Andy L – Page 8 – The Quackometer Blog

Egyptian Government Duped by Nonsense HIV Detection Machine

24th February, 2014 24

This morning, the Egyptian State Information Service has issued a press release announcing that President Adly Mansour and Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have been presented with the “first system for discovering and treating Hepatitis and AIDS patients.” This is despite the device bearing an uncanny resemblance to the fake bomb detectors that were sold to the Iraqi security forces for millions of pounds by a British business man. James McCormick was [read more…]

Conflict of Interests at the General Chiropractic Council

29th January, 2014 23

A few years ago I wrote how the McTimoney College of Chiropractic was in deep trouble after the University of Wales collapsed. The University had been accrediting the chiropractic college along with international degrees from some very dubious colleges. Without the Univeristy backing, the McTimoney College could not award degrees to its students. Since then, the college has been rescued by BPP University, which is the UK’s second privately owned, for-profit University [read more…]

Ten Reasons why the Society of Homeopaths Should not Receive PSA Accreditation

6th January, 2014 101

The Society of Homeopaths are applying to become accredited as a voluntary professional register with the Professional Standards Authority. Should the PSA approve their application, it will mean that the PSA, rather than ensuring standards in health care, has become a direct threat to public health. The PSA are calling for feedback by the 17th of January on the Society of Homeopaths before they approve them. Perhaps you might want to [read more…]

Fitzpatrick on WDDTY

20th November, 2013 61

Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, a trustee of Sense About Science, has written an article, in online magazine Spiked, criticising the detractors of magazine What Doctors Don’t Tell You. In the article, Even Quacks Must Have Free Speech, Fitzpatrick says Simon Singh and blogger Matthew Lam are wrong to call for the ‘consoring’ or restriction of the distribution of this “fundamentally silly magazine”. The argument appears to be one of simple free [read more…]

Boots Selling Dubious Philips BlueTouch Pain Relief Patch

8th November, 2013 23

For £275.00, Boots will sell you a sort of torch that it claims offers a “natural, drug-free way to treat back pain”. Made by Philips, this device uses some blue LED lights that it claims “stimulates the body’s natural healing process.”. This was brought to my attention by a tweet from Richard Wiseman, New product in Boots claims blue LED light eases back pain. Is this shite? pic.twitter.com/eF3cIF5Yqp — Richard Wiseman (@RichardWiseman) [read more…]

WDDTY: An Evil Agenda

31st October, 2013 57

The latest November issue of What Doctors Don’t Tell You has appeared and has delivered on its promise to devote an issue to cancer treatment with homeopathy and other quackery. It has been a tense month for the magazine owners as an impromptu campaign has happened where people have been writing to High Street retailers, such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s warning that the magazine contains serious health misinformation and a dangerous [read more…]

BBC Uphold My Complaint About Jo Good on Barking Hour

23rd October, 2013 9

This week, the BBC has published its findings into an investigation of a May episode of BBC London’s Barking Hour programme where misleading, dangerous and possibly illegal advice was given about he treatment of animals with chiropractic and homeopathy. Despite the BBC originally dismissing my complaint and saying that it was “balanced and fair”, an independent investigation found the programme had made unfounded claims, had misled the audience and had not [read more…]

Professional Standards Authority Gives Accreditation to Ofquack

11th October, 2013 12

Ofquack, or the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) (www.ofquack.org.uk), has been approved as an Accredited Voluntary Register by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). So now, craniosacral therapists, ear acupuncturists, reflexologists and reiki healers can claim to be covered by similar professional standards as doctors and nurses. This development is deeply worrying. It aims to protect the public from risks associated with such practices, but it will do not such thing. Indeed, by [read more…]

Call to Action: Tesco and WDDTY

20th September, 2013 143

Tesco may be changing its stance on this highly controversial magazine. Time to act and remind them how dangerous and unacceptable this publication is. For a year now, there has been much concern that mainstream retail outlets have been stocking and selling a magazine called What Doctors Don’t Tell You. Now, there are many magazines on the shelves that frequently promote superstitious and pseudoscientific forms of health belief, such as homeopathy, vitamins [read more…]

Kevin Wright and the Cancer Charities that Harm Children.

6th September, 2013 197

A month ago, I saw two young men in Bristol Temple Meads Station collecting money for the charity Kids Integrated Cancer Treatment. They were holding two large plastic apples for passing passengers to put money in and telling people they were like CLIC – a popular childrens’ cancer charity – except “Integrated”. What made this everyday scene unusual is that one of the trustees of the charity, Jacqueline Wright was [read more…]