Consumer Health

1
Consumer Health
2
Frauds and Quackery

• Chapter 3

3
Quackery

• A pretender to medical skill or One who talks
  pretentiously without sound knowledge of the
  subject discussed.

4
Health Fraud

• The FDA defines Quackery as The promotion, for
  profit, of a medical remedy known to be false or
  unproven.
• Many promoters believe in their product, thus
  deliberate deception turns to simply uninformed
  promoters.

5
Fraud/Quackery

• At least ______ is spent yearly on products and
  services that are falsely claimed to prevent or
  alleviate health problems.

15 billion
6
Fraud/Quackery

• The Arthritis Foundation states that 1 billion a
  year is spent on quack remedies.

7
The FDA listed the following as the top ten
health frauds
Fraudulent arthritis potions

• 1)
• 2) Bogus AIDS cures
• 3) Instant weight-loss programs
• 4) Fraudulent sexual aids
• 5) Spurious cancer clinics

8
Top Ten (continued)

• 6) Quack baldness remedies and other
• appearance modifiers
• 7) False nutritional schemes
• 8) Unproven use of muscle stimulators
• 9) Chelation therapy
• 10) Treatment for non-existent yeast
• infections

9
Why do people turn to questionable methods

• Individuals may underestimate the illness put off
  treatment
• Religious and cultural beliefs may foster other
  methods
• Physicians may be unable to communicate to
  patients
• Patients may distrust physicians

10
Continued

• Some people have a feeling of distrust or
  betrayal toward the scientific community
• People fear social unacceptability (pain, death,
  growing old)
• Many people become desperate when the physician
  cannot solve the health problem

11
Continued

• Many people faced with chromic pain will grasp
  for help
• Patients may not receive help from physicians for
  psychological problems (50 to 70 percent of those
  who go to general practitioners suffer from
  emotional difficulties

12
Continued

• Many are gullible due to ignorance in health
  matters
• The mass media provide false and misleading
  information
• People fail to realize that even serious illness
  have their ups and downs (temp. improv.--gt med.)

13
Hazards

• Quackery may lead to
• The lack of legitimate medical help
• The wasting of needed funds
• Improper diagnosis and possible worsened medical
  condition
• Unsafe procedures can cause harm
• Psychological harm

14
Common Misconceptions

• Quacks are frauds and crooks
• Most quackery is dangerous
• The media are reliable
• Personal experience is the best way to tell
  whether a treatment works

15
Placebo Effect

• In a classroom a professor sprayed plain water
  about the room and ask the students to raise
  their hands as soon as they detected an odor.
  Seventy-three percent managed to smell a
  nonexistent odor.

Existing odor
Odor in the water
16
Recognizing/Classifying Quackery

• Quacks can be classified into three groups
• Dumb Quacks These people know not, and dont
  know that they know not.
• Deluded Quacks These people know but have been
  misled into not knowing.
• Dishonest Quacks These people know not and know
  that they know not.

17
Behaviors of Quacks

• They promise quick, dramatic, or painless
  treatment or cures.
• They use anecdotes, case histories, or
  testimonials to support claims.
• They use disclaimers couched in jargon (Instead
  of offering to cure an illness they may offer to
  detoxify the body.

18
Behaviors of Quacks

• They may display questionable titles
• The results they claim have not been verified or
  published in a reputable scientific journal.
• They may claim a single service or product may
  claim a wide range of unrelated illnesses.

19
Behaviors of Quacks

• They may claim to have a secrete cure or one that
  is recognized in other parts of the world but not
  yet in the US.
• They may claim to be persecuted by the medical
  profession.
• They may claim that most Americans are poorly
  nourished and should take vitamins.

20
Behaviors of Quacks

• They may state that medical doctors should not be
  trusted and that surgery, x-rays, and drugs cause
  more harm than good. They may also use terms
  such as butchers and poisoners to describe
  doctors.
• Anytime a promoter is Extreme in a description
  the consumer should beware

21
Freedom of Choice

• Many promoters of questionable or
  alternative services and products claim the
  right to freedom-of-choice for the consumer.
  Many of these promoters neglect the right of
  consumer protection.

22
Questions/Terms

• Quackery
• Health Fraud
• Leading health frauds
• Reasons for using alternative methods
• Hazards associated with quackery

23
Questions/Terms

• Placebo Effect
• Common misconceptions of quackery/fraud
• Classifying quackery (three groups)
• Behaviors of quacks

24
Assignment

• Read Chapter 4