Claims Of Unethical Skeptics: A Mirror Image Of The Truth
Over the years, I have seen a number of baseless claims made by anti-vaccinationists and advocates of alternative medicine regarding unethical behaviour by skeptics. They imagine conspiracies and financial interests. They make claims that their opponents are dishonest and mislead people. Yet there never seems to be any evidence that the skeptics they smear have done anything unethical.There is evidence, though, that some anti-vaccinationists and advocates of alternative medicine have been involved in unethical behaviour. Read the rest of this entry »
The Breakspear Hospital and Jean Monro v the ASA and the GMC
In October 2011, I wrote that the Breakspear hospital was offering chelation therapy for coronary and cerebrovascular disease, CFS, autism, and for “preventative medicine” and “anti-ageing”. The page on chelation that I linked to now redirects to a page on treatments that does not mention chelation. Read the rest of this entry »
Homeopathy and Claims to Treat or Cure
One of the adverts under a post I’d written on homeopathy led me to this page. A member of the Society of Homeopaths was claiming on their website to be able to cure a number of conditions – including herpes, depression, allergies, and chronic headaches. As the Nightingale Collaboration pointed out earlier this year, the ASA were: Read the rest of this entry »
Pills and Publicity
[BPSDB] Food supplement manufacturers need to advertise their wares. Sometimes they do this by advertising directly, sometimes by using something that has been referred to as “advertising equivalent exposure” – planting PR puff pieces in the press, for example. There are downsides, though. Occasionally, their advertisements will fall foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (sometimes because they are untruthful and unsubstantiated) and some of their PR puff pieces have come under the scrutiny of bloggers. Read the rest of this entry »
Slap on the Wrist for Spine Crackers – ASA Kick Ass
[BPSDB] Well, here’s my first post for BPSDB: There’s an ASA judgement on the website at the moment relating to an advert by some manipulators called Gonstead Clinic of Chiropractic. The issue? The General Chiropractic Council challenged whether the claim “The Gonstead System of Chiropractic … remains the leader in Chiropractic techniques due to the lengthy training a Gonstead Doctor receives” was misleading and could be substantiated. The response? None. Read the rest of this entry »
Stuff And Nonsense 