4 replies to this topic

[xanadu]

Tell me about swindles and fraud you've discovered in the area of health and wellness. One example I saw just recently was a full page ad in the paper for an "infrared device" to cure or aleviate all manners of problems. It was supposed to be great for arthritis, bursitis, muscle aches and many other things. Reading carefully through the hype you could realise it was just an ordinary heating pad they were selling. It was available for 10 days only at the reduced price of $224. Or you could pick one up at walmart for $10 or so. They didn't show any photos of the device but I imagine that's where they get their stock when suckers send in the money.

Then there are overpriced supplements. I see big ads for memory aids. They won't tell you what's in the bottle, they just say it's amino acids and a propriatary formula. It's usually $40 or so for a bottle. Or you could get the same thing over the counter for $10 or so from GNC or other places. Likewise, I've seen big ads for chondroitin touted as a breakthrough for joint pain. It does work but it's been around for years and you can get it in any grocery store for 1/10 the price. Does anyone have other examples?

[Centurion]

I got a letter in the mail once about a magical pendant that emits cosmic waves to cure your every ailment. I kid you not

[xanadu]

cent, I don't doubt it a bit. I've seen ads for copper bracelets that are supposed to cure you. I've seen ads for magnetic bracelets. Swindles seem to fall into two main areas. Things that are actually good but are grossly overpriced and things that are of no benefit at all. Some things done by the medical profession in the past could fall under both those catagories. Take for example the prefrontal lobotomy which was very popular at one time.

[Pablo M]

You've hit on a lot of them. Another egregious example is all those crappy products that are disguised as drugs with names like Avlimil and Enzyte. See this website for an "unbiased" review of Enzyte allegedly written by a pharmacist. However, he couldn't even be bothered to spell ginkgo biloba correctly, spelling it "ginko baloba." For someone who doesn't really know a lot about Enzyte, he sure goes to a lot of trouble to inform you where you can get it the cheapest and easiest. This is one example of many that shows the shady tactics used to promote these products.

There are tons of other scams. Coral calcium, water alkalizing, colon cleansing, etc. Some people who promote them are truthful in their beliefs, whil others are simple hucksters trying to make a buck. Many people lack a certain faculty of critical reasoning, and so are easy prey. It's sad, really, but that's the way it is.

[ikaros]

Yesterday an advertisement popped into my mailbox talking about some miracle rings which are made by some really ugly looking old hag named Esmeralda. The rings are supposed to cure cancer and also improve your odds in lottery. Yeah...what next? Beam me up Jebus, the world's gone crazy.