Once upon a time, medicine shows used to travel from town to town presenting a little music and entertainment, and then a big sales pitch to sell snake oil. These were a bottle of liniment, or tonic, or other cures for everything and anything that ailed you. The phrase "snake oil salesman" still means a quack or a charlatan selling fraudulent goods.
Snake oil salesmen are still around. Now they peddle quick weight loss cures or wrinkle removers or herbal remedies that will cure your diabetes.
At best, these products will hurt your wallet but not harm anything else. At worst, they contain toxins or are contaminated because they were made packaged in substandard factories. An added disadvantage is that buying these products may keep a person from consulting a physician.
Just as when medicine shows roamed around, people fall for a health scam. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists six tips that should help you avoid a health scam.
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One product does it all: Be suspicious of products that claim to cure a wide range of diseases.
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Personal testimonials: Success stories, such as, "It cured my diabetes" or "My tumors are gone," These are called anecdotes and they are not a substitute for evidence from scientific research.
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Quick fixes: Few diseases or conditions can be cured quickly, even with legitimate products.
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"All natural": Natural does not mean safe. Toadstools and hemlock are all-natural and will kill you. Many products promoted as "all natural" actually may contain hidden and dangerous doses of prescription drug ingredients, artificial ingredients, or do not contain what they say they contain.
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"Miracle cure": Don't be fooled by claims like "new discovery," "scientific breakthrough" or "secret ingredient." If a real cure for a serious disease is discovered, it will not be marketed through print ads, TV infomercials, or mass emails, and it will be prescribed by health professionals.
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Conspiracy theories. Claims like "The pharmaceutical industry and the government are working together to hide information about a miracle cure" are always untrue and unfounded. The information can't be hidden if they are advertising it, right?
The FDA has a website with more information on how to spot a rip-off and health fraud at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ProtectYourself/HealthFraud/default.htm.