually replaced by “homeopathic preparation” in national and European legislation, that labelling state that “the efficacy of the preparation has not been demonstrated in accordance with current standards”, and that homeopathic preparations cannot claim the properties of vaccines or replace them, without incurring criminal sanctions;
in veterinary medicine, no university diploma in homeopathy be awarded by schools and other public establishments, and that training in homeopathy only take place within the framework of training that takes into account the realities of the scientific approach;
as part of their initial training, veterinary schools are places for debate and training in critical thinking, by offering interdisciplinary seminars on non-conventional approaches;
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So, the next time someone claims “homeopathy has been proven to work in animals”, let’s show them what the experts think of this notion.
Homeopathy is ‘First-Line-Medicine’ – at least this is what a German pro-homeopathy website recently proclaimed. The notion, it informs us, is based on EU law.
But is that true?
Does the ‘Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council on organic production (…)’ really recommend homeopathy for treating animals?
This is what the EU law states (my translation from a German original):
‘Diseases shall be treated immediately to avoid animal suffering; chemically-synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products, including antibiotics, may be administered, if necessary, under strict conditions and under the responsibility of a veterinarian, when treatment with phytotherapeutic, homeopathic and other remedies is inappropriate … phytotherapeutic and homeopathic preparations are preferable to chemically synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products, including antibiotics, provided that their therapeutic effect is guaranteed for the species concerned and the disease to be treated’.
Let’s analyse the text and find out what it really means. It states that:
- Vets should treat suffering animal without delay.
- They should use conventional therapies when homeopathy is inappropriate.
- Homeopathics are preferable, if their therapeutic effect is guaranteed for the species concerned and the disease to be treated.
So, homeopathy is recommended under two important and well-defined conditions:
- They have to be appropriate.
- They have to be proven to be effective.
It is amply clear that homeopathy has not been proven to be effective in any condition that afflicts animals. As this is so, homeopathics are evidently inappropriate.
But why, does the EU make it so complicated?
I don’t know the answer to this question but suspect that there was plenty of lobbying going on, and they had to find a phraseology that apeases the homeopaths and their industry.
Being a dedicated crook and a liar himself, Donald Trump has long had an inclination to surround himself with crooks and liars. As discussed repeatedly, this preferance naturally extends into the realm of healthcare, Some time ago, he sought the advice of Andrew Wakefield, the man who published the fraudulent research that started the myth about a causal link between MMR-vaccinations and autism.
Early November this year, Trump stated that, if he wins the election, he’ll “make a decision” about whether to outlaw some vaccines based on the recommendation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious vaccine critic without any medical training. The president doesn’t have authority to ban vaccines but he can influence public health with appointments to federal agencies that can change recommendations or potentially revoke approvals.
Now that he did win the election, Trump suggested that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to run Health and Human Services, will investigate supposed links between autism and childhood vaccines, a discredited connection that has eroded trust in the lifesaving inoculations.
“I think somebody has to find out,” Trump said in an exclusive interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. Welker noted in a back-and-forth that studies have shown childhood vaccines prevent about 4 million deaths worldwide every year, have found no connection between vaccines and autism, and that rises in autism diagnoses are attributable to increased screening and awareness.
Trump, too stupid to know the difference between correlation and causation, replied: “If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.” “Something is going on,” Trump added. “I don’t know if it’s vaccines. Maybe it’s chlorine in the water, right? You know, people are looking at a lot of different things.” It was unclear whether Trump was referring to opposition by Kennedy and others to fluoride being added to drinking water.
Kennedy, the onetime independent presidential candidate who backed Trump after leaving the race, generated a large following through his widespread skepticism of the American health care and food system. A major component of that has been his false claims linking autism to childhood vaccinations. Kennedy is the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine activist group, Children’s Health Defense. The agency Trump has tasked him with running supports and funds research into autism, as well as possible new vaccines.
The debunked link between autism and childhood vaccines, particularly the inoculation against mumps, measles and rubella, was first claimed in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield who was later banned from practicing medicine in the UK. His research was found to be fraudulent and was subsequently retracted. Hundreds of studies have found childhood vaccines to be safe.
Autism diagnoses have risen from about 1 in 150 children in 2000 to 1 in 36 today. This rise has been shown to be due to increased screening and changing definitions of the condition. Strong genetic links exist to autism, and many risk factors occurring before birth or during delivery have been identified.
If Trump does, in fact, ‘outlaw’ certain vaccinations, he would endanger the health of the US as well as the rest of the world. Will he really be that stupid?
Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz, a celebrity physician known for his US television show, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Some 20 years ago, I had the pleasure to briefly meet Oz at a conference. I can honestly say that I rarely met anyone who was – in my view – oozing that much quackery as he was. Oz’s nomination has sparked (not just my but) widespread disbelief, mainly due to Oz’s long history of irresponsibly promoting even the worst forms of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) for his own fame and fortune.
After being nominated, Oz posted a comment on X: “I am honored to be nominated by @realDonaldTrump to lead CMS. I look forward to serving my country to Make America Healthy Again under the leadership of HHS Secretary @RobertKennedyJr“
Personally, I am beginning to find Trump’s recent appointments too tiresome and ridiculous for further detailed comments. They seem to me like a deliberate provocation and an indication of the systematic destruction that Trump has in mind for his second term in office.
Instead of a comment, let me therefore show you some of the comments on the appointment that have appeared on X.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr @RobertKennedyJr Very excited that my friend @DrOz has agreed to run CMS. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for this outstanding nomination. Welcome Dr. Oz to The Avengers. Let’s Make America Healthy Again!
- Elizabeth Warren @SenWarren Running Medicare and Medicaid for over 100 million Americans isn’t like hosting a daytime talk show. Dr. Oz is another rich guy who doesn’t care if your health care costs go up or an insurance company denies you coverage. These decisions have life and death consequences.
- Billboard Chris @BillboardChris Dr. Oz has been appointed to head Medicare and Medicaid. He needs to come out and publicly disavow this abhorrent garbage he pushed on his show about ‘transgender children.
- Michael Steele @MichaelSteele Robert F. Kennedy at HHS; now Dr. Mehmet Oz to run Medicare and Medicaid. And Republicans want to cut the social safety net to pay for renewing Trump’s tax cuts. Reality TV personalities for a Reality TV administration. Unfortunately, we live in a world where diseases are real, people are poor and reality hits many of us hard every day
- The Resistor Sister @the_resistor More like The Apprentice Administration NONE of them are qualified.
- seanmack @seanmack1025 When does Dr Doolittle get a job. I bet doctor Phil feels left out.
- Peter Morley @morethanmySLE Donald Trump’s CMS pick Dr. Mehmet Oz suggested in 2020 Lupus patients were IMMUNE to COVID if we took Hydroxychloroquine. FACT: I have Lupus & have been on this since medication since 2014 & I had Covid 3x. This man should NOT be overseeing Medicare & Medicaid!
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The bon mot that describes the situation best: If you put a clown in a palace, the clown does not become a king, but the palace turns into a circus.
While medical experts across the world have expressed dismay at Trump’s appointment of Robert Kennedy, the ‘International chiropractors Association’ has just published this remarkable note:
Donald J. Trump made it official that he was nominating Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Secretary-designee Kennedy has spent his entire career championing the health of the nation through education, advocacy, research and when needed litigation.
Among his many accomplishments are protecting the environment with Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council His work at Riverkeeper succeeded in setting long-term environmental legal standards. Kennedy won legal battles against large corporate polluters. He became an adjunct professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986 and founded the Pace’s Environmental Litigation Clinic which he co-directed for a decade.
It would be in the Pace Law Review that the landmark paper, “Unanswered Questions from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: A Review of Compensated Cases of Vaccine-Induced Brain Injury” (https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1681&context=pelr) would be published in 2011.
Kennedy became laser focused on the autism epidemic while giving lectures on the dangers of mercury in fish, he was repeatedly approached by the mothers of children born healthy who regressed into autism after suffering adverse reactions from childhood vaccines, including their concern about the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, being used in vaccines including the Hepatitis B vaccine given at birth. Kennedy’s approach to the issue was the same as it always, looking at the science. He assembled a team who gathered all the science and reviewed the issues with him. This resulted in the publication of the book, Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak
The Evidence Supporting the Immediate Removal of Mercury—a Known Neurotoxin—from Vaccines.
After establishing and leading the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, last year Kennedy stepped back from the organization to throw his hat in the ring to be President. Becoming the embodiment of his uncle John F. Kennedy’s famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!”, Kennedy reached out to President Trump to form an alliance to focus on the crisis of chronic disease in the United States, and suspended his campaign to focus on the Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) Initiative.
ICA President, Dr. Selina Sigafoose Jackson, who is currently in Brazil promoting the protection of chiropractic as a separate and distinct profession stated, “Many ICA members have been supporters of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s philanthropic activities and are all in on the MAHA Initiative. The Mission, Vision, and Values of the ICA align with the stated goals of the MAHA Initiative. We stand ready to provide policy proposals and experts to serve as advisors to the incoming Administration and to Secretary Kennedy upon his swearing in.”
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Perhaps I am permitted to contrast this with some health-related truths about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (my apologies, if the list is incomplete – please add to it by posting further important issues):
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has, since about 20 years, been a leading figure of the anti-vaccine movement.
- During the epidemic, he pushed the conspiracy theory that “the quarantine” was used as cover to install 5G cell phone networks.
- He claimed that “one out of every six American women has so much mercury in her womb that her children are at risk for a grim inventory of diseases, including autism, blindness, mental retardation and heart, liver and kidney disease.”
- He wrote that, “while people were dying at the rate of 10,000 patients a week, Dr. Fauci declared that hydroxychloroquine should only be used as part of a clinical trial. For the first time in American history, a government official was overruling the medical judgment of thousands of treating physicians, and ordering doctors to stop practicing medicine as they saw fit.”
- He pushed the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 had been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.”
- He claimed in a 2023 podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective”.
- In a 2021 podcast, he urged people to “resist” CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.
- He founded Children’s Health Defense’ that spreads fear and mistrust in science. One chiropractic group in California had donated $500,000 to this organisation.
- In 2019, he visited Samoa where he became partly responsible for an outbreak of measles, which made 5,700 people sick and killed 83 of them.
- He called mercury-containing vaccines aimed at children a holocaust. In 2015, he compared the horrors committed against Jews to the effects of vaccines on children. “They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone. This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”
- He repeatedly alleged that exposure to chemicals — “endocrine disruptors” — is causing gender dysphoria in children and contributing to a rise in LGBTQ-youth. According to him, endocrine disruptors are “chemicals that interfere with the body’s hormones and are commonly found in pesticides and plastic.”
- He stated “Telling people to “trust the experts” is either naive or manipulative—or both.”
- He plans to stop water fluoridation.
- He slammed the FDA’s “suppression” of raw milk.
- He said that a worm ate part of his brain which led to long-lasting “brain fog.”
- He has a 14-year-long history of abusing heroin from the age of 15. The police once arrested him for possession; he then faced up to two years in jail for the felony but was sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty.
- He stated: “WiFi radiation … does all kinds of bad things, including causing cancer…cell phone tumors behind the ear.”
- He claimed that rates of autism have increased even though “there has been no change in diagnosis and no change in screening either.” Yet, both have changed significantly.
- He wrote: (Fauci’s) “obsequious subservience to the Big Ag, Big Food, and pharmaceutical companies has left our children drowning in a toxic soup of pesticide residues, corn syrup, and processed foods, while also serving as pincushions for 69 mandated vaccine doses by age 18—none of them properly safety tested.”
- He stated that cancer rates are skyrocketing in the young and the old – a statement that is evidently untrue.
- He authored a viral post on X: “FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma. If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
- He has also aligned himself with special interests groups such as anti-vaccine chiropractors.
- He stated categorically: “You cannot trust medical advice from medical professionals.”
- He said he’s going to put a pause on infectious diseases research for 8 years.
- He promoted the unfounded theory that the CIA killed his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy.
- He linked school shootings to the increased prescription of antidepressants.
- An evaluation of verified Twitter accounts from 2021, found Kennedy’s personal Twitter account to be the top “superspreader” of vaccine misinformation on Twitter, responsible for 13% of all reshares of misinformation, more than three times the second most-retweeted account.
PS
Let me finish with a true statement: The World Health Organization has estimated that global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years.
It has been reported that Dr. Janette J. Gray of San Diego and her former medical practice, The Center for Health & Wellbeing in San Diego, have agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to the Medicare and TRICARE programs.
Dr. Gray and The Center claimed to operate an “alternative,” “integrative,” and “holistic” clinic, which was staffed by medical doctors, nurse practitioners, naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and mental health professionals, along with ancillary medical and administrative staff. Dr. Gray and The Center promoted IV infusion therapy, hormone/supplement therapy, and a variety of other alternative treatments.
The settlement resolves allegations that from 2012 to 2022, Dr. Gray and her practice billed Medicare and TRICARE for services that were not covered under either program by disguising the rendering provider, misrepresenting the services provided, “unbundling” services (by billing for a procedure or service in separate parts instead of a single code), or billing for services not medically necessary. In addition to paying $3.8 million to resolve the allegations, Dr. Gray will now be excluded from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other Federal health care programs for five years.
“The civil settlement holds Dr. Gray and her former medical practice accountable for questionable actions that circumvented the TRICARE billing guidelines and allowed them to receive payments for services that should not have been reimbursed by TRICARE, costing American taxpayers millions of dollars,” said Bryan D. Denny, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office. “DCIS and its partners will always aggressively investigate those who defraud TRICARE, because those deceptive actions ultimately harm those defending our country and their families.”
“This investigation is proof that the FBI and its law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating and bringing to justice anyone who tries to violate the American health care system,” said FBI San Diego Acting Special Agent in Charge Houtan Moshrefi.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California; the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; DCIS; and the FBI. This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maritsa A. Flaherty.
The resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
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False Claims Act?
I had never heard of it and thus looked it up:
The False Claims Act (FCA) is a federal statute that allows the government to recover money when someone submits false or fraudulent claims for payment to the government, including Medicare and Medicaid programs. It was originally signed into law in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War to combat fraud by suppliers providing substandard goods and services to the troops. The FCA allows whistleblowers to sue entities defrauding the government and recover damages and penalties on the government’s behalf.
This sounds most reasonable to me, and it begs, I think, one question: why is it not applied much more frequently in the realm of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM)?
While the evidence base on web-based cancer misinformation continues to develop, relatively little is known about the extent of such information on the world’s largest e-commerce website, Amazon. Multiple media reports indicate that Amazon may host on its platform questionable cancer-related products for sale, such as books on purported cancer cures. This context suggests an urgent need to evaluate Amazon.com for cancer misinformation.
This study sought to
- (1) examine to what extent are misleading cancer cure books for sale on Amazon.com’
- (2) determine how cancer cure books on Amazon.com provide misleading cancer information.
The investigators searched “cancer cure” on Amazon.com and retrieved the top 1000 English-language book search results. They reviewed the books’ descriptions and titles to determine whether the books provided misleading cancer cure or treatment information. They considered a book to be misleading if it suggested scientifically unsupported cancer treatment approaches to cure or meaningfully treat cancer. Among books coded as misleading, they conducted an inductive latent thematic analysis to determine the informational value the books sought to offer.
Nearly half (494/1000, 49.4%) of the sampled “cancer cure” books for sale on Amazon.com appeared to contain misleading cancer treatment and cure information. Overall, 17 (51.5%) out of 33 Amazon.com results pages had 50% or more of the books coded as misleading. The first search result page had the highest percentage of misleading books (23/33, 69.7%). Misleading books (n=494) contained eight themes:
- (1) claims of efficacious cancer cure strategies (n=451, 91.3%),
- (2) oversimplifying cancer and cancer treatment (n=194, 39.3%),
- (3) falsely justifying ineffective treatments as science based (n=189, 38.3%),
- (4) discrediting conventional cancer treatments (n=169, 34.2%),
- (5) finding the true cause of cancer (n=133, 26.9%),
- (6) homogenizing cancer (n=132, 26.7%),
- (7) discovery of new cancer treatments (n=119, 24.1%),
- (8) cancer cure suppression (n=82, 16.6%).
The authors concluded that the results demonstrate that misleading cancer cure books are for sale, visible, and prevalent on Amazon.com, with prominence in initial search hits. These misleading books for sale on Amazon can be conceived of as forming part of a wider, cross-platform, web-based information environment in which misleading cancer cures are often given prominence. Our results suggest that greater enforcement is needed from Amazon and that cancer-focused organizations should engage in preemptive misinformation debunking.
This is an excellent paper that is long overdue. The plethora of dangerous books on so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) targeted at lay people is nothing short of a scandal. It was high time that we expose it, because it kills vulnerable patients. It is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify the damage done by such books but I am sure it runs in the thousands.
I have been aware of this scandal for a long time, in fact, it was the main motivation for publishing my own book on the subject. Obviously, it is not much more than a drop in the ocean.
Tragically, this scandal is not confined to just cancer. It relates to all potentially serious conditions. What could be more despicable and unethical than earning money through making desperately ill patients suffer? As the authors point out, Amazon urgently needs to address this problem. Failing this, Amazon should be legally held responsible, in my view.
As I live partly in France, I often report about what is going on in this country in relation to so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). Here are a few recent posts:
- France outlaws practices which expose patients to a serious health risk
- Dispute about so-called alternative medicine practitioners in France
- Homeopathy in France: going, going, gone!
- Osteopathy in France: widely accepted yet based on little more than wishful thinking
- Alleged sexual misconduct serves a blow to osteopathy in France
- Homeopathy in France: a triumph of reason over profit
- HOMEOPATHY IN FRANCE: Cure cancer with homeopathy? “Let’s get real. We are doctors.”
- Random thoughts on my first SCAM-research conference in France
In general, it seemed that France was becoming more rational in its attitude towards SCAM. But now Franceinfo reported worrying developments:
Patrick Hetzel, the newFrench Minister for Higher Education and Research seems to have a less than academic approach to science. He has in the past taken positions on the fringes of the scientific consensus, supporting, for example, the use of the treatment praised by Didier Raoult during the Covid-19 crisis, or defending homeopathy.
In October 2020, Patrick Hetzel supported an amendment to the French Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) aimed at ‘creating a body specifically dedicated to evaluating complementary and alternative medicines, including homeopathy, and setting a reimbursement rate’. A month later, he co-signed a bill aimed at introducing a two-year moratorium on the reimbursement rate (15%) for homeopathy, rather than delisting it, so as not to upset the industry. These proposals were rejected and homeopathy, whose effectiveness was deemed ‘insufficient’ by the French National Authority for Health (HAS), has not been reimbursed in France since January 2021. To reach its opinion, the health authority scrutinised a number of studies on nearly 1,200 homeopathic medicines. ‘There is a scientific consensus that homeopathy should not be prescribed. At best it is useless, at worst it detracts from a useful treatment’, points out Jean-Michel Constantin, President of Sfar.
At the same time, Hetzel has fought to have chronic Lyme disease recognised as a disease through a bill tabled in September 2023. However, the chronic nature of this disease remains controversial, based as it is on a ‘scientifically unproven’ hypothesis, as denounced by the French Academy of Medicine in 2017.
More recently, during the debate on the bill to combat sectarian aberrations, Hetzel spoke out against creating an offence of ‘inciting abstention from medical care’. He cited a ‘legal reason’ before offering a curious view of science: ‘When you look at how scientific advances are made, very often the paradigm shifts (…) are made by people who are in the minority. So let’s be extremely careful about trying to develop a kind of dogma that would be that of an official science. I think that’s extremely dangerous’, he warned before the Assembly.
This anti-science rhetoric has not gone unnoticed. ‘Taking part in the debate on article 4 of the bill on sectarian aberrations [finally adopted], implying that official science is totalitarianism, and leaving the choice of alternative medicines to patients who have no discernment, I find that annoying. Especially for a minister whose remit includes scientific research’, laments Pierre Ouzoulias. ‘I’m struck by the fact that every time he takes a stand, it’s with conspiracy theories. This accumulation paints the picture of someone who doesn’t understand how knowledge evolves in the world of science.’
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Let’s hope the new development does not signal a general U-turn, that the appointment of Patrick Hetzel is just a little glitch, and that France will nevertheless continue on its path towards rationality.
‘ARS TECHNICA’ recently reported that the maker of a homeopathic nasal spray is refusing to recall its product after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found evidence of dangerous microbial contamination.
On 18 September 2024, the FDA therefore warned consumers to immediately stop using ‘SnoreStop nasal spray‘—made by Green Pharmaceuticals—because it may contain microbes that, when sprayed directly into nasal cavities, can cause life-threatening infections:
FDA is warning consumers and health care professionals not to use SnoreStop Nasal Spray, distributed by Green Pharmaceuticals Inc., Camarillo, Calif., because it may have microbial contamination. SnoreStop Nasal Spray was previously sold on the company’s website and other sites.
The use of microbially contaminated nasal spray can potentially lead to infection, which can be life threatening in certain patient populations, such as immune-compromised individuals. This unapproved product is marketed for children beginning at age 5 and adults with unproven claims that it opens air passages and relieves congestion.
Consumers who use SnoreStop should contact their health care professional with questions.
FDA recommended Green Pharmaceuticals recall their SnoreStop Nasal Spray product on Aug. 13 and Sept. 12, 2024. The agency reiterated its recall recommendation multiple times during this time. To date, the company has not taken action to recall this potentially dangerous product from the market.
FDA inspected Green Pharmaceuticals facility in April 2024 and uncovered laboratory test results that reported significant microbial contamination in SnoreStop Nasal Spray lot number 2460. FDA investigators found evidence that some products in this lot had been repackaged and distributed to customers for use as single units and in kits.
Following FDA’s inspection, on Aug. 8, 2024, Green Pharmaceutical destroyed the remaining SnoreStop Nasal Spray from lot 2460 and other products the company had on-hand. Green Pharmaceuticals subsequently stopped selling nasal spray products on their website. However, the agency is concerned that consumers may have purchased contaminated SnoreStop.
Previously, FDA issued a warning letter to Green Pharmaceuticals on Dec. 16, 2022, for distributing unapproved drugs and lack of quality controls over the products they sell. Additionally, the company voluntarily recalled one lot of SnoreStop NasoSpray on June 9, 2022, after FDA testing found the product contained microbial contamination identified as Providencia rettgeri. SnoreStop NasoSpray was renamed as SnoreStop Nasal Spray following this recall.
FDA encourages health care professionals and patients to report adverse events or quality problems experienced with the use of any medication to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program:
- Complete and submit the report online; or
- Download and complete the form, then submit it via fax at 1-800-FDA-0178
‘ARS TECHNICA’ reported that, instead of discarding the batch, the FDA inspectors found evidence that Green Pharmaceuticals had repackaged some of the contaminated lot and distributed it as single spray bottles or as part of a starter kit.
This isn’t new territory for the company. In 2022, Green Pharmaceuticals got warnings from the FDA and issued a recall due to microbial contamination in its SnoreStop nasal spray. In June 2022, the FDA held a conference with the company over findings of bacteria and fungi in the spray. Some of the results suggested high levels of microbial contamination. “The individual sample results varied between 420 and up to 6,200 colony forming units (CFU)/mL for total aerobic microbial count… and between 30 and up to 3,800 CFU/mL for total yeast and mold counts,” the FDA reported in a December 2022 warning letter sent after the fact.
The FDA noted finding the specific bacterial pathogen Providencia rettgeri, an opportunistic germ that can lurk in health care settings. It’s most often linked to urinary tract infections, but it can also cause pneumonia, brain and spinal cord infections, heart infections, and wound and bloodstream infections in vulnerable people, according to a 2018 review.
“The high bioburden in conjunction with the route of administration with this drug product poses a high risk of harm to vulnerable patients, including children,” the FDA wrote in its warning letter. Green Pharmaceuticals recalled SnoreStop in June 2022, after its meeting with the FDA.
Aside from the gross microbial contamination, the FDA also noted in its letter that SnoreStop appears to be an unapproved new drug, illegally claiming to treat a disease without FDA approval. SnoreStop is said to contain dilutions of: nux vomica (a natural source of strychnine), belladonna (deadly nightshade), Ephedra vulgaris (a source of the drug ephedrine), hydrastis canadensis (a toxic herb), Kali Bichromicum (potassium dichromate, which is considered toxic and carcinogenic), Teucrium marum (similar to catnip), and Histaminum hydrochloricum (Histamine dihydrochloride).
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There is, of course, no evidence that any of these ingredients – in any dilution or potency – can make people stop snoring.
