The National Council Against Health Fraud

National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF)
Private nonprofit, voluntary health agency that focuses upon health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems.
www.ncahf.org

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The National Council Against Health Fraud is a US-based organization registered in California. It describes itself as a "private nonprofit, voluntary health agency that focuses upon health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems."National Council Against Health Fraud official website The NCAHF and its co-founder Stephen Barrett have occasionally litigated against practitioners of alternative medicine and producers of products whom they believe to be in violation of the organization's governing principles. The litigation has had mixed results.

Mission statement According to NCAHF's mission statement, its activities and purposes include:



NCAHF's positions on consumer health issues are based on what they consider ethical and scientific principles that underlie consumer protection law. Required are:



NCAHF states that its funding is primarily derived from membership dues, newsletter subscriptions, and consumer information services. Membership is open to everyone, with members and consultants located all over the world. NCAHF's officers and board members serve without compensation. NCAHF states they unite consumers with health professionals, educators, researchers, attorneys, and others.

Position on Health Issues Acupuncture The NCAHF asserts that acupuncture is scientifically unproven as a modality of treatment. The NCAHF says (as of 1990) that research during the past twenty years has failed to demonstrate that acupuncture is effective against any disease. Perceived effects of acupuncture are, argues the NCAHF, probably due to a combination of expectation, suggestion and other psychological mechanisms. The NCAHF points out that acupuncture was banned in China in 1929 but underwent a resurgence in the 1960s. The organization also advocates that insurance companies should not be required to cover acupuncture treatment, and that licensure of lay acupuncturists should be phased out.NCAHF position paper on acupuncture. available online

Amalgam Fillings There has long been controversy regarding the use of amalgam fillings by dentists,Hyson JM Jr. 1: J Calif Dent Assoc. 2006 Mar;34(3):215-29. Amalgam: Its history and perils. because the amalgam contains mercury. Some forms of mercury are toxic to humans, but the NCAHF cites the CDC in stating that there is no evidence that "the health of the vast majority of people with amalgam is compromised" or that "removing amalgam fillings has a beneficial effect on health".CDC Factsheet on amalgam available online The NCAHF criticizes those who they believe exploit unfounded public fears for financial gain.Administrative Law Judge's Conclusions about Hal A. Huggins, D.D.S. available online NCAHF asserts that breath, urine and blood testing for mercury are inaccurate. Other tests for mercury exposure described by the NCAHF as invalid can include skin testing, stool testing, hair analysis and electrodermal testing.NCAHF Position Paper on Amalgam available online

Chiropractic The NCAHF contends that chiropractic can be dangerous and lead to injury or permanent disability.NCAHF - Position Paper on Chiropractic - Hazardous Practices available online However, the NCAHF does not categorically oppose the practice. NCAHF differentiates between what it considers good and bad chiropractic practices. The former should advance only methods of diagnosis and treatment which have a scientific basis. For example, NCAHF claims there is no scientific support for subluxation.NCAHF - Position Paper on Chiropractic - Treating "Cause" Versus "Effect" available online Their view is that chiropractic doctors should restrict the scope of practice to neuromusculoskeletal problems such as muscle spasms, strains, sprains, fatigue, imbalance of strength and flexibility, stretched or irritated nerve tissue, and so forth. Chiropractors should refer cases involving pathology to qualified medical practitioners.NCAHF'S Description of a Scientific Chiropractor available online

In contrast, what the NCAHF considers bad are those chiropractors who believe the adjustment will cure or alleviate a variety of diseases, such as infection, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, nutritional deficiencies or excesses, appendicitis, blood disorders, or kidney disease. These practitioners may use unproven, disproven, or questionable methods, devices, and products such as adjusting machines, applied kinesiology, chelation therapy, colonic irrigation, computerized nutrition deficiency tests, cranial osteopathy, cytotoxic food allergy testing, DMSO, gerovital, glandular therapy, hair analysis, herbal crystalization analyses, homeopathy, internal managements, iridology, laser beam acupuncture, laetrile, magnetic therapy,and so forth.NCAHF'S Description of a Scientific Chiropractor available onlineNCAHF - Position Paper on Chiropractic - Recommendations available online

Diet Advice The NCAHF is opposed to dietary recommendations and practices not supported by scientific evidence that NCAHF recognizes, including behavior-related claims.NCAHF Position Paper on Diet and Criminal Behavior. available online NCAHF. April 17, 1983. Unverified assessment methods such as iridology, applied kinesiology, and routine hair analysis (alternative medicine) for assessment of nutritional status are routinely criticized or castigated. NCAHF and some of its members have long opposed implementation of beliefs that they characterize as unfounded or unscientific.Commercial Weight-Loss Promotions. available online NCAHF. 1987.

NCAHF also questions the health claims, marketing, safety, efficacy and lableling of dietary supplement. Herbal preparations are regulated as foods, rather than drugs, in the United States.Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. available online Accessed from the Food and Drug Administration website, 5 January 2007. The NCAHF advocates regulations for a special OTC category called "Traditional Herbal Remedies" (THRs) with an adverse reaction surveillence program, product batches marked for identification and tracking, package label warnings about proposed dangers of self-treatment, oversight requirements from outside of the herbal industry, and strong penalties for unapproved changes in herbal product formulations.NCAHF Position Paper on Over-the Counter Herbal Remedies. NCAHF available online NCAHF. 1995. accessed online 31 Dec 2006.

Diploma Mills The NCAHF claims that many unqualified practitioners are able to mislead the public by using diploma mills or "degree mills" to get "specious degrees". Diploma mills are not accredited, and frequently engage in "pseudoscience and food faddism". NCAHF also alleges that "at least some of the 'faculty' or 'academic' advisors at several of these schools have criminal convictions in the area of health fraud". NCAHF considers diploma mills harmful to the "students" and to the public.NCAHF position on diploma mills available online

Usefulness as a source A major foe has written: "The National Council Against Health Fraud is considered a valuable information source for many agencies nationwide. They are well networked and, as demonstrated by their past history, are able to influence the efforts of various agencies and insurance carriers. The NCAHF's ability to publish its opinions and hold these types of conferences does make them a substantial "player" in the area of health fraud." National Council Against Health Fraud, Dynamic Chiropractic, October 10, 1990, Volume 08, Issue 21. Available online

Criticism The NCAHF has been attacked by the supporters of the treatments it opposes, including practitioners of chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbalism, and naturopathy.National Council Against Health Fraud - History and Evolution available onlinePBS Broadcast Angers Chiropractors available onlineLetter to Lyns Behrens from Julian M. Whitaker - Persons on the Quack List Data Base

U.S. Representative Dan Burton is described by the New York Daily News as a "powerful friend" of the dietary supplement industry, "Lobby Holds Sway on Capitol Hill", by Michael O'Keefe, published 25 December 2005 in the New York Daily News. Accessed 5 Jan 2007. and has a "long history of supporting unorthodox treatments", going back to the now-discredited cancer treatment amygdalin. "Swallowing Ephedra", by Shannon Brownlee. Published at Salon.com on 7 June 2000. Accessed 5 Jan 2007. He has stated that it is not in the public interest for a health fraud watch group such as NCAHF to operate unrestrained and unendorsed by the government.Written Submission by Rep. Dan Burton and Hearing available online Burton, however, has been criticised for having received $79,249 in campaign contributions from the supplement industry between 1994 and 2001 "Companies Flex Political Muscle", by Michael O'Keefe, published 15 July 2001. Available at the Associated Press Sports Editors webpage. Accessed 5 Jan 2007.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) criticised the NCAHF for its involvement in the PBS broadcast of a 2002 episode on chiropractic. Daryl D. Wills, D.C.(ACA president) responded to PBS officials stating (in part): "I find it ironic that a program titled 'Scientific American Frontiers' would completely ignore the scientific foundation of the chiropractic profession. The chiropractic portion of the June 4 episode titled 'A Different Way to Heal?' irresponsibly characterized chiropractic care -- a legitimate, research-based form of health care -- as a fraudulent hoax."PBS Broadcast Angers Chiropractors available onlineResponse to the ACA available online The producer of the program replied in detail and explicitly denied these allegations: "The segment did not claim that chiropractic is fraudulent and did not attempt to prove or disprove that chiropractic "works," but it does state that chiropractic has no basis in science. This conclusion is entirely justified by both current research and generally accepted views of human anatomy." Chedd-Angier. Producer's response, June 11, 2002.

Lawsuits Aroma Vera suit In 1997, the NCAHF filed a lawsuit in California against Aroma Vera, a manufacturer of aromatherapy supplies, asserting false advertising. In 1998, the judge ruled that NCAHF lacked standing to file such a suit. In 1999 this ruling was reversed on appeal. In 2000, Aroma Vera settled out of court on the stipulation they would not make 57 of the disputed claims in advertising within California. Stipulation for Judgment. National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc., v. Aroma Vera, Inc., et al. Superior Court No. BC183903. Sept 24, 2000

NCAHF v. King Bio In 2001, NCAHF (Plaintiff) sued King Bio Pharmaceuticals (Defendants), a homeopathic pharmaceutical company, for false advertising and unfair business practices. The court granted a directed verdict for Defendants, after Plaintiff presented its case.Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Case No. BC245271 (December 3, 2001) Plaintiff suggested in its initial trial brief that it could not prove the elements of its claims, and argued that none or only "slight" evidence should be required to shift the burden of proof to the Defendant. Id. The court explained the general principle in civil actions - that one filing a lawsuit has the burden to prove its claims by a preponderance (51%) of the evidence.Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Case No. BC245271 (December 3, 2001)

Plaintiff had no evidence, apart from the testimony of two expert witnesses, to prove any of the elements of their claims.National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc. v. King BIo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 107 Cal.App.4th 1336, 1378, Cal. App. 4th (2003). Available at Findlaw The court stated that the testimony of both witnesses (Barrett and another member of the board of NCAHF) should be given little weight, because neither witness was qualified to testify as an expert on the issues raised. The court also questioned their credibility in the case as "zealous advocates of the Plaintiff's position, and therefore not neutral or dispassionate witnesses or experts (...) they are themselves the client." Id.Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Case No. BC245271 (December 3, 2001)

The Court concluded with a sharp rebuke:

"The logical end-point of Plaintiff’s burden-shifting argument would be to permit anyone with the requisite filing fee to walk into any court in any state in the Union and file a lawsuit against any business, casting the burden on that defendant to prove that it was not violating the law. Such an approach, this Court finds, would itself be unfair."Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Case No. BC245271 (December 3, 2001)

King Bio subsequently won the 2003 appeal. National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc. v. King BIo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 107 Cal.App.4th 1336, 1378, Cal. App. 4th (2003). Available at Findlaw;

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