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Consumer Health Digest #08-08
February 19, 2008
Current # of subscribers: 11,714
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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If you haven't already done so, please read
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support our work.
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Class action suit filed against Akavar diet pill scammers.
A suit seeking class action status has been filed against Utah-based
Basic Research, LLC; Dynakor Pharmacal, LLC; Western Holdings, LLC;
Dennis Gay, Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D.; and Mitchell Friedlander. The
complaint charges that defendants "engaged in a deliberate campaign
of widespread fraud and deception" and racketeering by falsely
claiming that Akavar 20/50 (an herbal concoction) could produce
weight loss without dietary modification or increased exercise.
Akavar 20/50 was also falsely claimed to have been "designed by a
team of doctors working in a recognized university" and to have been
validated by published research.
http://www.casewatch.org/civil/akavar/complaint.shtml Mowrey has been
associated with herb-related schemes for more than 20 years.
Friedlander is one of the most egregious mail-order health scammers
of all time. During the early 1980s, doing business as the
Robertson-Taylor Company and at least six other companies, he took in
tens of millions of dollars for fraudulent weight-loss aids, hair
restorers, sexual stimulants, impotence cures, arthritis remedies,
and other vitamin products. [Shearing the suckers. Consumer Reports
Feb 1986, pp 87-92] The U.S. Postal Service ended these promotions
with a series of cease-and-desist orders.
http://www.casewatch.org/usps/rt.shtml In 2006, Mowrey, Gay,
Friedlander, and Basic Research settled FTC charges that they had
falsely advertised six other products. [Major weight-loss marketers
pay $3 million: FTC charged they could not back up claims for six
weight-loss products for adults and kids. FTC news release, May 11,
2006]
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/05/basicresearch.htm The claims
for Akavar violate the FTC settlement agreement.
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Chiropractors using "research project" to lure patients.
Several chiropractic Web sites are now advertising for volunteers who
will be offered a free evaluation and then invited-as paying
patients-to "commit to a 24-visit cycle, and continue coming until
they reach their maximum potential." The ads are part of a program
offered by Research & Clinical Science (RCS), which has promised to
tabulate data that will ultimately pinpoint "exactly what impact
subluxations have on the body, and what benefits chiropractic might
offer to people of various ages and health levels." RCS has promised
chiropractors that its program will generate between 10 and 25 new
patients a month and promote long-term wellness and compliance among
existing patients. To join the program, chiropractors pay $7,384 in
advance or up to $8,384 for an installment plan. In return, RCS
provides the training, research technology, brochures, and other
marketing materials needed to act as an "RCS Authorized Clinical
Investigator." "Subluxation" is a nebulous term that most
chiropractors use to describe the alleged spinal problems that they
offer to treat.
http://www.chirobase.org/01General/chirosub.html Dr.
Stephen Barrett has concluded that because "subluxation" detection is
not a valid health yardstick, most "research volunteers" are likely
to be invited to waste time and money getting care they do not need.
[Barrett S. Chiropractic "research" project is a marketing tool.
Chirobase, Jan 28, 2008]
http://www.chirobase.org/20PB/rcs.html###
Major report concludes that amalgam fillings are safe.
A European Commission committee has concluded that amalgam fillings
pose no systemic health risks to humans and that no justification
exists for removing fillings that are functioning properly. The
committee's 71-page report is available for comment until February
22, after which it could be revised before final publication.
[European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly
Identified Health Risks. The safety of dental amalgam and alternative
dental restoration materials for patients and users: Preliminary
report. Nov 29, 2007]
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_011.pdf###
Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest08/index.html. For information about the
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Board Chairman, Quackwatch, Inc.
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
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