Consumer Health Digest, Issue #22-45 (original) (raw)

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, cli ck here.

Anti-vaccine “documentary” debunked. Died Suddenly is a 78-minute anti-vaccine propaganda video by Matthew Miller Skow and Nicholas Stumphauzer. It was released on November 21 by the Stew Peters Network on Rumble, where it has been viewed well over eight-million times, and on Twitter, where it has received nearly 40,000 likes. Peters, a bounty hunter turned radio host, has a history of making unfounded claims about COVID-19 policies and interventions. During the 2022 America First Political Conference, Peters said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, M.D., “should be hanging by the end of a noose somewhere.” [Lee BY. New ‘Died Suddenly’ film pushes unfounded depopulation claims about COVID-19 vaccine. Forbes, Nov 22, 2022] Jonathan Jarry, of the McGill University Office for Science and Society, has noted:

Died Suddenly alleges the COVID-19 vaccines are bioweapons meant to depopulate the world by creating clots that kill people suddenly.
The clots shown by the embalmers in the movie seem to medical experts to be no different than the clots that commonly occur in life and also after death.
Many of the people the movie want us to believe died suddenly are not actually dead.

[Jarry J. The anti-vaccine documentary Died Suddenly wants you to feel, not think. McGill Office for Science and Society, Nov 25, 2022]

Anti-vaccine physician surrenders her license. Jessica Laine Peatross, M.D., of Asheville, North Carolina, has surrendered her California medical license after declining to contest allegations against her. The Medical Board of California had accused her of:

providing medical exemptions for all vaccines to two children who were her patients
recommending to one of the patients skin testing for reactions to vaccines and additives in the absence of documented allergy concerns to specific vaccines or vaccine components
repeated negligent acts in her care and treatment of the two patients
general unprofessional conduct

Naturopath who failed to detect patient’s rectal tumor suspended. Vancouver naturopath Jordan Atkinson has signed a consent agreement under which he will be fined $5,000 and will have his license suspended for 16 consecutive days. A Public Notification posted by the College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia states that Atkinson negligently failed to notice a patient’s rectal tumor during hemorrhoid treatment appointments over a four-month period. [Lindsay B. Vancouver naturopath suspended after patient says he failed to notice tumour during repeat visits. CBC News, Nov 21, 2022]

Pseudoscience in sport spotlighted. Exercise physiologist Nick Tiller, MRes, PhD, argues that pseudoscience is a systemic problem in sports. He offers examples of prominent athletes promoting pseudoscientific health and performance claims. [Tiller N. Is sport a breeding ground for pseudoscience? Skeptical Inquirer, Nov 10, 2022] He concludes:

Pseudoscience preys on hopes and fears—two sides of the same coin—and it also feeds on desperation. Because of the “win at all costs” mentality nurtured in high-performance sports, athletes exhibit plenty of all three traits. And such characteristics likely become intensified closer to elite level. Even though many athletes prefer evidence-based approaches, it only takes a minority of individuals, especially those who are famous or revered, to allow for the spread of misinformation and erroneous advice. Moreover, there’s little doubt that the culture of high-performance sport may be allowing pseudoscience to breed unabated, generally unchallenged by athletes, coaches, and scientific support staff, all on the justification of important placebo effects. But widespread acceptance of placebos in sport gives no mind as to how these products affect the masses when they bleed into mainstream practice. Indeed, we now have decisive answers to the question of “_What’s the harm?_”

E-book website operators charged for intellectual property piracy. Russian nationals Anton Napolsky, 33, and Valeriia Ermakova, 27, have been charged with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud, and money laundering for operating Z-Library, an online e-book piracy website. [Two Russian nationals charged with running massive e-book piracy website: Defendants operated Z-Library, which offered free download of copyrighted works. U.S. Department of Justice press release, Nov 16, 2022] Government documents allege that the copyright crimes perpetrated by the defendants have had devastating effects on authors, publishers, authors’ estates, bookstores, and legitimate e-book sellers. By making books available online for free while encouraging users to pay for enhanced features, Z-Library has robbed individuals of the fruits of their labor—which, for some literary works, represents years or even decades of work. The pair was arrested in November in Cordoba, Argentina, at the request of the United States. At the same time, Z-Library’s network of online domains was taken offline and seized by the U.S. government, pursuant to a court order. [Barrett S. Z-Library operators arrested for copyright violations. Casewatch, Nov 19, 2022]

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