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Consumer Health Digest #23-51
December 17, 2023
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.
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Naturopath fined for illegally practicing medicine—againA Quebec Court judge has ordered naturopath
https://quackwatch.org/naturopathy/and repeat offender Ken Montizambert to pay $125,000 in fines for illegally practicing medicine and for leading people to believe he is authorized to perform acts reserved for members of the Quebec College of Physicians. Despite a permanent injunction against him, he continued his practice.
[Bonaque A. Ken Montizambert, a repeat naturopath who practices illegally, will have to pay $120,000 in fines
https://www.noovo.info/nouvelle/le-naturopathe-recidiviste-devra-payer-120-000-damendes-pour-lexercice-de-pratique-illegale.html. Noovo Info, Dec 8, 2023]
According to a hidden camera investigation at Montizambert’s clinic, Montizambert used a device called Avatar on journalist Véronique Dubé, who posed as a patient with ankylosing spondylitis. Montizambert told Dubé she had a central nervous system problem due to cobalt and graphite, which he attributed to her receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Although he described the Avatar device as acupuncture, Montizambert is not a member of the Quebec Order of Acupuncturists. He billed Dubé $217.17 that included a $95 consultation fee, two bottles of supplements and a natural, turmeric-based product.
[Dubé V. Hidden camera: Twice-convicted naturopath continues to offer questionable treatments
https://www.noovo.info/nouvelle/camera-cachee-un-naturopathe-condamne-deux-fois-continue-doffrir-des-traitements-douteux.html. Noovo Info, April 17, 2023]
Dubé’s investigation was used in the court case against Montizambert.
[Rivet S, Sauro A. New evidence could influence the sentence of a naturopath repeat offender of illegal practice
https://www.noovo.info/video/naturopathe-recidiviste-de-la-nouvelle-preuve-pourrait-influencer-la-sentence.html. Noovo Info, April 18, 2023]
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Patient suffers third-degree burns from traditional Thai healing practiceAs shown in a horrifying video, a model nicknamed Game was engulfed in flames when treated two months ago at a Bangkok clinic with Phao Ya. Phao Ya is a traditional Thai practice that involves burning herbs on the stomach to treat digestion issues, menstrual pain, and other problems. Game suffered third-degree burns and blisters.
[Keane I. Model ends up engulfed in flames after trying treatment to cure stomach issues in Thailand
https://nypost.com/2023/12/05/news/model-gets-engulfed-in-flames-trying-to-cure-her-indigestion/. New York Post, Dec 5, 2023]
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Physiologist criticizes testosterone-boosting claimsExercise physiologist Nick Tiller, M.Res., Ph.D., has criticized aggressively promoted products such as Nugenix’s “man-boosting” formula and practices such as testicle tanning with infrared light.
[Tiller N. Testosterone supplements: Summoning the specter of Tucker Carlson
https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/testosterone-supplements-summoning-the-specter-of-tucker-carlson/. Skeptical Inquirer, Dec 5, 2023]
He concluded:
Men with clinically low levels of testosterone should seek advice from their doctors. For everyone else, the broader challenge is to uncouple the concept of “masculinity” from the circulating concentrations of a single hormone. If you have questions about your manhood, you won’t find the answers in a testosterone supplement; your insecurities will haunt you long after the bottle is empty.
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Senior editor of German magazine discusses importance of medical literacyMedwatch
https://medwatch.de/is a popular, award-winning online magazine run by a team of journalists whose focus is “research from the gray area of the internet, where supposed healers offer their miracles.” Journalists Nicola Kuhrt and Hinnerk Feldwisch-Dentrup founded it in 2017. In a recent interview, Senior Editor Sigrid März discussed the need to “clarify” such faulty information.
[Harrison A. ‘For consumers and patients seeking help and information, these structures can become a tragedy’—Sigrid März of MedWatch on the importance of medical literacy
https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/for-consumers-and-patients-seeking-help-and-information-these-structures-can-become-a-tragedy-sigrid-marz-of-medwatch-on-the-importance-of-medical-literacy/. Skeptical Inquirer, Dec 7, 2023]
According to März:
MedWatch’s work is evidence-based, which means that we take a very close look at every new piece of research. What is the data situation? What studies are there on this topic? But also: Where are there uncertainties? We communicate all of this in our articles and, for some time now, also via Instagram.
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Lifestyle brand for conservatives, The Wellness Company, painted as “grifty.”A recent article about The Wellness Company (TWC) on the Daily Beast begins:
A gaggle of Trumpworld-linked investors and disreputable medical professionals are hawking a Goop-like lifestyle brand—complete with supplements, podcasts, telehealth, and even a dating service—to conservative audiences with the help of far-right influencers, The Daily Beast has discovered.
The article notes:
TWC’s “chief scientific officer,” Dr. Peter McCullough, is a cardiologist who has spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
Harvey Risch, a cancer epidemiologist whose colleagues at Yale
https://medium.com/@gregggonsalves/statement-from-yale-faculty-on-hydroxychloroquine-and-its-use-in-covid-19-47d0dee7b2b0denounced and debunked his claims for hydroxychloroquine in an August 2020 letter, is on the TWC “medical board.”
Richard Amerling, who served as a medical director for COVID-19-misinformation-promoting America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), is TWC’s “Chief Academic Officer.”
Addiction specialist-turned-radio-“love-doctor,” Dr. Drew Pinsky, joined the board after TWC sponsored his show for several months.
TWC’s leadership team includes a self-described “doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine,” as well as Trump administration science adviser Paul Alexander, who has advocated combating COVID-19 via herd immunity.
TWC’s COVID Emergency Kit, which contains the unproven remedies ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, is priced at $299.99 ($249.99 for members).
TWC’s Spike Support Formula is claimed to provide “natural immune support,”
[Muldowney D, Bredderman W. MAGA influencers are sold on this grifty wellness company
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-wellness-company-is-being-spruiked-by-kari-lake-laura-loomer-naomi-wolf-and-others. Daily Beast, Dec 1, 2023]
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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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Topic: Patient suffers third-degree burns from traditional Thai healing practice (Read 111 times)