Quackwatch.org is a website which deals with quackery and it has extensive information on this subject. However, the information is so huge that it is virtually impossible for a time pressed individual to read through the whole text. I will be taking up one topic at a time from this huge database and will summarize it for this busy world.

“Quackery” derives from the word quacksalver (someone who boasts about his salves). Dictionaries define quack as “a pretender to medical skill; a charlatan” and “one who talks pretentiously without sound knowledge of the subject discussed.” The FDA defines health fraud as “the promotion, for profit, of a medical remedy known to be false or unproven. Quackery’s paramount characteristic is promotion (”Quacks quack!”) rather than fraud, greed, or misinformation.

Most people think of quackery as promoted by charlatans who deliberately exploit their victims. Actually, most promoters are unwitting victims who share misinformation and personal experiences with others………. Much quackery is involved in telling people something is bad for them (such as food additives) and selling a substitute (such as “organic” or “natural” food). Quackery is also involved in misleading advertising of dietary supplements, homeopathic products, and some nonprescription drugs……… For example, vitamin B12 shots are lifesaving in cases of pernicious anemia, but giving them frequently to “pep you up” is a form of medical fraud.

Quackery and poor medical care overlap but are not identical. Quackery entails the use of methods that are not scientifically accepted. Malpractice involves failure by a health professional to meet accepted standards of diagnosis and treatment.

To avoid semantic problems, quackery could be broadly defined as “anything involving overpromotion in the field of health.” This definition would include questionable ideas as well as questionable products and services, regardless of the sincerity of their promoters. In line with this definition, the word “fraud” would be reserved only for situations in which deliberate deception is involved.

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