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.
MLM guru dies of colon cancer after promoting dubious treatments. Jessie Lee Ward (aka Boss Lee), an ambassador and corporate executive for PrĂŒvit (a keto-supplement-hawking, multilevel-marketing company) has died after a brief fight with colon cancer. [In memoriam: Legendary distributor and influencer Jessie Lee Ward. Direct Selling News, Sept 22, 2023]
Ward claimed on her website to be âthe number one Network Marketer in the world, multiple 7-figure annual earner, serial entrepreneur, investor, traditional business owner, business coach, and podcaster.â In March, she told her hundreds of thousands of followers she had been diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer after routine blood work. On TikTok, she said she rejected recommended chemotherapy after having a portion of her colon removed and she would follow a âholistic routeâ with a regimen that included sessions in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, âmagneticâ treatments, âozoneâ treatments, and âred-light therapy.â In April, Rebecca Watson, a blogger and founder of the Skepchick Network, posted a video suggesting Wardâs unwarranted claims she would beat cancer with her regimen would mislead other cancer patients and might endanger their lives. Ward reportedly said during a podcast in July that her oncologist advised her that aggressive chemotherapy could extend her life by two and a half years; otherwise, she would be âdead by Christmas.â [Muldowney D. MLM seller Jessie âBoss Leeâ Ward dies after trying to cure her cancer naturally. The Daily Beast, Sept 19, 2023]
State of Iowa sues door-to-door sellers of stem cell treatments. Iowaâs attorney general has sued Biologics Health LLC, Summit Partners Group LLC, Rylee Meek, and Scott Thomas for allegedly engaging in fraudulently selling door-to-door stem cell-therapy treatments. [Attorney General Brenna Bird sues over misleading door-to-door stem cell therapy treatments. Iowa Department of Justice news release, Sept 13, 2023] The lawsuit challenges the defendantsâ false advertisement of stem cell therapies and misleading claims regarding the effectiveness of their services. It seeks: (a) to reimburse all Iowans who paid for the therapies, (b) a court order permanently blocking the fraudulent activity in Iowa, and (c) awards of civil penalties, attorney fees, and costs. It alleges:
- Over 250 Iowans were sold fake stem cell therapies totaling more than $1 million.
- The average Iowan paid approximately $9,000 for the service.
- The defendants allegedly targeted older Iowans.
- The misleading claims included that stem cells would âseek outâ problems throughout the human body, could repair and regenerate damaged tissues, and were completely safe except for possible minor flu-like symptoms.
Iowa has also settled claims against Definitive Wellness, LLC, and its owner, Angela Jayes, via an Assurance of Compliance for their role in delivering stem cell therapies to Iowans. The Assurance provides that both the company and Jayes will: (a) permanently stop providing stem cell therapy or administering âany essentially equivalentâ products in Iowa, and (b) pay $58,000 (essentially the gross amount of money Definitive Wellness collected as a result of Iowa operations conducted with the lawsuit defendants) to the consumer education and litigation fund.
FDA advisors conclude popular decongestant ingredient is ineffective. A 16-member advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has unanimously agreed with the conclusion of a recently published FDA scientific review that phenylephrine, an ingredient in over-the-counter cough and cold preparations, is ineffective as a decongestant. [Perrone M. Popular nasal decongestant doesnât actually relieve congestion, FDA advisers say. Associated Press, Sept 12, 2023] The decision will likely lead to FDA banning phenylephrine from over-the-counter sales.
Medicinal chemist Josh Bloom noted that phenylephrine became widely available as an oral decongestant after passage of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 which banned pseudoephedrine, an effective oral decongestant, from over-the-counter sales and required it to be sold in limited quantities behind-the-counter to purchasers who must present personal identification. The law was an attempt to thwart illicit sales of methamphetamine, which can be synthesized from pseudoephedrine. However, the law was ineffective; since its passage, the purity of illicit methamphetamine has increased, and its price has decreased. [Bloom J. Sudafed PE is worthless (just like the drug policies that put it on the shelf). American Council on Science and Health, Sept 18, 2023]
The FDA has been reviewing other drugs that have been available since before proof of efficacy was required before marketing in the early 1960s. [Landman K. Why are so many useless cold medicines littering pharmacy shelves? Vox, Sept 15, 2023] The agency already knows homeopathic products are ineffective. Thus, in a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, the Center for Inquiryâs legal director, Nicholas Little, asked why the agency permits over-the-counter sales of homeopathic products.
CFI cautions Senate committee about the danger of inviting homeopathy industry self-regulation. In a letter to U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Susan Collins of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Azhar Majeed of the Center for Inquiryâs (CFI) Office of Public Policy warned a recently issued committee report âgives undue deference to the homeopathy industry.â He asserted:
- The committee should be aware that homeopathic products are pseudoscience and junk medicine, robbing Americans of their money every year, and that homeopathy is owed no credence from federal lawmakers.
- It is difficult, from CFIâs perspective, to overstate the harm of lax federal regulation of homeopathy.
- By essentially inviting self-regulation by the homeopathy industry in partnership with the federal government, this recommendation undermines public health.
- This a regulatory free ride, plain and simple. To extend this further by directing the FDA toward âimplementing a legal pathwayâ based on homeopathy-specific standards would be a colossal mistake.
Consumer advocate warns against bad advice on selecting a âcomplementary health practitioner.â Professor William M. London has concluded that the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Healthâs tips page on â6 Things to Know When Selecting a Complementary Health Practitionerâ misleads consumers about how they can improve their health. [London WM. How the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) misleads consumers about choosing âcomplementary health practitioners.â Credential Watch, Sept 12, 2023] He noted it:
. . . explains nothing about âthe results of studies and understanding a therapyâs potential benefits, risks, and scientific evidence.â Nor does it attempt to provide a good reason for consumers to ever consider selecting a âcomplementary health practitioner.â Thus, it implies that seeking the services of a complementary health practitioner is advisable on at least some occasions regardless of relevant evidence. Yet it provides no guidance about when to seek or avoid such services.
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