FSM Friends’ News and Articles
A horrifying survey of “pediatric naturopathic oncology” practice: It’s a rallying cry of quacks the world over, even though we already have far more than enough evidence to conclude that a large number of the treatments (e.g., reiki, restrictive diets, craniosacral therapy, homeopathy) used by “naturopathic oncologists” treating children with cancer are ineffective and/or pure pseudoscience, while even the unproven treatments have a low probability of being found efficacious based on what we already know. This is the strategy: Argue that these treatments are popular and then urge “more research” regarding the CAM treatments used. Of course, if that “research” is done by naturopaths, it will be of poor quality but usable (by them) to justify their quackery. It’s just that, in this case, the naturopaths are arguing to subject children with cancer to quackery.
General
#WhyIVaccinate is trending – Here are the reasons: I think this is self-evident: #WhyIVaccinate? A lot of reasons, to protect me and the others around me. Because there are a lot of good reasons to vaccinate and none to not vaccinate. I won’t go on. I am just glad to see people picking up on this. The way to fight misinformation is with information. So let’s keep it up.
An increasing number of countries are banning e-cigarettes – here’s why: The evidence to date suggests that vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking tobacco. This, coupled with the worrying trend of young, previous non-smokers being attracted to vaping, raises fears of yet another generation suffering from chronic lung disease. Indeed, a recent study in The Lancet estimates that in 2040, COPD will be the only disease in the top ten leading causes of death that will still be increasing. Although how much will be driven by vaping remains to be seen.
Marysville High School has a chickenpox outbreak, and antivaxers don’t want their children kept home: “Everything is always about the parents, the parents’ “rights,” the parents’ “freedom,” more than anything else. You might think that parents of an unvaccinated child would be happy to cooperate with health authorities and just keep their child home from school until “all clear” sign is given by health authorities. You might think wrong. Of course, antivaxers won’t do that.”
Great Moments in Health and Science
The Hypodermic Syringe: greatest medical device of all time? Although the concept of administering drugs by an intravenous route is relatively straightforward, the technology required for a sterile, sharp and hollow tube to puncture the skin and blood vessels was not.
Today’s abused health concept
Naturopathic Drug Compounding – FDA proposes ban on curcumin and other naturopathic favorites in compounded drugs: The FDA is considering a rule rejecting 11 popular naturopathic ingredients from compounded drugs, including curcumin and cesium chloride. Curcumin was the active ingredient in an intravenous infusion that killed the patient of a California-licensed naturopathic doctor. Cesium chloride is a dangerous and ineffective naturopathic and “integrative” cancer treatment, previously the subject of an FDA safety alert. Compounded drugs are an exception to the Food, Drug and Cosmetics (FD&C) Act’s requirement that prescription drugs undergo extensive safety and efficacy testing before going on the market. This is useful as trained pharmacists can meet patient’s special needs. But when abused it allows naturopaths to produce drugs in house.