VERY useful resource.

[Soapy Sam]

AN ALTERNATIVE healer who claimed that he could cure cancer may face jail after being convicted of two offences under the Trades Descriptions Act, according to The Times. Reginald Gill, a “wellness practitioner” of Poole in Dorset sold terminally ill cancer patient Stephen Hall an electronic device that he said would reverse the illness. Hall, apparently on Gill’s instructions, stopped taking his morphine and spent the last weeks of his life trying to stick to a bizarre eating plan. Bournemouth Crown Court was told that Gill charged Hall £2,500 for an IFAS High Frequency Therapy device, intended for treatment of relatively mild conditions such as insomnia and hair loss and bought for £200, claiming that it could kill off cancer cells. The case resulted from a complaint to local Trading Standards’ Officers by Hall’s mother. Sentencing is due to take place in January 2004.

The Times, December 13, 2003

Just one of many fascinating items and links to be found through http://www.aske.org.uk/

In particular, read this article, in Newsletter 52 at the Healthwatch site:-

HealthWatch Award winner.
Obstacles to honesty in medical research.
Dr Peter Wilmshurst, a consultant cardiologist, has spent the last two decades trying to expose research misconduct and has reported more than twenty doctors to the General Medical Council. In recognition of his dogged and selfless pursuit of the truth, Dr Wilmshurst was presented with the HealthWatch Award 2003.

 

[Rolfe]

That one happened on my local TV area. The victim's mother was interviewed on TV several times. She apparently told the "wellness practitioner" that she'd leave him alone while her son was still alive, so as not to upset him further (his condition was terminal no matter what), but that after he died she'd be out for blood.

The trouble with this one is that the woo-woo involved was apparently operating a unique scam entirely of his own devising. He took an already woo-woo product, but moderately priced and pitched at the innocuous end of the market (hair restorer!), and just rebranded it as a cancer cure, with an astronomical price hike.

It might be difficult to apply what happened to him to the organised scams where "accredited" practitioners of widespread systems of pseudomedicine do their appeal to popularity, and protest about how well-respected their particular delusion is.

Rolfe.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Rolfe- I thought you would pounce. Don't know if you are already familiar with the Aske.org.uk sight, but it really is a humdinger, with excellent links on the homepage, including much homoeopathic stuff.

 

[patnray]

Thanks for the link. I've added it to my Favorites/Skeptics folder.

 

[Rolfe]

excellent links on the homepage, including much homoeopathic stuff.

If it's the same stuff, I was less impressed by the healthwatch site. It was a bit too PC (letting a chiropractor claim that no chiropractor these days believes in subluxations and it's all just about the treatment of lower back pain, for example), and compared to Quackwatch pretty thin on detail.

And I'm not so crazy about this whole idea of "SKeptical Movement" (especially when they spell it with a K). I'm interested in exposing people who make demonstrably false claims about real-world effects, especially when they involve bogus medical treatments, but as for the rest of it - get a life.

Rolfe.

 

[Soapy Sam]

I grant you the "k" business. (Though Old Samivel Johnson used "skeptic" it seems).

The Wilmshurst item fascinated (and horrified)me, though it's mostly old stuff which you probably are already familiar with. If not, I urge you to read it. It's exactly about what you mention.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

The anti-quackery ring just keeps getting better and more informative.

I commend Rolfe on the serious issues. Quackwatch is invaluable. I would be insane without it. I get the comforting feeling that some people are doing their hardest to protect the less knowlegdeable folks from the quackery.

I'm on the healthfraud mailing list, and a chiropractor just got bumped for outrageous claims. He was one of the ones that claimed not to use sublaxation and claimed to know more about the human body. He still tried to tell everyone that vaccines caused a genetic condition called ALD (adrenoleukodystrophy) because it had too much mercury in it (when DPT has none).
I told him I didn't believe him unless he could demonstrate how, and he called me a bunch of unmentionables. He hasn't been able to get on to reply to anything since.

I'm finding Healthfraud to be a good resource on the current new quackeries and actions to fight it-particulary chiros on the vaccine issue. We are getting a new law in Canada stipulating that they cannot talk to clients about vaccines because they don't have the background (are unqualified) for that area.

I guess I'm not too familiar with Health Watch though. Thanks for the heads up Rolfe!

Thank you for the links SS!