Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digestâs primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.
Homeopathy confirmed as pseudoscience. A philosopher and a prominent âalternative medicineâ clinical researcher have argued homeopathy is a pseudoscience because its proponents: (a) claim scientific standing for it, and (b) defend homeopathy in ways that show carelessness about or indifference to truth. [Mukerji N. Ernst E. Why homeopathy is pseudoscience. Synthese, 200:394, 2022] Their important paper:
- describes homeopathy
- notes the implausibility of homeopathic preparations as remedies
- describes bizarre approaches homeopaths have used to make homeopathy seem plausible
- explains why the evidence touted by homeopaths is insufficient
- discusses the nature of pseudoscience
- distinguishes pseudoscience from science, parascience, anti-science, bad science, and science fraud
- discusses flawed arguments that homeopathy is pseudoscientific
- provides examples of homeopaths claiming explicitly and implicitly homeopathy is a science
- discusses how homeopaths reject essential parts of established scientific methodology
- describes how homeopaths respond to criticism by shifting the burden of proof, mischaracterizing evidence, and cherry-picking evidence
- criticizes homeopathic researchers who refuse to submit therapeutic claims to rigorous, fair testing
- describes the problem of homeopaths frequently failing to preregister and publish clinical trials
Amazon warned to stop promoting homeopathy for children. The Center for Inquiry (CFI) has sent a letter to Amazon calling for the company to immediately cease its distribution of unapproved homeopathic drugs promoted as medicines for ill and injured babies, infants, and children. A search for âhomeopathicâ in Amazonâs Health Care Products department, yielded more than 10,000 product results, each claimed to treat a host of health issues, ranging from ânerve painâ and âfeverâ to âsurgical woundsâ and âfibroids and ovarian cysts.â Many items, such as âBoiron RhinAllergy Kidsâ and âHylandâs 4Kids Pain Relief,â are explicitly sold as medicine for children. [Center for Inquiry warns Amazon: Stop promoting homeopathic drugs as treatments for sick babies and children. Center for Inquiry news release, Sept 7, 2022]
Chiropractors criticized for videos showing manipulation of babies. A recent article spotlights pediatricians who object to the hundreds of videos on TikTok and other media sites showing chiropractors physically manipulating infants and babies. [Amenabar T. On TikTok, chiropractors aim to soothe fussy babies with unproven care. Washington Post, Sept 15, 2022] The videos promote manipulation to relieve fussy babies suffering from colic, constipation, reflux, trauma from childbirth, and other ailments. While there is evidence many mothers believe chiropractic treatment helps infants and babies, clinical evidence of its therapeutic value is lacking.
Jennifer Brocker, the president of the American Chiropractic Associationâs Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics and a practicing chiropractor in Portland, Oregon is quoted in the article: âWe still havenât been able to demonstrate in the research the effectiveness that weâve seen clinically.â
Sean Tabaie, an orthopedic surgeon at Childrenâs National Hospital in D.C., was shocked by the videos: âUltimately, there is no way youâre going to get an improvement in a newborn from a manipulation. The only thing that you might possibly cause is harm.â
Stressed documentary and Neuro Emotional Technique scrutinized. Jonathan Jarry has reviewed the hour-long documentary Stressed that premiered on YouTube in April 2020. He found it:
- misleadingly presents stress as the cause of most illness
- features interviews of chiropractors whose names are listed as donors to the production in the end credits
- advocates for Neuro Emotional Technique (N.E.T.) to relieve the stress
Developed in 1985 by chiropractor Scott Walker in 1985, N.E.T. is a pseudoscientific hybrid of chiropractic, acupuncture, and applied kinesiology in which past trauma is uncovered by asking the body questions and translating a muscleâs strength into the bodyâs answer. Jarry notes that studies into N.E.T.âs effectiveness almost always either lack a control group or use a poor control group. Thus, any non-specific effect of the technique, such as talking to a therapist, can make it appear to work. Nevertheless, Walker states toward the end of Stressed: âWe havenât found anything that [N.E.T.] hasnât improved. We donât know where the limits are.â Jarry suggests the limits seem to be âhow many clients are willing to pay money to experience N.E.T. for themselves.â [Jarry J. The Neuro Emotional Technique is a bizarre hybrid of chiropractic, acupuncture, and applied kinesiology. McGill Office for Science and Society, Sept 16, 2022]
Consumer health instructional innovation recommended. Professor William London discussed in his two most recent Consumer Health columns an assignment he has given students in his Consumer Health course to curate critical thinking exhibits at health fairs on campus. In one of these columns, he discusses: (a) his concerns about health fairs; (b) his vision for the Health Street Smarts Fair (HSSF) assignment; (c) some of his favorite undergraduate-student-curated HSSF exhibits; and (d) prospects for skeptic-activists to adapt the HSSF model to create street smarts fairs to promote skeptical inquiry in community or school settings. [London WM. Health Street Smarts Fairs created by university students to promote critical thinking on campus, part 1. Skeptical Inquirer, July 27, 2022] In the other column, he includes: (a) the detailed instructions he gave students to guide them in completing the assignment; (b) the grading rubric he developed for the assignment; (c) his comments on the instructions and the rubric; (d) his assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the assignment in eliciting meaningful academic achievement; and (e) discussion of ethical considerations in running exhibits designed to expose visitorsâ vulnerability to deception. [Health Street Smarts Fairs created by university students to promote critical thinking on campus, part 2. Skeptical Inquirer, Sept 2, 2022]
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