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quackwatch

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quackwatch

Quackwatch is a United States-based website, self-described as a "network of people"[1] founded by Stephen Barrett, which aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and to focus on "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere".[2][3] Since 1996 it has operated the alternative medicine watchdog website quackwatch.org, which advises the public on unproven or ineffective alternative medicine remedies.[4] The site contains articles and other information criticizing many forms of alternative medicine.[5][6][7]

Quackwatch cites peer-reviewed journal articles and has received several awards.[8] The site has been developed with the assistance of a worldwide network of volunteers and expert advisors. It has received positive recognition and recommendations from mainstream organizations and sources. It has been recognized in the media, which cite quackwatch.org as a practical source for online consumer information.[9] The success of Quackwatch has generated the creation of additional affiliated websites;[10] as of 2019 there were 21 of them.[11]

History

Quackwatch| Quackwatch logo |

Formation

1969 (as the LVCAHF)

1970 (incorporated)

2008 (network of people)
FounderStephen Barrett
Extinction

1970 (the original association)

2008 (the corporation)

Type

Unincorporated association (1969-1970)

Corporation (1970-2008)

Network of people (2008-present)

Purpose"Combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and focus on "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere"
Location
  • United States
Official languageEnglish, French, Portuguese
ChairmanStephen Barrett
AffiliationsNational Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF)
Websitewww.quackwatch.org
Formerly called

Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud (LVCAHF; 1969-1997)

Quackwatch, Inc. (1997-2008)

Barrett founded the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud (LVCAHF) in 1969, and it was incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania in 1970.[1] In 1996, the corporation began the website quackwatch.org, and the organization itself was renamed Quackwatch, Inc. in 1997. The Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation was dissolved after Barrett moved to North Carolina in 2008,[1] but the network's activities continue.[3] Quackwatch is closely affiliated with the National Council Against Health Fraud(NCAHF),[5] of which it was a co-founder.[12]

Mission and scope

Quackwatch is overseen by Barrett, its owner, with input from advisors and help from volunteers, including a number of medical professionals.[13] In 2003, 150 scientific and technical advisors: 67 medical advisors, 12 dental advisors, 13 mental health advisors, 16 nutrition and food science advisors, 3 podiatry advisors, 8 veterinary advisors, and 33 other "scientific and technical advisors" were listed by Quackwatch.[14] Since that time, many more have volunteered, but advisor names are no longer listed.[15]

Quackwatch describes its mission as follows:

... investigating questionable claims, answering inquiries about products and services, advising quackery victims, distributing reliable publications, debunking pseudoscientific claims, reporting illegal marketing, improving the quality of health information on the internet, assisting or generating consumer-protection lawsuits, and attacking misleading advertising on the internet.[3]

Quackwatch states that there are no salaried employees, and a total cost of operating all of Quackwatch's sites is approximately $7,000 per year. It is funded mainly by small individual donations, commissions from sales on other sites to which they refer, profits from the sale of publications, and self-funding by Barrett. The stated income is also derived from usage of sponsored links.[3]

Site content

The Quackwatch website contains essays and white papers, written by Barrett and other writers, intended for the non-specialist consumer. The articles discuss health-related products, treatments, enterprises, and providers that Quackwatch deems to be misleading, fraudulent, or ineffective. Also included are links to article sources and both internal and external resources for further study.

The site is developed with the assistance from volunteers and expert advisors.[16] Many of its articles cite peer-reviewed research[10] and are footnoted with several links to references.[17] A review in Running & FitNews stated the site "also provides links to hundreds of trusted health sites."[18]

Related and subsidiary sites

Naturowatch is a subsidiary site of Quackwatch[19] which aims to provide information about naturopathy that is "difficult or impossible to find elsewhere".[20] The site is operated by Barrett and Kimball C. Atwood IV, an anesthesiologist by profession, who has become a vocal critic of alternative medicine.[21]

The site is available in French[22] and Portuguese,[23] and formerly in German,[24] as well as via several mirrors.

Influence

Sources that mention Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch as a useful source for consumer information include website reviews,[6][10][25][26][27] government agencies,[28] and various journal articles[29][30][31][32][33] including an article in The Lancet.[34]

Mention in media, books, and journals

Quackwatch has been mentioned in the media, books and various journals, as well as receiving several awards and honors.[8] The Journal of the American Medical Association mentioned Quackwatch as one of nine "select sites that provide reliable health information and resources" in 1998.[33] It was also listed as one of three medical sites in U.S. News & World Report's "Best of the Web" in 1999.[27] Dr. Thomas R. Eng, director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health, stated in 1999 that while "the government doesn't endorse Web sites", ..."[Quackwatch] is the only site I know of right now looking at issues of fraud and health on the Internet."[35]

Sources that mention quackwatch.org as a resource for consumer information include the United States Department of Agriculture, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Skeptic's Dictionary, the Diet Channel, and articles published in The Lancet, the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, the Journal of Marketing Education, the Medical Journal of Australia, and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.[36] In addition, several nutrition associations link to Quackwatch.[37] An article in PC World listed it as one of three websites for finding the truth about Internet rumors.[38] A Washington Post review of alternative medicine websites noted that "skeptics may find Quackwatch offers better truth-squadding than the Food and Drug Administration or the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine."[39]

The books Handbook of Nutrition and Food (2001),[40] Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies (2003),[41] The Arthritis Helpbook (2006),[42] The Rough Guide to the Internet (2007),[43] Navigating the Medical Maze: A Practical Guide (2008),[44] and Chronic Pain For Dummies (2008)[45] recommend Quackwatch.

Citations by journalists

Quackwatch and Barrett have also been cited by journalists in reports on therapeutic touch,[citation needed] Vitamin O, Almon Glenn Braswell's baldness treatments, dietary supplements, Robert Barefoot's coral calciumclaims, William C. Rader's "stem cell" therapy, noni juice, shark cartilage, saturated fat, and infomercials.[46] The site's opinion on a US government report on complementary medicine was mentioned in a news report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.[47]

Recommendations and endorsements

The American Cancer Society lists Quackwatch as one of ten reputable sources of information about alternative and complementary therapies in their book Cancer Medicine,[48] and links to it on their website.[49] In a long series of articles on various alternative medicine methods, it uses Quackwatch as a reference and includes criticisms of the methods.[50]

The Health On the Net Foundation, which confers the HONcode "Code of Conduct" certification to reliable sources of health information in cyberspace, recommends Quackwatch.[51] Their website uses Quackwatch extensively as a recommended source on various health-related topics.[52] It also advises Internet users to alert Quackwatch when they encounter "possibly or blatantly fraudulent" healthcare websites.[53]

In a 2007 feasibility study on a method for identifying web pages that make unproven claims, the authors wrote:

Our gold standard relied on selected unproven cancer treatments identified by experts at http://www.quackwatch.org.... By using unproven treatments identified by an oversight organization, we capitalized on an existing high quality review.[54]

Site reviews

Writing in the trade-journal The Consultant Pharmacist in 1999, pharmacist Bao-Anh Nguyen-Khoa characterized Quackwatch as "relevant for both consumers and professionals", and said that some of its articles would be of interest to pharmacists. Nguyen-Khoa remarked that the "site makes an effort to cross-reference keywords with other articles and link its citations to the Medline abstract from the National Library of Medicine". He said that a peer review process would improve the site's legitimacy. Nguyen-Khoa also said that the presence of so many articles written by Barrett gave one the impression of a lack of fair balance, but the site was taking steps to correct this by recruiting expert contributors. He noted that Barrett often "inserts his strong opinions directly into sections of an article already well supported by the literature. Although entertaining, this direct commentary may be viewed by some as less than professional medical writing and may be better reserved for its own section."[10]

Donna Ladd, a journalist with The Village Voice, said in 1999 that Barrett relies heavily on negative research in which alternative therapies are shown to not work.[35] Barrett said to Ladd that most positive case studies are unreliable. Barrett says that "a lot of things don't need to be tested [because] they simply don't make any sense."[35]

In a 2002 book, Ned Vankevitch, associate professor of communications at Trinity Western University,[55] places Barrett in a historical tradition of anti-quackery, embracing such figures as Morris Fishbein and Abraham Flexner, which has been part of American medical culture since the early-twentieth century. Acknowledging that Quackwatch's "exposé of dangerous and fraudulent health products represents an important social and ethical response to deception and exploitation", Vankevitch criticizes Barrett for attempting to limit "medical diversity", employing "denigrating terminology", categorizing all complementary and alternative medicine as a species of medical hucksterism, failing to condemn shortcomings within conventional biomedicine, and for promoting an exclusionary model of medical scientism and health that serves hegemonic interests and does not fully address patient needs.[56]

Waltraud Ernst, professor of the history of medicine at Oxford Brookes University,[57] commenting on Vankevitch's observations in 2002, agrees that attempts to police the "medical cyber-market with a view to preventing fraudulent and potentially harmful practices may well be justified." She commends "Barrett's concern for unsubstantiated promotion and hype," and states that "Barrett's concern for fraudulent and potentially dangerous medical practices is important," but she sees Barrett's use of "an antiquarian term such as 'quack'" as part of a "dichotomising discourse that aims to discredit the "'old-fashioned', 'traditional', 'folksy' and heterodox by contrasting it with the 'modern', 'scientific' and orthodox." Ernst also interprets Barrett's attempt to "reject and label as 'quackery' each and every approach that is not part of science-based medicine" as one which minimizes the patient's role in the healing process and is inimical to medical pluralism.[58]

A 2003 website review by Forbes magazine stated:

Dr. Stephen Barrett, a psychiatrist, seeks to expose unproven medical treatments and possible unsafe practices through his homegrown but well-organized site. Mostly attacking alternative medicines, homeopathy and chiropractors, the tone here can be rather harsh. However, the lists of sources of health advice to avoid, including books, specific doctors and organizations, are great for the uninformed. Barrett received an FDA Commissioner's Special Citation Award for fighting nutrition quackery in 1984. BEST: Frequently updated, but also archives of relevant articles that date back at least four years. WORST: Lists some specific doctors and organizations without explaining the reason for their selection.[25]

A 2004 review paper by Katja Schmidt and Edzard Ernst in the Annals of Oncology identified Quackwatch as an outstanding complementary medicine information source for cancer patients.[59][60]

The Good Web Guide said in 2006 that Quackwatch "is without doubt an important and useful information resource and injects a healthy dose of scepticism into reviewing popular health information", but "tends to define what is possible or true only in terms of what science has managed to 'prove' to date".[61]

The 2009 Internet Directory said, "Have you ever read a health article or had a friend suggest a remedy that sounded too good to be true? Then check it out on Quackwatch before you shell out any money or risk your health to try it. Here you will find a skeptical friend to help you sort out what's true from what is not when it comes to your physical well-being."[62]

The organization has often been challenged by supporters and practitioners of the various forms of alternative medicine that are criticized on the website.[35][63]

See also

Stephen Joel Barrett (/:{ˈbærɪt:(style="border-bottom:1px dotted"):}:/; born 1933) is an American retired psychiatrist,author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), and the webmaster of Quackwatch. He runs a number of websites dealing with quackery and health fraud. He focuses on consumer protection, medical ethics, and scientific skepticism.

Biography

Barrett is a 1957 graduate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his psychiatry residency in 1961. In 1967 and 1968 he completed part of a correspondence course in American Law and Procedure at La Salle Extension University (Chicago).[3] He was a practicing physician until retiring from active practice in 1993. As of 2019, his medical license was listed as "Expired" in good standing: "No disciplinary actions were found for this license."[4] A longtime resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Barrett now resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[5]

In addition to webmastering his websites, Barrett was a co-founder, vice-president and a board member of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF). He is a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). From 1987 through 1989, he taught health education at Pennsylvania State University.

Barrett was the consulting editor for the Consumer Health Library at Prometheus Books,[6] and has been a peer-review panelist for [7] two[8][9][10] medical journals. He has also served on the editorial board of Medscape[11] and the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.[12] According to his website, he "has written more than 2,000 articles and delivered more than 300 talks at colleges, universities, medical schools, and professional meetings. His media appearances include Dateline, Today, Good Morning America, Primetime, Donahue, CNN, National Public Radio, and more than 200 other radio and television talk show interviews."[7][13]

Quackwatch received the award of Best Physician-Authored Site by MD NetGuide, May 2003.[14] In 1984, he received an FDA Commissioner's Special Citation Award for Public Service in fighting nutrition quackery.[15]He was included in the list of outstanding skeptics of the 20th century by Skeptical Inquirer magazine.[16] In 1986, he was awarded honorary membership in the American Dietetic Association.[15] Barrett has been profiled in Biography Magazine (1998)[17] and in Time (2001).[18]

The magazine Spiked included Barrett in a survey of 134 persons[19] they termed "key thinkers in science, technology and medicine."[20][21] When he was asked: "What inspired you to take up science?" he replied that his appreciation of medical science:

probably began when I took a college course in medical statistics, and learned what makes the difference between scientific thought and poor reasoning. Medical school brought me in touch with the rapid and amazing strides being made in the understanding and treatment of disease. My anti-quackery activities have intensified my interest and concern in distinguishing science from pseudoscience, quackery and fraud.[21]

Consumer information

Main article: Quackwatch

The Quackwatch website is Barrett's main platform for describing and exposing what he and other contributors consider to be quackery and health fraud.[22] The website was part of Quackwatch, Inc., a nonprofit corporation founded by Barrett that aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct." The non-profit was dissolved in 2008.[23] Barrett's writing is supplemented with contributions from many scientific, technical, and lay volunteers and includes numerous references to published research articles.[24] Barrett defines quackery as "anything involving overpromotion in the field of health,"[25] and reserves the word fraud "only for situations in which deliberate deception is involved."[26] Barrett has become a "lightning rod" for controversy as a result of his criticisms of alternative medicine theories and practitioners. Barrett says he does not criticize conventional medicine because that would be "way outside [his] scope."[18][27] He states he does not give equal time to some subjects, and has written on his web site that "Quackery and fraud don't involve legitimate controversy and are not balanced subjects. I don't believe it is helpful to publish 'balanced' articles about unbalanced subjects."[28] Barrett is at the forefront of exposing questionable aspects of chiropractic.[29]

Barrett is a strong supporter of the HONcode and has made efforts to improve compliance with its rules and to expose those who abuse it.[30]

A number of practitioners and supporters of alternative medicine oppose Barrett and Quackwatch for its criticism of alternative medicine.[27][31] Donna Ladd, a journalist with The Village Voice, says Barrett relies mostly on negative research to criticize alternative medicine, rejecting most positive case studies as unreliable due to methodological flaws. According to Ladd, Barrett insists that most alternative therapies "simply should be disregarded without further research. 'A lot of things don't need to be tested [because] they simply don't make any sense', he says, pointing to homeopathy, chiropractic, and acupuncture as examples of alternative treatments with no plausible mechanism of action."[27]

Both website reviews[32][33][34][35][36] and various journal articles,[37][38][39][40][41] including an article in The Lancet,[42] mention Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch as a useful source for consumer information

Selected publications

Articles for which Barrett was an author include:

His (co)authored and (co)edited books include:[45]

Collections of articles:

See also

Reference