Fraudulent H1N1 products

[JoeTheJuggler]

The FDA has compiled a (growing) list of fraudulent products marketed to cure or prevent H1N1 flu.

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/h1n1flu

There's a lot of them on the list, but the FDA cautions:
[quote]

• This list does not include every Web site that is marketing products related to the 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus without FDA approval, clearance, or authorization, only those Web sites to which FDA has issued a warning letter.
• Even if a Web site is not included in this list, consumers should exercise caution before purchasing over the Internet any product purporting to diagnose, mitigate, prevent, treat, or cure the 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus.
• Please note that some of these products may be approved or cleared by FDA for other medical uses. The fact that a product is listed on this page indicates ONLY that the products are not cleared, approved, or authorized for the diagnosis, mitigation, prevention, treatment, or cure of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus.

And Oscillococcinum isn't on the list (though I guess it's not marketed at H1N1 but just the flu in general).

[Estellea]

I'm actually kind of surprised that this advert has been up for as long as it has, with the claims that it is making.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Originally Posted by Estellea

I'm actually kind of surprised that this advert has been up for as long as it has, with the claims that it is making.

On the packaging, at least here in the U.S., these products have fine print saying these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Ah yes--there it is on the page you cite. (The Disclaimer in fine print near the bottom of the page. You can do "find" on "not been evaluated".)

But yeah--I don't get why they can call them "fraudulent" but not take legal action against these companies. Fraud is a crime. . . .and a tort!

[Estellea]

OK, help me to understand this. That was an amazon.com disclaimer and the homeopathic company made very specific claims which I thought constituted fraud. Such as:


* Influenzinum is for preventing the flu and its related symptoms.
* Influenzinum does not have any side effects and is safe for everyone.
* Influenzinum is homeopathically prepared with the current strain of the flu vaccine.

Now side effects? OK, it's homeopathic. I don't know about any legal issues for the last claim but I don't like to think of how they obtained a pandemic H1N1 strain, because I certainly don't think it was from the WHO. But the first claim is very specific and not the ambiguous, "boosts the immune system" or "aids with male enhancement".

[jasonpatterson]

Originally Posted by Estellea

I don't know about any legal issues for the last claim but I don't like to think of how they obtained a pandemic H1N1 strain, because I certainly don't think it was from the WHO.

Someone sick rubbed their germy hands on the inside of a jar, if they bothered to do it at all. Homeopathic remedies are a special category in the US because they got a pass back in the 20's or 30's (a homeopath/senator was involved, as I recall.) They can get away with all sorts of garbage that other things can't legally, though I'm not sufficiently informed to know whether the claims you've cited are legal or not.

If there only were a real hell...

[ve2vfd]

Thanks for the link!

A great reference for some of my woo believer friends

Pat

[Eos of the Eons]

Brian Dunning has an excellent video that addresses claims like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKdG7yGi0KA

[JoeTheJuggler]

Originally Posted by Estellea

OK, help me to understand this. That was an amazon.com disclaimer and the homeopathic company made very specific claims which I thought constituted fraud. Such as:


* Influenzinum is for preventing the flu and its related symptoms.
* Influenzinum does not have any side effects and is safe for everyone.
* Influenzinum is homeopathically prepared with the current strain of the flu vaccine.

I'm pretty sure the labels of these products have to have that disclaimer ("These statements have not be evaluated by the FDA" or something similar.)

But again, I rather agree with you. The overall intent is certainly fraud. These disclaimers are just like the "for entertainment only" disclaimer on the psychic ads.

Worse than that, IMO, is that these homeopathic products (Oscillococcinum, for example) are packaged to look just like the real OTC drugs (things with actual active ingredients) they sit next to on the shelf at Walgreens.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Originally Posted by Estellea

I don't know about any legal issues for the last claim but I don't like to think of how they obtained a pandemic H1N1 strain, because I certainly don't think it was from the WHO

Oh wow--I hadn't realized that they're using a virus as the active "ingredient". That goes against the whole philosophy of homeopathy which treats a constellation of symptoms and usually denies that diseases are caused by pathogens.

At any rate, the following is what I could find out about your question. (I do not vouch for the reliability of this, or pretty much anything else you find written by homeo-quacks.)

Quote:

2. Source of influenzinum preparation:

In last couple of days, I tried to get the information about it from homeopathic pharmacies, but I could not get any reply on it. This week, I shall try to contact homeopathic manufacturers, if they reveal some information on it.

In literature, we find various sources of influenzinum.

Dr. Clarke mentioned that this is a nosode of Influenza, but he has not given its method of preparation.

OA Julian wrote:

At present the biotherapic influenzinum is a specific preparation. the stock is prepared by Pasteur Institute. It is anti-grippe vaccine prepared from 2 varieties of viruses, the one being that of ordinary influenza A.P. R.- 8 and the other A – Singapore – 1, 1957, which is called Asiatic influenza. The preparation of this mixture is, 3 parts of Asiatic virus and one part of European virus. The stock contains influenza titrated 500 units of hemagglutinant per millilitre.

Guy Berckley Stearns, M.D. mentioned in one article:

We have four types of Influenzin

- the Spanish Influenzin (the source of which I have not been able to learn),
- the Influenzin serum,
- Influenzin, antitoxin, Grippe pneumonia (which is rarely useful) and
- Influenza meningeal, furnished by Dr. Griggs of Philadelphia, who obtained this nosode from a child’s cerebrospinal fluid.

Even, we find cases where patients were treated with Influenzinum made from the sputum of an influenza patient. [this sounds like exactly what jasonpatterson just said]

OA Julian also mentioned that a homeopathic pharmacy Nelson prepares a great variety of stocks., and the stock furnished every year according to the epidemology and its data.

Do we have latest preparation of influenzinum for this H1N1 virus?

And Reckewig also prepares influenzinum nosode from inactivated sputum of influenza patients, containing the virus.

Linky.

Anyway, it looks like they're not using H1N1 viruses in any way at all.

[Estellea]

Originally Posted by JoeTheJuggler

Oh wow--I hadn't realized that they're using a virus as the active "ingredient". That goes against the whole philosophy of homeopathy which treats a constellation of symptoms and usually denies that diseases are caused by pathogens.

That is considered a 'nosode' and is frequently used in homeopathy to make 'vaccines'

Quote:

At any rate, the following is what I could find out about your question. (I do not vouch for the reliability of this, or pretty much anything else you find written by homeo-quacks.)


Linky.

Anyway, it looks like they're not using H1N1 viruses in any way at all.

Pretty quacktacular, "Hey Jacques, can you come over here and hork into this mortar?". Oh blurg.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Originally Posted by Estellea

That is considered a 'nosode' and is frequently used in homeopathy to make 'vaccines'

Somehow I suspect "nosodes" wasn't something thought up by Hanneman!

Of course, other neo-homeopathic products go against the "Law of Similars".

Hyland's so-called homeopathic sleep-aid "Calms Forte" has mostly a bunch of herbal sleep aids in 1X concentration (10%--a real amount but hardly very effective quantities of herbs of dubious value in a tiny capsule) plus some 3X minerals. By the Law of Similars, this product should be a stimulant.

By the way, in that source I quoted from above on Influenzinum, it says that remedy hasn't gone through any "proving".