Uncategorized – The Quackometer Blog

Iran Fooled by Fake Coronavirus Detector

15th April, 2020 4

Reports are emerging of a new device developed by the Iran Revolutionary Guard that can detect coronavirus “within a radius of about 100 meters”. Major General Hossein Salami, Commander-in-chief of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, has demonstrated the handheld gun-like device with a long arial, and how it contained a ‘polarised virus’ that could ‘create a magnetic field [that] will point towards coronavirus anywhere within a radius [read more…]

David Tredinnick Standing Again as MP for Homeopathy.

5th May, 2017 3

David Tredinnick has been the Conservative MP for Bosworth since 1987. During that time, he has worked tirelessly to promote the interests of alternative medicine businesses, mostly homeopathy. With the General Election approaching fast on June 8th, Tredinnick has once again put his name forward in the constituency of Bosworth, and will ask the good voters to elect him so he continue his work promoting superstitious medical beliefs in the UK. [read more…]

The Society of Homeopaths Have Achieved PSA Accreditation

12th September, 2014 39

Our health care regulators cannot differentiate between a health care profession and a pseudo-medical cargo cult. The Professional Standards Authority has accredited the Society of Homeopaths as a holder of a approved voluntary register of health-care practitioners. The PSA have announced in a press release that, Patients and the public can have confidence in the Society of Homeopaths’ voluntary register which has been vetted and approved by the Professional Standards [read more…]

Lord Saatchi Compares Doctors to Medieval, Barbaric Hanging Judges

29th June, 2014 14

The Second Reading of the dreadfully misconceived and dangerous Medical Innovation Bill took place in the House of Lord’s last Friday. Condemned as a Quack’s Charter for attempting to remove legal protections from patients against maverick, quack and incompetent practice, the team supporting the Bill have been relying on emotive language and anecdotes about cancer patients to push this through. Lord Saatchi started the debate with a condemnation of doctors [read more…]

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…]

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…]

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…]