January 2009 – The Quackometer Blog

Is Chiropractic X-raying Illegal?

29th January, 2009 24

Chiropractors have achieved a status amongst practitioners of alternative medicine that is almost unrivalled. In the UK, they have achieved a level of mainstream acceptance, regulation and recognition that must be the envy of homeopaths and herbalists. Such is their standing that I suspect that many people would not even consider them as part of the alternative medicine scene. Chiropractors, like their close cousins the Osteopaths, are statutorily regulated in [read more…]

Ofquack’s Toothless Squawk

19th January, 2009 1

Today sees the long awaited launch of the government backed Ofquack, better known in some circles as the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). Ofquack is the “national voluntary regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners” and was set up by Prince Charles’ Foundation for Integrated Health and funding from the Department of Health. You can find their sparkly new website at http://www.ofquack.org.uk/. It has been quite a long road getting here. [read more…]

Deeside Water Quackery

16th January, 2009 1

The gullibility of British newspapers never ceases to amaze me. The British press today carried uncritical articles about the miracles of Deeside Mineral Water. The Telegraph – a paper with no serious science credibility anymore – told us, Scientists claim that Deeside Water can give drinkers a younger appearance and more radiant skin tone. Those who drank the Scottish water, which is bottled from a spring near the Queen’s Balmoral [read more…]

Auricular Acupuncture: A Word in Your Foetus Like…

11th January, 2009 5

Prince Charles’ Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) is listened to by many in our Government as a sound source of information on complementary medicine. It has been given large sums of money over recent years by the Department of Health to set ways of regulating CAM sellers. The result has been the moribund Ofquack: the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. FIH has been regularly criticised for being hopelessly naive and [read more…]

Hasta el Absurdo Siempre!

9th January, 2009 14

It looks as if homeopaths will be making a noise about their victorious successes in Cuba against the scourge of leptospirosis. Last month, a conference was held in Havana, entitled “Nosodes 2008: International Meeting on Homeopropylaxis, Homeopathic Immunization and Nosodes against Epidemics”. Homeopaths turned up to hear stories of the successes of magic water against dangerous diseases. What is a nosode? A Nosode is “a homeopathic remedy prepared from a [read more…]