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Consumer Health Digest #08-25
June 17, 2008
Current # of subscribers: 11,763
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by
Stephen Barrett, M.D., and cosponsored by NCAHF and Quackwatch. It
summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement
actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and
nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer
protection and consumer decision-making.
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Quackwatch and Dr. Barrett need your help. If you haven't already
done so, please read
http://www.ncahf.org/digest07/07-48.html and
send a contribution to support our work.
###
Stroke triggers major anti-chiropractic lawsuit.
A Canadian woman who was paralyzed by a neck manipulation has filed a
class-action lawsuit intended to stop inappropriate chiropractic
manipulation and force Canadian regulators to deal with this problem.
http://www.casewatch.org/mal/nette/claim.pdf The suit, which is
seeking more than $525 million in damages, targets Alberta
chiropractors who provide inappropriate spinal manipulations and
regulators who have failed to curb their use. The woman, Sandra
Nette, now has "locked-in syndrome," a condition that has been
described as "the closest thing to being buried alive." She is fully
aware of her surroundings and suffers at times from extreme pain. She
cannot swallow, speak, or breathe without regular mechanical
ventilation and suctioning of her secretions. She cannot move her
legs or left arm. Slight use of her right arm enables her a to use a
computer keyboard to communicate through a voice synthesizer. Her
story has been posted to
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F324082BDDF8E50C. In addition
to litigating on their own behalf, she and her husband want the court
to permit them to represent all persons who paid for or received
spinal manipulation (other than spinal manipulation to treat a
diagnosis of acute or sub-acute uncomplicated back pain) from an
Alberta chiropractor during the past decade. They also want to have
the defendant chiropractor represent a class of Alberta chiropractors
who provided inappropriate manipulation. [Barrett S. Stroke caused by
neck manipulation triggers class-action lawsuit. Chirobase, June 19,
2008]
http://www.chirobase.org/08Legal/nette.html###
Ontario bans smoking in cars when children under 16 are present.
The Ontario Legislative Assembly has enacted the Protecting Children
and Youth from Second-Hand Smoke in Automobiles Act, which prohibits
smoking in a motor vehicle with a child present. Violations can
trigger a penalty of up to $250 for each offense. Nova Scotia and
British Columbia have similar laws and Prince Edward Island and New
Brunswick are also considering them. Research has shown that even
under full ventilation, inhalable particle concentrations inside the
cars were at least 13 times that of the outdoor concentration. With
no ventilation, these concentrations reached levels as high as 300
times the outdoor particle concentration. [Backgrounder - Tobacco
smoke concentration in cars. Ontario Medical Association fact sheet,
March 2008]
http://www.oma.org/media/news/tobaccosmokeincarbackgrounder.asp###
Feds target "fake cancer cures."
The FDA and FTC have issued an unprecedented number of warning
letters to Internet marketers of alleged "anti-cancer" products. The
FDA's warnings went to Ageless Cures, Best on Earth Products, Burt
Hampton (The Original Cream Company), Coral Calcium, Gemtronics,
Generation, H & L Worldwide Inc (Vitasprings), Herbal Remission,
Herbs for Cancer, Herbtime, JHS Naturals, Millenium Health, New Sun
Inc, Nutrition 2000, Plantcures.com, Precision Herbs, Richard McPhail
(Be Healed), Road to Healing, Superb Herbs (a/k/a FemHealth), The
Institute for Healthy Aging, Triherba Marketing, USA Golden Vision,
Vitapurity (a/k/a Vitapurity Corp and Vitapurity Nutraceuticals),
Vitasalus, Inc (Nu-Gen Nutrition), and Wallcann-Cura-Care.com. The
FDA has also issued tips about cancer scams
http://www.cancertreatmentwatch.org/reg/fda_warning.shtml and
identified 125 products to avoid.
http://www.cancertreatmentwatch.org/reg/125.shtml The product
ingredients include bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium,
cesium, ellagic acid, cat's claw, and mushroom varieties such as
Agaricus Blazeii, Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi. The FTC has warned
more than 100 marketers whose names have not been publicly disclosed.
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Board Chairman, Quackwatch, Inc.
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
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