>Subject: Re: Heart Patients Sought for Alternative Therapy
>From: "Anth" [email protected]
>Date: 5/15/2004 5:12 PM Pacific Standard Time
>Message-id: <[email protected]>
>
>Why is he a 'quack'?
>Anth
>
>"Hawki63" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> >Subject: Re: Heart Patients Sought for Alternative Therapy
>> >From: [email protected] (Jan)
>> >Date: 5/15/2004 4:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time
>> >Message-id: <[email protected]>
http://askwaltstollmd.com/body_quackery.html
False Cry of Quackery
"Since the early 60's, organized groups have worked overtly and covertly to
unfairly destroy beneficial alternative practices."
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By Martha Kent
Quackery is a word that immediately attracts attention. It implies medical
fraud that may harm us or at least waste our money. All of us need to know when
it is applied justly and when it is a false cry. It has also happened that some
alternatives once labeled as quackery are now mainstream medical practices.
Chiropractic was once targeted by the AMA for containment and eventual
elimination, yet has grown more popular in this era of sports medicine and is
even approved for Medicare payments. Other changes in acceptance have involved
folic acid, vitamin C, other anti-oxidants, and nutritional supplements.
The AMA first launched a campaign to rid the country of quack remedies at the
turn of the century. At that time there were no controls for fraudulent
labeling and deceptive ads. We need to know, however, that since the early 60's
organized groups have worked overtly and covertly to unfairly destroy
beneficial alternative practices. This has been documented by P. Joseph Lisa in
his book, The Assault on Medical Freedom (1994). He describes the pervasiveness
of an ongoing campaign which began in 1963, when the AMA's Board of Trustees
established the Committee on Quackery, headed by Doyle Taylor. He details the
formation and functions of the Coordinating Conference on Health Information
which paralleled the AMA group. The participants in this group were the AMA,
American Cancer Society, American Pharmaceutical Association, Arthritis
Foundation, Council of Better Business Bureaus, National Health Council, FDA,
Federal Trade Commission, US Postal Service, and Office of Consumer Affairs.
These two groups acted as a task force on quackery. Minutes of meetings over
subsequent years revealed interest in targeting vitamins, homeopathy,
chiropractic, naturopathy, all alternative cancer treatments and other
practices which compete with the drug sales of pharmaceutical companies. In
1972, the illegal anti-competitive activities of the AMA were exposed to the
public. Eventually the AMA had to pay the US Postal Service $1 million and owed
the IRS $15 million.
According to Lisa, in 1984, the Pharmaceutical Advertising Council and the FDA
entered a joint campaign called the Public Service Anti-Quackery Campaign. They
targeted entities in economic competition with the pharmaceutical and medical
industries calling them "quacks" or "health frauds". The FDA at the same time
focused its attack against alternative manufacturers of vitamins, supplements,
and herbs. Various groups had differing target priorities in the war but the
targets had two things in common: they did not use pharmaceuticals in healing
and they were in direct competition with conventional medical practices. This
campaign was waged in three ways: attempting to identify supplements as "quack
products" which alternative medicine uses in place of drugs, investigation and
seizure by the FDA using the Task Force once the items were identified, holding
congressional hearings attacking supplements and making it easier to pass laws
against their use.
A recent organized effort to suppress alternative medicine occurred in February
1997 when the Federation of State Medical Boards adopted the recommendations of
the Special Committee on Health Care Fraud. To the naive eye, this report
appeared to protect the public from medical fraud. However, the wording
throughout had the far reaching purpose to eliminate all alternative practices.
The FSMB included among its strategies the intent to strengthen the power of
the State Medical Boards to monitor questionable medical practices, to work
with state prosecutors on disciplinary action, and to oppose state legislative
initiatives which might diminish the ability of State Medical Boards to
regulate questionable health practices. The complete text of the FSMB Report
has been reprinted in the Aug/Sept 1997 issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctor
and Patients.
In the face of popular support of alternative therapies, usually paid for by
the patient, it appears that the public is increasingly turning a deaf ear to
these false cries of quackery. Supplements and other practices once labeled as
quackery are gaining acceptance by mainstream doctors. Interest in homeopathy
and naturopathy are undergoing revivals. There is great interest in alternative
cancer and arthritis treatments. Therapeutic touch, a type of energy healing,
is offered in schools of nursing.
We can't foresee whether any of those who cry quackery today will avail
themselves of alternative therapy when degenerative disease strikes home. Our
own best protection is to stay healthy and to find doctors experienced in both
conventional and holistic methods. As more of us are willing to pay for
effective treatments that cost less and are non-toxic, the health insurers take
increasing notice. On our part, we need to support state groups which are
trying to protect our medical rights. We can also support state and federal
bills that preserve the patients freedom of choice by phoning legislators at
their home offices or the Capitol Switchboard, (202) 224-3121.
