NCAHF Newsletter articles from March 1996

NCAHF Newsletter archives from March 1996

Growing concerns over blue-green algae.
March 1, 1996... Consumer complaints of nausea, diarrhea, weakness, numbness and tingling have caused NCAHF to review the literature on the toxic potential of blue-green algae products. We believe that such adverse reactions are quite common and are being...

Acupuncture dangers. (adapted from the Lancet, 1995;345:1576)
March 1, 1996... The Institute of Community Medicine at the University of Tromso, Norway asked 1135 randomly selected doctors and 197 acupuncturists to report adverse effects they had seen caused by acupuncture. Reports of harm came from 12% of the doctors and...

New at the book center. (books on consumer protection)(Bibliography)
March 1, 1996... Although not aimed specifically at quackery, some new books available at the NCAHF Book Sales deal with consumer fraud and the need for consumer protection. Daniel Barrett. Bandits on the Information Superhighway tells how to protect your...

Experience at a Mexico cancer clinic.
March 1, 1996... A Canadian woman's experience in the nether world of cancer quackery Some believe that there is nothing to lose from trying unapproved therapies if there is no real medical solution. Margaret Baker discovered the fallacy of that idea after...

Cancer Treatment Centers of America falsely advertised treatments. (adapted from FTC News, March 13, 1996)
March 1, 1996... The Cancer Treatment Centers of America(*) (CTCA) have agreed to settle FTC allegations that they made false and unsubstantiated claims in advertising and promoting their cancer treatments. Among the claims in question were that using "whole body...

Administrative law judge revokes Huggins' license. (Nancy Connick pulls dentist Hal Huggins' license)
March 1, 1996... A 71-page report by Administrative Law Judge Nancy Connick provides substantive information on the bogus theories and practices of maverick dentist Hal Huggins, and reveal the harm visited on 8 patients representative of Huggins' treatment...

Ginseng popular but of dubious value as performance booster. (adapted from Sports Medicine, 1994;18,4:229-48)
March 1, 1996... A survey of retailers by Towne-Oller Associates found that Ginsana, a ginseng product, is the best selling herbal supplement with 17.7% of the market. Ginseng is touted as able to improve physical performance and mental alertness. A review by the...

Dead doctors don't lie! But this living veterinarian does! (mistaken belief that physicians have shorter life spans)
March 1, 1996... Maverick veterinarian Joel Wallach is selling video and audio tapes titled Dead Doctors Don't Lie! proclaiming that physicians have a life expectancy of only 58 years. This sends the message that doctors are so wrongheaded that they themselves...

Super silly quackery. (overview)
March 1, 1996... One of the most frequent questions media reporters ask is "what is the most ridiculous bit of quackery you have ever seen?" Such a question always stumps me. Leading candidates for such a "booby prize" include eating pond scum for health,...

Minnesota appeals court upholds antiquackery law. (includes comment)(adapted from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, January 16, 1996)
March 1, 1996... Minnesota law states that a person is practicing medicine without a license if he/she "offers or undertakes to prevent or to diagnose, correct or treat in any manner or by any means, methods, devices or instrumentalities, any disease, illness,...