Category: Politics and Regulation
Another serious complication from chiropractic cervical manipulation: Vertebral fracture leading to paralysis and death
John Lawlor was an 80 year old man with leg pain. Thinking he was going for physiotherapy, he ended up in the office of Arleen Scholten, a chiropractor. What happened next involved cervical spine manipulation, vertebral fracture, death, and a lack of accountability.
Ayurvedic practitioners push for licensing in Colorado
Ayurvedic practitioners' attempt to become licensed health care professionals in Colorado failed an initial review but that is unlikely to stop them from pursuing their goal. Ayurveda is pseudoscience and its practices can be dangerous. Unfortunately, that is no barrier to state licensing.
FDA strengthens homeopathic drug enforcement (but falls short of actually enforcing the law)
The FDA may strengthen homeopathic drug regulation with its "risk-based" enforcement policy, but this still leaves illegal homeopathic remedies on the market and falls far short of actually enforcing the law.
Drug shortages are worsening, and there are no simple solutions
Drug shortages, which worsen medical care and patient outcomes, are becoming more and more common. A new Task Force report from the FDA offers a potential way forward.
Shiva Ayyadurai: Antivaxxer for Senate
Did Shiva Ayyadurai invent e-mail? Should he represent the Republican Party? Read below to find out!
“Eliminating cancer” with Traditional Chinese Medicine and other state-sanctioned quackery
State-approved continuing education courses pump a steady stream of fresh pseudoscience into acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine practice. Courses include claims of "eliminating cancer" and "reversing pediatric asthma" as well as anti-vaccination tropes.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hosts a trainwreck of an antivaccine forum in Harlem
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reached out to the African-American Community in Harlem with his antivaccine message. It didn't go so well. First, Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Committee was going to host it, bailed due to negative publicity. Then RFK Jr. was kicked out of his venue during his speech because the event went way over time. RFK Jr.'s efforts do,...
The Scientific Integrity Act: Protecting science from politics
The proposed federal Scientific Integrity Act supports science and the scientific process as the basis of public policy and aims to protect it from politics, ideology, and financial conflicts of interest.
Teenager? Anxious? Yes, there’s a supplement for that, too.
Health Canada has criticized the marketing of an "anxiety supplement" for teens, without recognizing the larger problem involved; the poor regulations and lack of safety and efficacy data for this, and many other supplements sold.
Deconstructing Justice Terry Clackson’s outrageous acquittal of David and Collet Stephans for the death of their son Ezekiel
On September 19, in a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada, Alberta Justice Terry Clackson issued a ruling acquitting David and Collet Stephan of failing to provide the necessities of life to their son Ezekiel, whose bacterial meningitis they had chosen to treat with quackery instead of medicine, leading to his death in 2012. The news reports showed that this...