NCAHF T H E B U LLETIN BOARD

JULY / AUGUST, 1989

[The NCAHF Bulletin Board is sent to members only. It is intended to stimulate and aid in · activism against health fraud, misinformation and at the local, state and national levels.]

STRATEGY & TACTICS FOR ADVANCING A MEDICAL care to a half-billion people. PSEUDOSCIENCE Dr. Petr Skrabanek (Dept of Community Health, Trinity watchers may also enjoy reading a College, University of Dublin, Ireland) told a press summary of Dr. Wallace Sampson's presentation on conference at the Royal Society of Medicine in London acupuncture given before the Bay Area Skeptics in that a Dr. Daly speaking at the founding convention of November, 1988. Dr. Sampson is putting the final the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental touches on a NCAHF Position Paper on Acupuncture. Medicine at Los Angeles in 1981 that "Acupuncture is a Both articles may be obtained for $1 and SSAE. part of a larger struggle going on today between the old and the new" (by "new" he presumably meant 2000 NATUROPATHICCOLLEGE DESCRIBED years old acupuncture). John Bastyr College in Seattle is the leading naturopathic training school in the nation. That may Daly divided the medical profession into five groups not amount to much in a field of only two schools, according to their attitudes toward but JBC is significant because it has managed to and outlined how to deal with each group: acquire accreditation recognized by the U.S. (1) "the reactionary extreme" which should be ignored, Department of Education and is very close to regional isolated and exposed. accreditation by the Northwest Association of Schools (2) "the conservative opposition" which should be and Colleges--a standard accrediting agency--for its supplied with selective data and statistics. academic program. Nathan Patrick provides a fairly (3) "the liberal support" whose members are usually accurate (though clearly promotional) picture of JBC cautious and prefer not to discuss their views with in the February issue of Let's Live health food their colleagues from groups 1 and 2. magazine. This provides useful back ground (4) "the progressive support" and information for those who are opposing official (5) "the medical heretics" who are excellent candidates recognition of nonscientific . for active membership and leadership roles. NEW NCAHF TASK FORCES SEEK MEMBERS The tactics and strategies to be adopted when dealing NCAHF has formed two new task forces in recent with the public are: months that now are opened to applications for (1) to undermine their faith in "orthodox" medicine and membership. science; (2) to educate them in their ~ for alternative The Ergogenic Aids Task Force is coordinated by medicine; exercise physiologist, David Lightsey, MS, 2619 F (3) to explain to them that what they need is not a Street, Bakersfield, CA 93306; 805/327-0492. medical specialist but an alternative holist. The Herbal Remedies Task Force is coordinated by The occasion for Dr. Skrabanek's presentation was Richard Oksas, DPharm, 23504 Carlow Rd., Torrance, the formal announcement of the Campaign Against CA 90505; 213/854-6337. Health Fraud, NCAHF's affiliate and counterpart in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Interested people should send a brief letter of intent Dr. Skrabanek is well versed in the history and and resume directly to the coordinators with a copy current status of medical pseudosciences. Members to the NCAHF Main Office in Loma Linda. interested in acupuncture will enjoy his sketch Coordinators will screen applicants and assign "Acupuncture: needless needles" (Irish Medical J, individual tasks. Tasks vary according to the goals 79:334-5, 1986). It states that acupuncture was and purposes of each task force and its stage of removed from the curriculum of the Peking Medical development. Members interested in joining other College in 1822 as a bar to progress of medicine, and task force groups (see listing on the mailing page of that the Japanese rejected it officially in 1876. Its the newsletter) should contact the main office for the modern revival is attributed to Chairman Mao as a name and address of the coordinator of the task force pragmatic solution to the problem of providing medical in which they have an interest. RULES GOVERNING THE MARKETING OF Originally, it was thought that the agency would close HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES after its initial funding ran out, but Mr. Dartland The "National Pharmacy Compliance News" section of wanted to keep the anti-fraud agency going and has the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy News outlines the managed to do so through fundraising. Among the conditions under which homeopathic drugs may be projects the Foundation is involved in is a study of marketed in a 2-part series (March & April, 1989). auto insurance fraud, including an assessment of the Reprints $1 and a SSAE. level of tolerance the public has for this type of white collar crime. A follow-up educational effort to NEW LOBBYING GROUP OF SUPPLEMENT reduce the public's tolerance of auto insurance fraud PROMOTERS FORMS AS FDA GETS TOUGHER will be undertaken as the next stage of this project. According to a health foods trade publication (Whole The studies are to be done by Florida State Foods. June, 1989) the Dietary Supplement Coalition University and have been funded by the Allstate (DSC), a nonprofit organization, has been formed "to Insurance Company. The late Claude Pepper's prevent the FDA from eliminating beneficial and influence on state officials played an important role legitimate nutrients." Gerald Kessler, of Nature's Plus in the establishment of the Foundation. Although its is DSC's president. He says that DSC intends to scope of activities exceeds that of health fraud, "stand up to the FDA wherever they are, and to misinformation and quackery, it is clear that NCAHF protect the industry." Kessler says that the FDA has and CFP&EF have many common goals and principles. recently made use of a "flaw" in the Proxmire Law to The Foundation is located at 2441 Monticello Drive, classify products such as evening primrose oil and Suite 400, Tallahassee, FL 32303. mineral orotates as unsafe food additives. He says that FDA is also trying to eliminate germanium, SOD, MEDIA MAY BE CULPABLE FOR AD FRAUDS coenzyme Q-10, and GLA products from the market. A new approach to curbing the media's promotion of DSC is trying to raise $1.5 miltion to fight FDA, he health frauds may be available in some states. While says. An article in the New York Times (6/1/89), dealing with the Cho Low Tea advertising fraud "FDA in battle on health food frauds", also discusses reported in this issue of the newsletter, Dr. Jim the regulatory situation. These provide useful Lowell discovered that the law in Arizona holds a information and can help activists focus their consumer newspaper culpable if it knowingly accepts and runs a complaints and offer support for FDA's consumer fraudulent advertisement ("knowingly" generally protection activities. We can be reasonably sure that includes the concept "ought to have known" political payola for the health food cause will be eliminating the claim of ignorance as a defense). forthcoming. Members should check with their state's Attorneys On July 7, Victor Herbert faced-off against General or District Attorneys to determine whether or Stanley Bass, attorney for the National Nutritional not advertisers may be held responsible for running Foods Association, on the "Today Show." Bryant fraudulent ads in their states. Gumbel was reporting on the FDA's crack-down on NCAHF would like to know what various state laws dubious supplements. Bass was clearly on the are on this important matter. defensive. He attempted to minimize the health food industry's role in the overall quackery problem, the ARM UST PRICE CHANGES economic dependency of the industry on supplement Included in this mailing is the Summer, 1989, NCAHF sales, and tried to justify supplement-taking. Herbert Available Resource Materials (ARM) list. Long-time pointed out that the Surgeon General's report on members will notice that prices have been increased. nutrition and health, the recent National Research We hope you will also notice that the discount for Council report and others have all recommended members has also been increased. The result will be against supplement-taking. He instructed people on the little change in cost to members for average-sized importance of differentiating words on labels which orders, but a considerable increase for nonmembers. must be true to words in magazines and books which For example, an order for $3.50 worth of reprints can (and do) lie about health benefits. would cost a member $4.80 with the service charge and 20% discount. The same order would cost $4. 75 NEW ANTI-FRAUD ORGANIZATION under the new. pricing. Cost-accounting showed that The Citizen's Fraud Prevention & Education more income is needed to justify this service, and the Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to protecting Florida new pricing is designed to raise most of the needed citizens from all types of consumer fraud. Its additional income from nonmembers. excellent flyer entitled "Shattered Dreams" provides information on Ponzi schemes, home repair frauds, Please send items of possible interest to NCAHF stock scams, telemarketing boiler rooms, fake job members for The BulletinBoard or to readers of the placement services, loan sharks, and quackery. The NCAHF Newsletter to: P.O. Box 1276, Loma Linda, CA Foundation is run by Walter Dartland, a former Deputy 92354. Be sure to include complete references. Attorney General of Florida. It was established using (source, date, page number(s), author(s), plus volume, $90,000 in left-over campaign funds of a state official. number and pages of journals.)