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June 23, 2000 (Washington) -- We used to call it a "cruel hoax." People with cancer -- made vulnerable by their fear -- would be approached by hucksters who claimed to have a "cure." Sure, it would cost thousands. And you might have to travel to Mexico to get it, because the "cancer establishment" in the U.S. was suppressing it. But it was a hope.
The "cure" was called laetrile. Made from almonds, it had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. As the chief spokesman for the FDA, I spent a year fighting laetrile, trying to educate patients who might believe the sales pitch. There are reports that laetrile may be coming back, again being sold to the unsuspecting and vulnerable.
But what has not changed is the health fraud that laetrile's popularity spotlights. Laetrile was especially cruel because its purveyors persuaded patients to avoid accepted cancer therapy, which at least had a chance of being successful. We still see health fraud in cancer treatments, but we also see it in many other areas, ranging from dietary supplements that are unproven, to weight loss gadgets that don't work, to miracle cures that are sold for whatever ails you.
In fact, even though the public should be smarter about such things, it's getting easier for the hucksters. The Internet has opened up new avenues for health fraud. And the government agencies that are supposed to protect you -- the FDA and FTC -- are stretched thin. They have the resources to go after only the worst offenders, but the vast majority of fraudulent health products go unchallenged.
You must protect yourself by not buying health products that provide you with no benefit or, at worst, may actually harm you. You can't rely on the government to protect you from false claims.
When I was at the FDA, ferreting out fraudulent health products was a low priority -- not because fraud is acceptable, but because the products generally are not harmful. The attitude of the government is the same today: resources should be devoted to preventing the sale of products that can harm your health, not just your pocketbook.
A recent FTC press release announcing regulatory actions against three companies said it best: "Internet health fraud continues to plague consumers looking for solutions to serious health-related illnesses."
Note the word "continues." The Internet is just a few years old, but the sale of fraudulent health care products has been around since its beginning. Why do we fall for products that appear too good to be true?
Perhaps we are always looking for a quick fix, whether the problem is a serious illness like cancer or Alzheimer's disease, or whether the goal is just to lose weight. We Americans are optimists by nature and like to believe that for every problem, there's a solution that's inexpensive and easy.
How many times do we hear from reliable health professionals that the only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories and get more exercise? But how many hundreds of ineffective and sometimes harmful weight loss products are available for people seeking a quick fix?
The sellers of fraudulent health products know there's a sucker born every minute -- and a dollar to be taken from them. There is lots and lots of money in selling fraudulent health products. And most of the hucksters have smart lawyers. By the time the government arrives to close them down, they've moved offices and changed the names of their companies.
Spotting health fraud is not terribly difficult. It's mainly just using common sense.
There are some simple ways to check out a product:
The main point is that you have to watch out for yourself. Realize this simple truth: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Wayne Pines, WebMD's Washington columnist, is a former Associate Commissioner and Chief Spokesman of the Food and Drug Administration. The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of WebMD.
作者： WaynePines 2006-8-16