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Consumer Health Digest #22-06
February 5, 2022
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html. 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. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org###
doTerra distributors caught promoting COVID-19 nostrumsTruthInAdvertising.org
http://truthinadvertising.org/has exposed high-ranking distributors for multi-level marketing
https://quackwatch.org/mlm/company doTerra who deceptively promoted products to treat and prevent COVID-19 during three January Zoom presentations
https://www.truthinadvertising.org/doterra-2022-covid-19-claims-database/to hundreds of attendees.
[doTerra distributors deceptively promote products for COVID-19
https://www.truthinadvertising.org/top-doterra-distributors-deceptively-promote-mlms-products-for-covid-19/TINA.org
http://tina.org/. Jan 31, 2022]
The distributors included:
*** Tina Wong, a blue diamond distributor who introduced herself as a board-certified pediatrician, who, in a COVID-19 basics presentation, did not mention getting vaccinated but urged everyone to “find your favorite immune oil that you have around and use it, use it frequently, use it all three ways (internally, topically and aromatically)”
*** Lisa Ma, who, like Wong, is licensed to practice in California, recommended four doTerra products for people who get infected
*** Eliza Bacot, who was presented as an acute-care nurse practitioner and diamond distributor, recommended three doTerra products for people with long-haul COVID
Lauren Busch, a retired registered nurse and platinum distributor, who suggested the company’s Melissa Oil—a 5-ml bottle that sells for over $100—is highly effective against the virus
doTerra International LLC appeared on the Federal Trade Commission’s October 2021 list
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/attachments/penalty-offenses-concerning-money-making-opportunities/list-recipients-mmo_notice_0.pdfof recipients of FTC notices of penalty offenses concerning money-making opportunities and deceptive or unfair conduct around endorsements and testimonials.
In September 2014, the company received a warning letter
https://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20191212082653/https:/www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/doterra-international-llc-09222014from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing its products as unapproved drugs.
doTerra has also been the subject of inquiries by the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs
https://bbbprograms.org/media-center/newsroom/nad-doterra-health-claims, the National Advertising Review Board
https://bbbprograms.org/media-center/newsroom/narb-doterra-health-claimsand the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council
https://www.truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/04_07_20-DSSRC-doTerra-Report.pdf###
Del Bigtree’s ICAN misinformation business thriving during the pandemicIn 2020, Del Bigtree’s Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), one of the country’s best-funded anti-vaccine organizations, shifted the content of its Internet show “The Highwire” almost exclusively to COVID-19. The move seems to have paid off. Tax records
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21196232-ican-final-2020-990-publicindicate that ICAN took in more than $5.5 million in 2020, a 60% increase over 2019, and paid Bigtree $221,000, up from $146,000 in 2016. ICAN pleads for donations on Highwire episodes. The bulk of ICAN’s 2020 expenditures went (as in previous years) to Siri & Glimstad
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/05/26/vaccine-mandate-litigation-siri-glimstad-ican/, a New York law firm that has advertised its services challenging vaccine mandates on anti-vaccine websites. ICAN paid $2.1 million to Siri & Glimstad in 2020. A 2020 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigation
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/marketplace-anti-vaccination-hidden-camera-washington-1.5429805reported that Bigtree charged $3,000 per speaking engagement, not including airfare and hotel. Bigtree has spread many misleading or entirely false pandemic-related claims. Bigtree had seven of his videos removed from YouTube, and Highwire’s 360,000-follower page was removed from Facebook, both for violations of anti-misinformation policies.
[Zadrozny B. Once struggling, anti-vaccination groups have enjoyed a pandemic windfall
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/struggling-anti-vaccination-groups-enjoyed-pandemic-windfall-rcna14402. NBC News, Feb 3, 2022]
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Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 misinformation statements spotlightedMedia Matters for America has posted on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqXrMB4q6L0a three-minute collection of video clips of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy fantasies that have been promoted on “The Joe Rogan Experience” Spotify podcast.
[Kerr J, Peltz M. On Spotify, Joe Rogan's podcast is rife with anti-vaccine talking points and COVID-19 misinformation
https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/spotify-joe-rogans-podcast-rife-anti-vaccine-talking-points-and-covid-19. Media Matters for America, Feb 2, 2022]
Wendy Zukerman, executive producer and host of Gimlet Media's Science Vs podcast on Spotify, has announced that she would make no new ScienceVs episodes "except those intended to contradict misinformation being spread on Spotify."
[Chmielewski D. Science podcaster calls Spotify's support of Joe Rogan a 'slap in the face.'
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/science-podcaster-calls-spotifys-support-joe-rogan-slap-face-2022-02-01/Reuters, Jan 31, 2022]
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Global anti-aging and longevity quackery market is growing rapidlyAccording to a 205-page report by Grand View Research, Inc., a U.S.-based market research and consulting company, the global complementary and alternative medicine for anti-aging and longevity market is expected to reach USD 182.9 billion by 2028. It was valued at just USD 36.89 billion in 2020.
[Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Anti-Aging & Longevity Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Intervention (Botanicals, Mind Healing), By Customer, By Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2021–2028
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/complementary-alternative-medicine-anti-aging-longevity-market-report. Grand View Research, Report ID: GVR-4-68039-832-8, Jan 22, 2022.]
None of the modalities identified in the report as part of this market has been shown to slow aging or promote longevity. Quackwatch
https://quackwatch.org/discusses most of them.
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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