NCAHF Newsletter articles from May 2002

NCAHF Newsletter archives from May 2002

Surgery for emphysema overpromoted.
May 1, 2002... A surgical procedure widely promoted since the early 1990s to remove areas of hyper-inflated lung in patients with emphysema has been shown to do more harm than good for patients with the most severe disease characteristics. In a randomized...

Who's misguided global strategy on traditional medicine.
May 1, 2002... On May 16th, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a global strategy "to provide a framework for policy to assist countries to regulate traditional or complementary/alternative medicine (TM/CAM) to make its use safer, more accessible to...

Press objectivity, biotech, and Gaia worship.
May 1, 2002... Is there a difference between objective reporting and "balanced" reporting? I had an opportunity to put that burning question to a group of college newspaper editors when I spoke at a conference on "The Role of the Press in a Free Society"...

Fraudulent "animal" removal promoter sentenced.
May 1, 2002... Four women visited Edgar Giovanni Gonzales, 23, after hearing his advertisements on a local Spanish-language television station for a medicinal "cure." Gonzales allegedly claimed he could heal them of various disorders by removing small animals...

Acupuncture for anesthesia not popular in China.
May 1, 2002... Promoters of acupuncture in the United States sometimes claim that use of acupuncture for anesthesia is common in China. But according to an anesthesiologist from a Hakujikai Memorial Hospital in Tokyo who visited 10 large hospitals in Beijing,...

Tallness quackery thrives in China.
May 1, 2002... In China, where there are height requirements for various jobs, where personal height has become a national obsession, a huge industry has developed to increase stature through such quackery as herbal tonics and magnetic shoe insoles to...

Remembering Fred Stare.
May 1, 2002... Fredrick J. Stare, PhD, MD, one of the most influential and outspoken critics of nutrition quackery and misinformation died on April 4th at the age of 91. He was the founder of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health...

Pharmacists warned about "weight loss" products.
May 1, 2002... The April 2002 issue of Pharmacist's Letter told pharmacists to advise patients to avoid products containing the following "natural weight loss" ingredients, especially if they are combined with caffeine, guarana, cola nut, mate, or tea:...