Deepak Chopra's "Science of Healing"

Deepak Chopra, the alternative medicine guru, needs no introduction.


Deepak (he's the one on the left - or is that him on the right? I can't be sure) is the author of Magical Mind Magical Body, a set of CDs offered to readers of Kindred Spirit magazine (advert available here and here).

Alongside the usual preposterous mumbo-jumbo can be found a series of altogether more serious claims.

"Doctors are baffled...Is it possible [to]...erase pain better than drugs...?"

"Dr Deepak Chopra will explain his ideas on how to: ...Say goodbye to pharamceutical drugs..."

"In the West doctors believe in the "magic bullet" - take a sleeping pill, take an antibiotic...this approach does work to some extent but only to relieve symptoms...not the underlying cause...the imbalance is still present."

That sounds suspiciously like discouraging essential medical treatment to me - an act which is specifically forbidden by the ASA's advertising codes.

Not content with this offence, the advertisers (Nightingale Connant of Torquay) boast that listening to the CDs will teach you

"How to eat whatever you wish without gaining weight"

I didn't even bother counting the sections of the code that claim breaches. Here's my complaint to the ASA!

"I write to complain about a leaflet inserted into copies of "Kindred Spirit" magazine (Issue 106, Sep/Oct 2010).

The leaflet, for Nightingale Conant, promotes a pack of six CDs entitled "Magical Mind Magical Body".

I suspect that the advert may be in breach of several sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code (2010). I enclose a scan of the leaflet.

1. The leaflet contains the text:

"Doctors are baffled... Is it possible for the mind to create perfect health...heal illness, erase pain better than drugs, protect you against disease, reverse the ageing process, help you lose weight...?"

2. The leaflet continues:

"In this remarkable 6 hours talking book...Dr Deepak Chopra will explain his ideas on how to: Unleash the healing powers of your mind...Increase your immunity to illness...Learn a simple way to overcome addiction...Say goodbye to pharmaceutical drugs...How to eat whatever you wish without gaining weight...Create perfect health and total wellbeing..."

3. Under Sections 3.7 and 12.1 of the CAP Code (2010) I challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate any of the following claims:

(i) Listening to the CDs can "create perfect health", "heal illness", "erase pain better than drugs", "protect you against diseases", "reverse the ageing process" or "help you lose weight"

(ii) Listening to the CDs can "increase your immunity to illness", "overcome addiction", help you "say goodbye to pharmaceutical drugs", allow you to "eat whatever you wish without gaining weight" and "create perfect health"

4. The leaflet continues:

"Deepark Chopra's work combines his training in western medicine with the 6000 year old [sic] science of healing called Ayurveda from his homeland of India..."

5. (i) Despite careful searches, I have been unable to find a substantial body of clinical evidence attesting to the efficacy of Ayurveda. Nor can I find a description of the Ayurvedic methodology that seems to be congruent with the scientific method.

(ii) Therefore, under Section 3.1 I challenge whether the claim that Ayurveda is a "science" is misleading.

6. The leaflet continues:

"In the West doctors believe in the "magic bullet" - take a sleeping pill, take an antibiotic...this approach does work to some extent but only to relieve symptoms...not the underlying cause...the imbalance is still present."

7. Under Sections 3.7 and 12.1 of the CAP Code (2010) I challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate the claim that antibiotics do not treat the "underlying cause" of infections, and under Section 3.1 I challenge whether the quoted text is misleading.

8. Under Section 12.2, I challenge whether the following statements are likely to discourage essential treatment:

(i) "Doctors are baffled...Is it possible [to]...erase pain better than drugs...?"
(ii) "Dr Deepak Chopra will explain his ideas on how to: ...Say goodbye to pharamceutical drugs..."
(iii) "In the West doctors believe in the "magic bullet" - take a sleeping pill, take an antibiotic...this approach does work to some extent but only to relieve symptoms...not the underlying cause...the imbalance is still present."

9. I challenge whether the statement "How to eat whatever you wish without gaining weight" is in breach of several parts of Section 13 of the CAP Code.

10. Finally, I challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate their claim that the mind has "magical healing powers" which can be "unleash[ed]" by listening to the CD.

11. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser or the magazine. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser or the magazine."