NCAHF Newsletter articles from January 1999

NCAHF Newsletter archives from January 1999

INTERNATIONAL EFFORT AGAINST HEALTH FRAUD.
January 1, 1999... The 12/7/98 FTC News Notes announced that FTC, FDA, Health Canada, and Mexico's regulatory agency have adopted an international agreement to combat the fraudulent marketing of health related products, services, and devices. This is what has...

HOMEOPATHY CRITICIZED.
January 1, 1999... The February 26 issue of The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, the most respected source of drug information for physicians, has concluded: "The chemical content of homeopathic products is often undefined, and some are so, diluted that...

NUTRITIONAL AND HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS.
January 1, 1999... Prudential HealthCare announced today its newest program designed to provide members discounts on vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements. The Prudential HealthCare Vitamin Advantage-SM Program offers a catalogue for shopping at home....

CHIROPRACTIC EXPOSE.
January 1, 1999... Samuel Homola, DC, has produced an incisive guide to chiropractic's history, benefits, and shortcomings. The book covers both positive and negative aspects. Edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D., the 280-page book is thoroughly referenced and...

PANEL RELEASES STATEMENT ON INTERACTIVE HEALTH COMMUNICATION.
January 1, 1999... The Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health has released a consensus statement calling for the need of an evidence-based approach to interactive health communication. The panel proposed a standardized reporting template, which...

CONSUMER REPORTS EVALUATES HERBAL MEDICINES.
January 1, 1999... The March 1999 issue of Consumer Reports magazine contains an article, "Herbal Rx: The Promises and Pitfalls," which examines the issues surrounding herbal supplements. The magazine provides an overview of the situation created in the...

SAW PALMETTO.
January 1, 1999... The Medical Letter reports that JAMA published a review article looking at 18 trials of saw palmetto products and their effect on prostate enlargement, or benign prostatic hyperplasia. The condition is generally associated with age and results...

LAWSUIT OVER USE OF BOGUS MEDICAL DEVICE.
January 1, 1999... A board-certified psychiatrist in Nyack, NY has been sued by a patient he diagnosed as a hypochondriac for using a bogus medical device. The civil lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Paterson [NJ], says that Keith Bachman was seen by Dr....

WOMAN FINED FOR PHONY CANCER CURES.
January 1, 1999... A Wisconsin judge ordered a woman pushing phony cancer cures to pay a $50,000 fine and refund money to her customers. Shelvie Rettmann, 62, had been accused of claiming to cure cancer with machines not approved by the FDA. Rettman has also been...

HEARTBAR: MEDICAL FOOD?
January 1, 1999... The HeartBar, a "medical food," is being test marketed in Sacramento from December to March. The bar contains four grams of Larginine, an amino acid that increases the body's production of nitric oxide, a blood vessel dilator, plus ingredients...

MANNATECH EXPOSED IN SERIES OF ARTICLES.
January 1, 1999... A prize-winning series of articles on integrative and alternative medicine and multilevel marketing of Mannatech (a multi-level marketing organization) was published in the Oakland Press, Pontiac, Michigan. Staff Writer Denise Jenkin; Phone:...

IBIDS DATABASE.
January 1, 1999... Looking on the Internet for scientific literature on dietary supplements? Click on http:/ www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/IBIDS/overview.html for the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS). The database currently contains...

ESCAPE TO CHOPRA.
January 1, 1999... Ayurvedic physician and best-selling author Deepak Chopra got a plug in the Los Angeles Times when the paper's Weekend Escapes column targeted The Chopra Center for Well Being. Reporter Susan Spano described the center as "part day spa, part...

FTC STOPS PROMOTION OF CHELATION THERAPY.
January 1, 1999... The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put the brakes on efforts by the American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM) to push chelation therapy as a safe and nonsurgical treatment for atherosclerosis. Chelation therapy uses a chemical to...

DOES HOMEOPATHY WORK?
January 1, 1999... "Does homeopathy work?" according to the authors of an article in Chemist Druggist. This critical look at the effectiveness of homeopathy was undertaken by the Department of Complementary Medicine, established in 1993 at the University of...

MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES ASKED TO FIGHT FRAUD.
January 1, 1999... The federal government has requested Medicare beneficiaries to report billing errors, overcharges, and other evidence of fraud by their physicians and hospitals. "Senior citizens are our first line of defense in the battle against Medicare...

OFFICE OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE BECOMES NATIONAL CENTER WITH RESEARCH IN MIND.
January 1, 1999... The Dec 7, 1998 issue of Chemical and Engineering News [02/12/99] takes an in-depth look at the controversy surrounding the establishment of the Office of Alternative Medicine, which has blossomed into the National Center for Complementary and...

HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS.
January 1, 1999... MORRISTOWN, NJ, Feb 12 (PRNewswire.) All herbal supplements are not created equal--sometimes even within the same bottle. But thanks to the entry of major pharmaceutical companies like Bayer Corporation into the herbal supplements market,...

THE NCRHI BULLETIN BOARD.
January 1, 1999... The NCRHI Bulletin Board is sent to members and media recipients only. It is intended to stimulate and aid in activism against health fraud, misinformation and quackery at the local, state & national levels. NCRHI TRANSITION ...