>John Merchant’s weekly column ‘America Pie’ in Openwriting.com is invariably well
written and his arguments soundly reasoned and full of good sense. "...the medical profession
long ago realized it could not continue to keep patients in ignorance of their maladies. If
nothing else, easily accessed information has forced medical doctors to come down from their
ivory tower and treat patients like intelligent human beings, So with all this, isn't it surprising
that the snake-oil purveyors are as alive and well as they obviously are? In fact quackery
probably never had such an enthusiastic, or profitable following..." John Merchant thinks we
humans should come out of the cave into the light of day, and stop rattling the chicken bones.
QUACKERY
JOHN MERCHANT
Despite the constant stream of articles in the daily press that question today’s educational
standards, I believe that people, in much of the world, are better educated in a broad sense than
were previous generations. Children of my generation were not taught critical thinking skills for
example, nor did they have access to the Internet.
Not withstanding, it is a curious phenomenon that even educated adults seem unable or unwilling
to apply rational thinking to the claims made for a multitude of patent medicines, quick-fix diets and
cosmetics. Even if you discount the educational factor, the media is packed with information and
advice about health matters. It started with Reader’s Digest, and was soon emulated by other print
media and TV. Now, it’s hard to pick up any magazine that doesn’t have its own, captive medical
advisor or guru.
As a result, the medical profession long ago realized it could not continue keep patients in
ignorance of their maladies. If nothing else, easily accessed information has forced medical
doctors to come down from their ivory tower and treat patients like intelligent human beings. So
with all this, isn’t it surprising that the snake-oil purveyors are as alive and well as they obviously
are? In fact quackery probably never had such an enthusiastic, or profitable following.
In a way, quackery has turned the public’s greater knowledge back on its self. The practitioners
can now litter their claims with medical and chemical terminology in the full expectation that it will
lend authenticity to their products. Somewhere in the prospective purchaser’s mind, a little bell
rings when they read or hear carbohydrate, or cholesterol, or metabolic, or enzymes, or any
number of other, health-related, buzzwords.
Probably the most rapidly burgeoning markets are for weight-loss potions or regimens, and herbal
remedies; tapping into the fear of obesity and modern drugs respectively, as they do. Not only are
some of the dietary regimens ill founded, they can be injurious to one’s health or even cause
death. Similarly, some popular herbal medicines can interact detrimentally with other drugs, or
leave the user vulnerable when undertaking surgery.
It would seem that people are fearless when presented with a supposedly magic solution to
whatever they perceive is ailing them. Alarmingly, quackery isn’t confined just to the dark regions
of modern medicine’s periphery. The pharmaceutical companies and some of the clinics are as
guilty as their nefarious counterparts. Many drugs and medicines that are highly poisonous are
being prescribed for the treatment of illnesses for which they were never intended.
A good example is Thalidomide, which caused terrible birth defects when taken by pregnant
women, and is now being used to treat leprosy and evaluated for the treatment of HIV. Drugs and
chemicals used in clinical trials on patients with terminal cancer are often prescribed on the basis
of “What has the patient got to lose?” rather than on the basis of careful and conclusive research.
From personal knowledge, such treatments often accelerate the patient’s demise, and do nothing
to alleviate their condition.
In a more lighthearted vein, perhaps the most understandable, though still irrational, acceptance of
quackery is to be found in the world of cosmetics. The search for the fountain of youth is not just
the stuff of myths, but is a consuming obsession of modern society. Major cosmetic companies
pour millions into their advertising campaigns for salves, potions and treatments that, with all
seriousness, claim to reverse the aging process, or at the very least halt it. Whatever happened to
the truth in advertising laws?
On one level, I suppose I can understand why seemingly intelligent people want to believe the
ludicrous claims made by the modern shamans. I suppose it can be characterized as just another
facet of human nature. But isn’t it about time human nature came out of the cave into the light of
day, and stopped rattling the chicken bones?
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