Uncategorized – Page 18 – The Quackometer Blog

Samuel Hahnemann and his Frankenstein Experiments

1st April, 2009 75

My automated scans of the internet for all things about quackery have thrown up some interesting news today. The German newspaper Bild is reporting that an academic homeopathy journal is about to publish the discovery of fragments of a new edition of Hahnemann’s Organon. (translation here from “Die Entdeckung einer verlorenen siebte Auflage des Organon?”) For those not familiar with the origins of homeopathy, its inventor, a German doctor, wrote [read more…]

The Northern Ireland NHS Alternative Medicine ‘Trial’

23rd February, 2009 26

Various news sources and pro alternative medicine web sites have been telling us this week that a trial involving NHS GPs in Northern Ireland has shown that referring patients for homeopathy, reflexology, acupuncture and other CAM has highly successful outcomes. I see this as nothing short of an attempted fraud to extract NHS money for traders in quackery. Let me explain. For example, the Princes Foundation for Integrated Health tells [read more…]

Queen Margaret University and Prostituted Academia

19th February, 2009 14

A few weeks ago, newspapers were carrying remarkable stories about a Scottish mineral water, Deeside Water, that could halt aging, reduce wrinkles and have amazing anti-oxidant effects – a remarkable fountain of youth. Newspapers gushed with reports of this amazing scientific discovery. Even the BBC had previously reported that Deeside Water could “treat rheumatism, skin conditions and stomach complaints” . Deeside water were celebrating a press release from Queen Margaret [read more…]

London’s Biggest Conversation

11th February, 2009 22

Just a short post to note how radio station LBC 97.3FM (London’s Biggest Conversation) have utterly failed to understand the strength of feeling that exists out there about their attempts to silence debate regarding their appalling coverage of the MMR issue. My blog has seen one of the biggest spikes of traffic since the Society of Homeopaths tried to shut me down. They failed. I became stronger. Thousands of people [read more…]

Deeside Water Quackery

16th January, 2009 1

The gullibility of British newspapers never ceases to amaze me. The British press today carried uncritical articles about the miracles of Deeside Mineral Water. The Telegraph – a paper with no serious science credibility anymore – told us, Scientists claim that Deeside Water can give drinkers a younger appearance and more radiant skin tone. Those who drank the Scottish water, which is bottled from a spring near the Queen’s Balmoral [read more…]

Auricular Acupuncture: A Word in Your Foetus Like…

11th January, 2009 5

Prince Charles’ Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) is listened to by many in our Government as a sound source of information on complementary medicine. It has been given large sums of money over recent years by the Department of Health to set ways of regulating CAM sellers. The result has been the moribund Ofquack: the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. FIH has been regularly criticised for being hopelessly naive and [read more…]

Hasta el Absurdo Siempre!

9th January, 2009 14

It looks as if homeopaths will be making a noise about their victorious successes in Cuba against the scourge of leptospirosis. Last month, a conference was held in Havana, entitled “Nosodes 2008: International Meeting on Homeopropylaxis, Homeopathic Immunization and Nosodes against Epidemics”. Homeopaths turned up to hear stories of the successes of magic water against dangerous diseases. What is a nosode? A Nosode is “a homeopathic remedy prepared from a [read more…]

Mistletoe and Cancer

24th December, 2008 7

Merry Christmas! Last Christmas, we looked at the quackery surrounding myrrh. This year, it is time for me to have little whine about mistletoe. Christmas would not be the same without a little cheeky kiss under this herb – usually with someone you really ought not to. But, its role at Christmas undoubtedly stretches back in time to more paganistic practices. According to Pliny the Elder, it was central to [read more…]

An Academic Responds to the Homeopathy Challenge

23rd December, 2008 2

After two weeks of silence from ten UK academic homeopaths, I get a response to my recent challenge. The challenge was simple: can any of the Universities offering a BSc in Homeopathy tell six different homeopathic pills apart if they do not know which is which to start with. Several emails to them and not a single response from any of the academics. However, last week I got an email [read more…]

Julian Graves: Not Just Nuts – Dangerously Irresponsible

8th October, 2008 37

So. Today. I had a quite jaw dropping conversation in my local branch of Julian Graves. For my American readers, Julian Graves is a shop that sells large bags of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, food ingredients and confectionery. I quite like them. Low on packaging, low on branding, and excellent value for money for kitchen basics. And they are not too puritanical in their outlook. You can buy enough liquorice [read more…]