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Quackwatch Your Guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions Navigation Guide Newsletter Discussion List What’s New Donate Search Visit Our Affiliated Sites Quackwatch Acupuncture Watch Allergy Watch Autism Watch Cancer Treatment Watch Casewatch Chelation Watch Chirobase Credential Watch Dental Watch Device Watch Diet Scam Watch Fibromyalgia Watch Homeowatch Infomercial Watch Internet Health Pilot Mental Health Watch MLM Watch Naturowatch NCCAM Watch Nutriwatch Pharmwatch Donate Search Visit Our Affiliated Sites Quackwatch Acupuncture Watch Allergy Watch Autism Watch Cancer Treatment Watch Casewatch Chelation Watch Chirobase Credential Watch Dental Watch Device Watch Diet Scam Watch Fibromyalgia Watch Homeowatch Infomercial Watch Internet Health Pilot Mental Health Watch MLM Watch Naturowatch NCCAM Watch Nutriwatch Pharmwatch Alert: This site works better with javascript. Enable javascript for your browser: Chrome Instructions , Firefox Instructions , Edge Instructions , Internet Explorer Instructions , Safari Instructions . + Quackwatch, which is operated by Stephen Barrett, M.D., is a network of Web sites and mailing lists maintained by the Center for Inquiry (CFI). The sites focus on health frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. Their main goal is to provide quackery -related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. To help visitors with special areas of interest, there are sites that cover autism, chiropractic, dentistry, multilevel marketing, and many other problematic areas. The Internet Health Pilot site provides links to hundreds of reliable health sites. Casewatch contains a large library of legal cases, licensing board actions, government sanctions, and regulatory actions against questionable medical products. All of these can be accessed through the “Visit Our Affiliated Sites” drop-down menu above. Their contents can be searched all at once through our search page . We also offer a Health Fraud Discussion List that has more than 600 members and Consumer Health Digest , a free weekly e-mail newsletter that summarizes scientific reports, legislative developments, enforcement actions, and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams. About Quackwatch Mission Statement Tips for Navigating Our Web Sites Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Recently Posted Articles Who Funds Quackwatch ? Quackwatch Acts as a Healthcare Watchdog (badcredit.org) Quackwatch Compiles Trustworthy Information (DatingNews.com) Quackwatch: Vigilance Against Questionable Healthcare Claims and Their Financial Implications (cardrates.com) How to Become a Quackwatch Advisor Honors and Awards (70+) Given to Quackwatch Cheers and Jeers from Quackwatch Visitors More Nasty Comments Sent to Quackwatch Special Message for Cancer Patients Seeking Alternative Treatment Join the Health Fraud Discussion List Quackwatch en Français Índice de traducciones al español About Dr. Barrett Biographical Sketch and Contact Information Curriculum Vitae Books and Book Chapters Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Psychiatric Times article (1995 ) (posted 7/27/18) Biography Magazine Interview (posted 11/17/98) American Psychiatric News article (posted 1/9/12) MEDHUNTERS magazine article (posted 8/6/02) DatingAdvice.com article (12/10/17) People Magazine article (1/25/99) TIME Magazine article (4/22/01) Paul Gibbons Podcast Interview (2018) Skeptics Zone Podcast Interview (2018 ) General Observations Quackery How Should It Be Defined? (updated 1/17/09) How It Sells (updated 1/20/05) FEATURE 28 Ways to Spot It (9/30/18) FEATURE How It Harms Cancer Patients (posted 5/29/97) “Health Freedom” (updated 9/27/97) More Ploys That May Fool You (updated 8/12/18) “Research” Associated with Promotion of Questionable Methods (updated 1/31/08) FEATURE Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science (posted 3/5/03) Common Misconceptions (updated 8/30/99) Why People Are Vulnerable (updated 1/16/19) How People Are Fooled by Ideomotor Action (posted 8/26/03) Endorsements Don’t Guarantee Reliability (posted 2/12/03) The Power of Coincidence (posted 8/31/00) Distinguishing Science and Pseudoscience (posted 5/30/01) Why Science Needs to Combat Pseudoscience (posted 12/13/98) Why Health Professionals Become Quacks (posted 12/11/98) Epidemic Quackery (James Harvey Young, 1978 ) (posted 7/17/18) Why Quackery Persists (posted 12/7/01) Victim Case Reports (36) (updated 11/1/15) FEATURE Nonvictim Case Reports (4) (updated 6/28/00) Ten Ways to Avoid Being Quacked (posted 4/24/97) Signs of a Quack Device (posted 9/23/00) Signs of a “Quacky” Web Site (updated 4/10/17) Pro-Quackery Legislation (updated 5/16/01) Incisive Comments (updated 3/6/11) Senate Hearing on Anti-Aging Quackery (updated 11/11/01) Debunking the Myth that “Only 10-20% of Medical Procedures Are Proved” (posted 8/12/18) Propaganda Techniques Related to Environmental Scares (posted 3/10/98) Spontaneous Remission and the Placebo Effect (posted 12/19/01) Why Strong Laws Are Needed to Protect Us (updated 11/15/98) Some Notes on the Nature of Science (updated 6/22/01) The Myth of the Healthy Savage (posted 6/13/19) Quackery and You (booklet ) Historic Reports (Mostly Books) A Historian’s View of Quackery in 1974 Health Frauds and Quackery (1977 Interview of Dr. Barrett ) Nostrums and Quackery, Volume I (AMA, 1912 ) Nostrums and Quackery Volume II, (AMA, 1921 ) Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudomedicine, Volume III (AMA, 1936) Lessons from the History of Medical Delusions (Worthington Hooker, MD, 1850 ) The Medical Messiahs: A Social History of Quackery in 20th-Century America FEATURE The Toadstool Millionaires: Social History of Patent Medicines before Federal Regulation FEATURE FDA Survey of Health Practices and Opinions (1972) History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse’s Indian Root Pills Quackery: A $10 Billion Scandal (1984) [Report ] [ Congressional Hearing ] The Health Robbers: How to Protect Your Money and Your Life (1980 ) The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America (1993 ) FEATURE The Vitamin Pushers: How the “Health Food” Industry Is Selling America a Bill of Goods (1994 ) FEATURE Health Smarts (1990 ) Nutrition Cultism: Facts and Fictions (1983 ) Questionable Products, Services, and Theories Acupuncture (updated 1/12/11) FEATURE AIDS-Related Quackery and Fraud (updated 12/5/01) Algae Products: False Claims and Hype (updated 1/14/07) Allergies: Dubious Diagnosis and Treatment (updated 1/17/08) “Alternative,” “Complementary,” and “Integrative” Methods Important Definitions (posted 1/3/01) Be Wary of “Alternative” “Complementary,” and “Integrative” Health Methods (updated 4/17/17) FEATURE Miniglossary of “Alternative” Methods (updated 12/31/07) A Critical Review (W.T. Jarvis, 2000 ) (posted 6/15/20) “Alternative Medicine as Self-Care (posted 12/1/00) Commonly Publicized Methods (updated 12/8/99) The Braid of the ‘Alternative’ Medicine Movement (posted 6/21/01) Science vs “Alternative” Methods (posted 8/22/97) A Public Health Perspective (updated 8/16/99) The Eisenberg Data: Flawed and Deceptive (posted 3/16/02) Why Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Proof (posted 12/26/98) “ Alternative Medicine” and the Psychology of Belief (posted 6/24/01) “Postmodern” Attacks on Science and Reality (posted 5/30/98) Problems with “CAM” Peer Review and Accreditation (revised 6/14/04) “Alternative Engineering”: A Postmodern Parable (posted 1/4/00) Should Managed Care Companies Cover “Alternative Medicine”? (posted 1/24/99) Views of a Concerned Layperson (posted 8/23/01) Additional Thoughts about “CAM” Beliefs (posted 7/24/02) Newsweek’s Misleading Report (revised 7/14/03) Definitions of 1,169 Methods (130-page dictionary posted 5/27/97) White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (posted 3/4/02) FEATURE Detailed Analysis of WHCCAMP Draft Report (updated 3/4/02) FEATURE ...