Dr Andre's "miracle" "cancer" treatment

The Vision of Hope Clinic in Brighton offers a novel cancer treatment which consists of injecting their hapless patients with high doses of vitamins.

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The Clinic's flyer (available here and here) makes some interesting claims about other conditions, besides cancer, which their therapies can treat:

"...depression... chronic and degenerative conditons... other metabolic disorders..."

I believe the flyer's claims are highly misleading and probably illegal. I wonder what Dr. Andre Young-Snell will have to say in his defence?

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Unusually for a quack, Dr Andre is actually a real doctor licensed to practise by the General Medical Council.

Nevertheless - another ASA complaint follows!

"I write to complain about a leaflet picked up at the CamExpo exhibition in London on 24th October this year.

The leaflet, for the "Vision of Hope Clinic", promotes an intravenous treatment for "depression", "cancer" and other unspecified "metabolic disorders".

1. (i) The leaflet is titled:

"Vision of Hope Clinic - Complementary metabolic therapies for cancers, depression, chronic and degenerative conditions"

(ii) The leaflet describes the clinic thus:

"The Vision of Hope Clinic is a metabolic therapy and nutritional clinic situated in the beautiful seaside city of Brighton. We specialise in metabolic therapy, a nutritional approach to the treatment of metabolic disorders..."

2. The leaflet describes the "treatment":

"...the latest integrative approach to treat patients with metabolic disorders, primarily cancer...The aim is to boost the patient's immune system to its maximum potential to allow the body to detoxify and repair itself..."

3. (i) A "consultation" at the clinic begins with an assessment from "Dr. Young-Snell", a doctor registered with the General Medical Council (GMC).

(ii) The second hour of the "consultation" is devoted to "...our nutritionist [who] provides a detoxification regime and diet tailored specifically to the patient..."

(iii) The leaflet assures us that "Natural nutrition therapy works" because it:

"...support[s] the whole body by addressing the biochemistry of each cell, while clearing and energising the body's routes of elimination so toxicity can be properly released."

4. Two "treatment regimes" are promoted. The "Intravenous Regime", for patients who are able to stay in the vicinity the clinic for "3 weeks", consists of a high-dose vitamin regime applied to the patient intravenously:

"The Intravenous regime has the advantage of a much higher vitamin and nutrient dosage [than the "Oral Regime"] over the three weeks using at the cornerstone, daily high dose [sic] Vitamin C intravenous infusions..."

5. Under Section 12.1, I challenge whether the advertisers can substantiate any of the following claims:

(i) The clinic's therapies, including "a high-dose vitamin regime applied to the patient intravenously", are able to "treat patients with metabolic disorders, primarily cancer" and "boost the patient's immune system to its maximum potential to allow the body to detoxify and repair itself"

(ii) The clinic's therapies are likewise able to treat "...depression, chronic or degenerative conditions"

(iii) The clinic's dietary regime, prepared after a consultation with the in-house nutritionist, is able to detoxify the body

(iv) "Natural nutrition therapy works" because it "[clears] and [energises] the body's routes of elimination so toxicity can be properly released"

(v) Courses of high-dose vitamins, whether taken orally or intravenously, are capable of treating any disease

6. The leaflet contains two testimonials. The second reads:

(i) "...After much family deliberation and consultations with Dr. Young-Snell it was decided to go ahead with the treatment, which centered [sic] around a series of daily intravenous injections over three weeks, plus a dietary regime. Since completion I am virtually back to normal - no more pain, walking unaided and feeling generally good. My doctors tell me - from the scans - that everything is looking good - the word miracle was even mentioned..."

(ii) I submit that the words "doctors", "scans" and "miracle" in this testimonial may be trying to imply that the clinic's treatment offers a cure for the disorder "primarily" treated by the clinic, namely "cancer".

7. Regarding this testimonial,

(i) Under Section 3.45 I challenge whether the advertisers hold documentary evidence that it is genuine

(ii) Under Section 3.47, I challenge whether it is likely to mislead consumers

8. Under Section 12.2, I challenge whether the leaflet fails to "encourage consumers to take independent medical advice before committing themselves to significant treatments, including those that are physically invasive".

9. Under Section 12.6, I challenge whether the advertisers have falsely claimed that their treatments are able to cure illness and dysfunction.

10. Under Section 12.10, I challenge whether the phrase "Natural nutrition works to support the whole body by addressing the biochemistry of each cell, while clearing and energising the body's routes of elimination so toxicity can be properly released" suggests the treatments are safe because they are "natural".

11. Under Section 15.6.2, I challenge whether the leaflet's promoted nutrition regimes "state or imply a food prevents, treats or cures human disease".

12. Under Section 3.1, I challenge whether the leaflet is misleading.

13. Under Section 1.3, I challenge whether the leaflet is irresponsible.

14. I confirm I have no connections with the advertiser. I confirm I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser."

Dr & Herbs (part 4) - IBS and depression

These two complaints are the eighth and ninth occasions on which I've complained to the ASA about Dr & Herbs, a Chinese medicine store in my town.

I'm still waiting for something to be done.

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I've already complained about their leaflet promoting acupuncture and herbs for depression - you can read the update below, if you like - but first, here is my complaint about their flyer which promotes a bullshit treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

"I write to complain about a flyer I picked up outside the Luton branch of "Dr & Herbs" earlier this week.

The flyer promotes a various TCM treatments for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

I suspect that the flyer may be in breach of three sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code. I can send an original copy of the flyer by post, if required.

1. On numerous occasions in the past I have complained about flyers from this advertiser. I have not complained about the IBS flyer before.

2. Under Sections 3.1 and 50.1 of the CAP Code, I challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate the following claims:

(i) "IBS can be [the] result of either the imbalance between [the] stomach meridian, spleen meridian and liver meridian or the weakness of internal Meridians such as [the] spleen and stomach meridian[s]"

(ii) "The imbalance[d] liver and spleen meridians could be the main reason of [sic] IBS"

(iii) The claim that "Acupuncture" and "herbal medicine" are "natural treatments"

(iv) The claim that the listed therapies can treat IBS ("Dr & Herbs can help patients free [sic] from IBS with a wide range of natural treatments, such as Acupuncture, herbal medicine, Massage and so on")

(v) The claim that the advertisers' employees are capable of creating an effective "treatment" for IBS by "checking [a] patient's pulse, tongue and asking some questions", so that "a group of herbs is combined together to specifically address a person's unique constitution"

3. Under Sections 3.1 and 50.1, I challenge whether the advertiser can substantiate any of the claimed "BENEFITS you can get from the [sic] Chinese Medicine and acupuncture at Dr & Herbs", namely:

(i) "It helps relax your abdominal muscles, which may lead to more normal bowel activity. Acupuncture can relax muscle spasms and improve bowel function, calm the person and promote emotional well-being"

(ii) "Reduce stress and anxiety"

(iii) "Down-regulate [sic] the neural activities of the intestine"

(iv) "Reduce muscle spasms of the intestine and relax the smooth muscle"

(v) "Reduce physiological stress in the body"

(vi) "Reduce abdominal cramping, rumbling and promote 'normal' digestive functions"

4. (i) The flyer refers to "an Australian study" which it claims "lends strong scientific support to treating IBS with Chinese Herbs".

(ii) The study is almost certainly "Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with Chinese herbal medicine: a randomized controlled trial", Bensoussan et al (1998) [1]. The study's abstract states:

"CONCLUSION: Chinese herbal formulations appear to offer improvement in symptoms for some patients with IBS."

5. (i) The 2007 study, "A systematic review of randomised clinical trials of individualised herbal medicine in any indication" [2], states:

"Results: Three randomised clinical trials of individualised herbal medicine were identified."

(ii) One of the three identified studies is the 1998 Bensoussan study.

(iii) Discussing the Bensoussan study, the 2007 systematic review states:

"The abstract reports statistically significant findings favouring herbal treatment over placebo, but this refers to data derived from standardised and individualised herbal treatment combined together....only four of the five showed significant intergroup differences favouring individualised herbal treatment over placebo. The gastroenterologist’s assessments for the main outcome measure...were not significantly better than placebo in the individualised group. Overall, changes from baseline and responder rates were larger in the standardised than in the individualised group in all measures. Patient-assessed BSS at a follow up 14 weeks after the end of the trial favoured individualised over standardised treatment, but this difference was not statistically significant."

(iv) The review continues:

"Overall, the results of the three studies included in this review do not provide support for the use of individualised herbal medicine in any indication... While Bensoussan observed that individualised treatment was better than placebo in four of five outcome measures in the treatment of IBS, it was inferior to standardised treatment in all five outcomes and standardised treatment therefore appears to be preferable for reasons of cost and safety... These data indicate that almost all individualised herbal medicine is practised without the support of any rigorous evidence about effectiveness whatsoever.

6. Taking into account the two studies, under Section 7.1, I challenge whether the flyer's claim that "An Australian study lends strong scientific support to treating IBS with Chinese herbs" is misleading, and I challenge whether it exaggerates the the clinical evidence supporting "treating IBS with Chinese herbs."

Footnotes:

[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9820260
[2] http://pmj.bmj.com/content/83/984/633.full
"

Here's my second complaint about their bullshit depression cure. Can you sense my indignation?

"I write to complain about a flyer I picked up outside the Luton branch of "Dr & Herbs", a "Traditional Chinese Medicine" (TCM) retail outlet, earlier this week.

The flyer promotes various TCM treatments for depression.

I suspect that the flyer may be in breach of four sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code. I can send an original copy of the flyer by post, if required.

1. This is the ninth occasion in which I have complained about flyers from this advertiser.

2. In April this year, I wrote to you to complain about an identical flyer I had picked up.

3. Later that month, you wrote to advise me:

"Given that we have an established position on ads that refer to serious medical conditions such as depression in this way I've passed the case to our Compliance team, which will follow it up."

4. I protest that, despite any action the Compliance Team has taken, the flyer continues to be distributed at advertier's stores.

5. Therefore, once again, under Section 7.1 I challenge whether the flyer misleadingly compares "modern [Western] medicine" and "Chinese medicine [TCM]" by failing to note that only the former is an evidence-based practice.

6. Under Section 7.1, I challenge whether the following statements are misleading, and under Section 6.1 I challenge whether the statements "exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers":

(i) "Protracted or excessive emotional depression could consume the heart Qi and undermine the blood so that the heart fails to be nourished and is thus unable to house the mind, so the mind becomes out of order."

(ii) "Excessive thinking and worrying could over-exert the heart and spleen, leading to the insufficiency of both Qi and blood, so the heart is malnourished and the mind is disturbed, resulting in the waning of heart Qi and declining of courageousness."

(iii) "Consitutional Yin deficiency or prolonged liver-Qi stagnation turns to fire, which takes from the Yin-fluid in the body, so the insufficient Yin leads to the flaring up of fire and the floating of the imbalanced Yang."

7. Under Sections 3.1 and 50.1, I challenge whether the advertiser holds documentary evidence to prove the following claim, and I challenge whether the claim is backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people:

(i) The advertiser's employees are capable of selecting "a group of raw herbs...to form a prescription, which is tailor-made for the patient [who has depression]"

8. In my previous complaint about this flyer, I submitted evidence from a Cochrane Review study [1] which stated:

"We found insufficient evidence to recommend the use of acupuncture for people with depression. The results are limited by the high risk of bias in the majority of trials meeting inclusion criteria."

9. Under Section 3.1, I challenge whether the advertiser holds documentary evidence to prove the following claim; under section 50.1, I challenge whether the claim is backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people; under Section 7.1, I challenge whether the claim is misleading:

(i) "Acupuncture: Chinese acupuncture treatment can ease depression. Some studies found it superior to anti-depressant drugs and with less side-effects"

10. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser or with the alternative medicine industry in general. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser.

Footnotes:

[1] http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD004046/frame.html
"

The Acupressure Mat - 'may help with depression'

Have you ever wanted to have your own Indian bed of nails?

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Yes, me too! Until one pops up on Ebay, though, we'll have to make do with this rubber 'Acupressure' mat.

It's another thing I'd definitely buy, if I had money to spare for novelties.

Yet again, though, a perfectly reasonable product is ruined by an advertisement with improbable claims like "may help with depression".

As surely as night follows day, an ASA complaint has been submitted.

"I write to complain about an advert in "Natural Health" magazine (May 2010, p114).

The advert, for Pennybridge Health Care Ltd, promotes the "Acupressure Mat".

I suspect that the advert may be in breach of one section of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code. I can provide an original copy of the advert by post, if required.

1. The CAP Code, Section 50.1, states "Medical and scientific claims made about beauty and health-related products should be backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people..."

2. I challenge whether any of the following claims are backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of clinical trials conducted on people:

(i) The Acupressure Mat may help with sciatica
(ii) The Acupressure Mat may help with slipped discs
(iii) The Acupressure Mat may help with depression
(iv) The Acupressure Mat may help with fibromyalgia
(v) The Acupressure Mat may help with high or low blood pressure

3. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser, the magazine, or with the publishing and alternative medicine industries in general. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser or the magazine."

*Blues Begone - pilot studies are more reliable than adverts

Sometimes an advert which looks complainable turns out, on further investigation, to be perfectly legitimate. (Believe it or not, I do actually research my complaints before I submit them.)

Take this advert for Blues Begone - a computer-based treatment for sufferers of depression. The advertiser's claims are supported by published research - see this pilot study for example.

UPDATE, 14 Jul: ASA write to confirm the advertisers have agreed not to use the ad again.

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Alas, the advert is ruined by the rash assertion that "Depression is Easy to Cure". Dr David Purves really ought to have known better.

A short, but important, ASA complaint follows.

"I write to complain about an advert in "Healthy" magazine (April 2010, Issue 77, p148). I understand that the magazine is sold exclusively in Holland & Barrett stores.

The advert, for www.bluesbegone.co.uk, promotes a computer-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) treatment for sufferers of depression.

I suspect that the advert may be in breach of one section of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code. I can provide an original copy of the advert by post, if required.

1. The advertiser has published a pilot study into the efficacy of the 'Blues Begone' treatment[1].

2. The study's abstract states:

"Results: One hundred patients started Blues Begone®, 58 completed the program, 72% (n = 42) of completers achieved reliable change and (n = 36) 62% achieved both reliable and clinically significant change, and may be considered to have recovered by the end of the program.

Conclusion: These data provide the first demonstration of the potential viability of Blues Begone® as a home based computerized treatment for depression and anxiety."

3. The CAP Code, Section 7.1, states "No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise."

4. Taking into account the the results of the study, I challenge whether the advertiser's assertion that "Depression is easy to cure" is misleading under Section 7.1 of the Code.

5. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser, the magazine, or with the publishing and medical industries in general. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser or the magazine.

6. I confirm that I am happy to be identified as the complainant."

*Dr & Herbs (part 2) - depression is all about stagnated Qi, you know

Dr & Herbs - a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) shop, trading on a high street near you - is one of my favourite advertisers.

UPDATE, 28 Apr: ASA say "Given that we have an established position on ads that refer to serious medical conditions such as depression in this way I've passed the case to our Compliance team, which will follow it up."


In one of their flyers (available here and here) they make some odd claims about a possible treatment for depression.

I'd like to know if they can sustain their claims. ASA complaint follows.

"I write to complain about flyers available outside the Luton branch of "Dr & Herbs", a "Traditional Chinese Medicine" retail outlet.

I suspect that the flyers may be in breach of three sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code.

I have submitted scans of the flyer. I can provide an original copy of the flyer by post, if required.

1. The CAP Code, Section 7.1, states "No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise."

2. The flyer states:

"The depression in modern medicine falls into the categories of "Yu-syndrome" (depressed syndrome) and "Zang Zao" (restlessness of Zang-organs" in Chinese medicine, which are understood to be caused by abnormal emotions leading to the stagnated flow of Qi."

3. (i) Under Section 7.1, I challenge whether the flyer misleads, or is likely to mislead, in comparing "modern [Western] medicine" and "Chinese medicine [TCM]" by failing to note that only the former is an evidence-based practice.

(ii) Under Section 7.1, I further challenge whether the following statements mislead, or are likely to mislead:

(iii) "Protracted or excessive emotional depression could consume the heart Qi and undermine the blood so that the heart fails to be nourished and is thus unable to house the mind, so the mind becomes out of order."

(iv) "Excessive thinking and worrying could over-exert the heart and spleen, leading to the insufficiency of both Qi and blood, so the heart is malnourished and the mind is disturbed, resulting in the waning of heart Qi and declining of courageousness."

(v) "Consitutional Yin deficiency or prolonged liver-Qi stagnation turns to fire, which takes from the Yin-fluid in the body, so the insufficient Yin leads to the flaring up of fire and the floating of the imbalanced Yang."

4. The CAP Code, Section 3.1, states "Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation."

5. The CAP Code, Section 50.1, states "Medical and scientific claims made about beauty and health-related products should be backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people..."

6. (i) Under Sections 3.1 and 50.1, I challenge whether the advertiser holds documentary evidence to prove the following claim, and I challenge whether the claim is backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people:

(ii) The advertiser's consultants are capable of selecting "a group of raw herbs...to form a prescription, which is tailor-made for the patient [who has depression]"

7. (i) Regarding the treatment of depression with acupuncture, the Cochrane Review states: [1]

"Main results

This review is an update and now contains data from 30 studies... Thirty trials with 2,812 participants are included in the meta-analysis.

There was a high risk of bias in the majority of trials. There was insufficient evidence of a consistent beneficial effect from acupuncture compared with a wait list control or sham acupuncture control...

Authors' conclusions

We found insufficient evidence to recommend the use of acupuncture for people with depression. The results are limited by the high risk of bias in the majority of trials meeting inclusion criteria."

(ii) Under Section 3.1, I challenge whether the advertiser holds documentary evidence to prove the following claim; under section 50.1, I challenge whether the claim is backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people; under Section 7.1, I challenge whether the claim misleads, or is likely to mislead:

"Acupuncture: Chinese acupuncture treatment can ease depression. Some studies found it superior to anti-depressant drugs and with less side-effects"

8. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser or with the alternative medicine industry in general. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser.

9. I confirm that I am happy to be identified as the complainant.

Footnotes:

[1] http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD004046/frame.html
"