Uncategorized – Page 3 – The Quackometer Blog

Why Does the MHRA Not Close Down these Homeopaths?

18th January, 2013 69

BBC South West have again produced an excellent investigation into the practices of homoeopath,s this time focusing on the trade in sugar pills sold as vaccines for children. Given the alarming number of cases of Whooping Cough in the region, and the low vaccine uptake in some areas, there is concern that parents using such products could be putting their children at serious risk. The BBC found Prince Charles’ favourite homeopathic pharmacy selling sugar [read more…]

Tory Free Schools Plot to Spin Away the Racism of Steiner Schools.

7th January, 2013 33

Last year, I wrote to my local MP, Lib Dem Tessa Munt, to raise concerns that the nearby opening of a state funded Steiner School raised a number of issues. Most importantly, that Steiner Schools are not open about the religious and occult nature of their philosophy and that this philosophy is based on an abhorrent racist view of human spirituality. Furthermore, children are likely to be exposed to pseudoscience, hidden spiritual [read more…]

Will Any Homeopath Say Homeopathy is no Substitute for Radiotherapy?

7th December, 2012 247

The story is tragic. A young mother with a child with cancer, fearing that radiotherapy will do more harm than good, and believing homeopathy and other natural cures give her child the best chance, fleas to escape a court ordering treatment. She was found in East Grinstead and the child has been taken into care and she is in court. Her position is quite understandable. The ‘natural health’ world is [read more…]

How Steiner Schools Justify their Occult Pedagogy.

27th November, 2012 18

Rudolf Steiner was very clear to his teachers. Young children were incapable of abstract reasoning until they were 14 and their “astral body” had incarnated. Learning to read was bad for a child’s development until adult teeth had appeared and the “etheric body” had incarnated. Early years teaching was more about helping children to remember their existence in previous lives than teaching them anything. What they actually do, such as art using [read more…]

Three Quack Stories and Santa’s Quantum Sack

26th November, 2012 18

The December issue of the nation’s most dangerous quack magazine, What Doctors Don’t Tell You, is hitting the magazine shelves of your local supermarket and newsagent now. The greatest merit of the magazine is that it serves as a condensed example of all the ways alternative health reporting seeks to mislead you and drive you away from your doctor and into the clutches of your friendly herbalist, vitamin salesman and [read more…]

Steiner Schools: An Alternative to Education.

14th November, 2012 347

I have received the following letter from a parent who has recently withdrawn her child from a Steiner School. I thought it was worth sharing, and with permission, I do so. I was very interested to read your article re Steiner schools and would like to thank you for highlighting these dreadful places. I too will be writing to Michael Gove saying it is a disgrace that public money is being made [read more…]

The Royal College of Vestigial Victorian Fairground-Mystic Bone Setters.

13th November, 2012 249

Since the invention of the semi-religious cult of chiropractic over a hundred years ago, the one thing that the believers have sought is recognition. Historically, there have been two camps within the cult: those who wanted recognition as a distinct practice within the medical community and those who wanted recognition as an alternative to mainstream medicine – a strictly alternative therapy. We hear today from the British Chiropractic Association, that [read more…]

Angel Garden and Steve Paris

9th November, 2012 0

Writing about contentious issues and having a blog that is read widely will mean that I attract attention from quarters that can be annoying at times. Steve and Angel are in dispute with a Steiner School in New Zealand. They claim their children w… [read more…]

Boots Unconcerned About Nelsons Production Problems.

16th August, 2012 40

So, to recap: Nelsons, manufacturers of Bach Flower Remedies and various homeopathic products, had their London factory inspected by the the American regulators as they export to the US. The report was damning. They found no control over broken glass entering their medical products, poor production processes resulting in 1 in 6 products failing to receive the homeopathic ingredient, poor labelling and lack of quality control on the products. The [read more…]

FDA Raises Serious Concerns About UK’s Nelsons Homeopathics

9th August, 2012 155

Nelsons, UK manufacturers of such products as Bach Rescue Remedies, and a range of Homeopathic sugar pills, such as Teetha, have been inspected by the US authority the FDA as their products are exported to the US. The FDA reports many concerns about their manufacturing processes in London and have ordered them to report how they are going to remediate their concerns. It all makes rather odd reading, as I [read more…]