NZ Skeptics Articles

Articles tagged with "product"

Grandfathered Homeopathy

7 July 2025

Nearly a decade ago, I was in a local pharmacy and noticed that they had a flyer for a Weleda product that was making some pretty strong claims.

Recommended for Everyone

23 June 2025

While trawling alt-med websites for nonsense recently, I noticed a particularly egregious claim made by Ben Warren's BePure company for their multivitamin product, BePure One. The advertisement claimed that it was essential, and that people need to take it every day. Now it strikes me as surprising that any product would need to be taken by everyone, no matter their situation - especially as alternative medicines are not only unproven, but they're often also pretty expensive. BePure One, for example, is $69 for a month's supply - not nice, especially as most people who eat a balanced diet don't actually need a multivitamin, as they're getting everything they need from their food.

There's a patch for that: LifeWave moves into New Zealand

11 November 2024

I've been watching LifeWave for a while. Along with the Olive Tree People, LightWave has been one of the MLMs many ex-consultants of Monat, a hair and skincare MLM, have been joining since several key leaders and consultants were expunged from that company a few months back. It's hard to beat talking Olive Trees when it comes to MLM concepts, but this one really takes the cake.

A steaming pile of Horse Homeopathy

16 September 2024

I stated on the podcast a few weeks ago that I think I could cover a different horse pseudoscience in each issue, and keep going for an entire year. That was before I looked into it…

NZ Researcher Silenced

2 September 2024

A recent paper on the overuse of spinal imaging (usually X-rays), titled “_An investigation into the chiropractic practice and communication of routine repetitive radiographic imaging for the location of postural misalignments_” and led by New Zealand researcher Brogan Williams​ (in collaboration with others from Australia and the US), has criticised the distributor of a chiropractic product called Denneroll. Denneroll is a US company, but their products are distributed in New Zealand and the contact given for distribution here is a Hawke's Bay Chiropractor – Rosina Walker.

Ārepa brain drink, EMF protection, and a crypto critic book

6 November 2023

This week I'm taking a look at the recent controversy surrounding Ārepa - the brain drink product that's been pulled up by the Ministry of Primary Industries for making unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of its product.

Just one gummy a day…

17 April 2023

Of late I've been seeing some very scammy advertising online for a product that makes astounding weight loss claims. Yes, I know, there are a ton of them out there!

Vitamin D overdoses

11 July 2022

I got into a conversation with some people on Twitter over this past weekend, after commenting on an article about people overdosing on vitamin D.

Black Oxygen Organics - a new panacea

20 December 2021

But what is it, who's behind it, and does it work? Well, it turns out the answers to the first two questions will help us to figure out the third one.

Earth 2

12 July 2021

I enjoy playing computer games, and own both a gaming PC (RTX 3060 Ti, i5-10400) and a VR headset (Quest). So when I heard about an ambitious new game for PCs, VR and phones, it piqued my interest. The game is called Earth2, and is pipped to be a 1:1 copy of earth, with a faithful reproduction of the entire planet in software. Their website makes comparisons to the movies The Matrix and Ready Player One, both of which feature VR environments that are indistinguishable from reality. This sounds pretty ambitious... maybe too ambitious.

Vortex Water

24 May 2021

From the hard to believe it's real category, we found out about a revolutionary product being offered in New Zealand - Vortex Water!

Dahlias for Diabetes?

12 April 2021

One of our contacts noticed an item on TVNZ news on the 7th March detailing a product being developed by the University of Otago for prevention treatment of type 2 Diabetes. A complaint was made to TVNZ but they have not upheld the complaint.

New NZ Diet aid Calocurb launched

8 April 2018

A new locally made diet pill has gone on sale in NZ, and will soon be available in the US as well. Its makers are promoting the product at the moment

Sun protection pill goes on sale in NZ

8 October 2017

NZ now has its second ingested product for sun protection being sold. The first hit the market a few years ago, and is from a company called Osmosis Skincare. Their product contains "harmonised" water, which is described as:

Te Kiri Gold Cancer "Treatment" on sale

9 April 2017

We talked about Te Kiri Gold last year, when Sir Colin Meads was in the news endorsing it as a treatment for cancer. Although it wasn't on sale back then, and Vernon had been promising to run proper scientific trials of the product before putting it on the market, this seems to have now been forgotten.

Ex fraudster released early trying alternative cancer treatment

5 February 2017

Vicki Latele, who was jailed for mortgage fraud, has had a tough time. She has cancer, and has had her stomach removed. It appears that the standard treatments, such as chemotherapy, have not helped her, and she's been released from prison on compassionate grounds.

Hokum Locum

1 February 2008

I imagine that most people joining the Armed Forces would expect the likelihood of a posting to an area of conflict. I know I did. I spent six months in Iraq between the two Gulf Wars. I admit that it was stressful but it was also one of the most exciting and interesting experiences that I have ever had. But that's another story.

Hokum Locum

1 November 2005

During my recent overseas trip I had two stopovers in Hong Kong. The South China Morning Post (3 October) reports that demand from patients has led to a policy where acupuncture treatment will be allowed for patients recovering from stroke and cancer. This is rather an unfortunate move because a very recent study found no difference between acupuncture and sham acupuncture in their ability to perform daily activities of living or in their healthrelated quality of life. The study involved 116 patients who received 12 treatment sessions during a two-week period. [Park J and others, 2005: Acupuncture for subacute stroke rehabilitation. Archives of Internal Medicine 165: 2026-2031, 2005].

Hokum Locum

1 August 2005

The product Body Enhancer, marketed by the Zenith Corporation, costs $95 per bottle and is "claimed to assist fat burning, muscle growth and liver detoxification." A judge, however, found that the product offered 'bogus benefits' although the couple behind the company remained defiant and claimed that they were "scapegoats for the natural remedy industry."

Organic Means What?

1 February 2000

The Swedish chemist Berzelius coined the term "organic" for substances that could only be made by living organisms and not synthesised by humans. His German friend Wöhler synthesised urea in 1828 proving Berzelius wrong: there was no such distinction. Another brilliant German chemist, Liebig, then used "organic" to mean carbon-compound chemistry, extending this to include the chemistry of living organisms and so beginning biochemistry.