Articles tagged with "drug"

Clavicular, better known to his mum and dad as Braden Peters, is a 20 year old internet influencer who promotes an extreme beauty regime known as “looksmaxxing”.

Finally, we've reached the end of this series profiling major evangelical and fundamentalist Christians and their connection to New Zealand, whether they are home grown (like Nancy Campbell) or viewed New Zealand as an ideal place to extend their reach (like Gothard and Botkin). While I still stand by my claim that Nancy Campbell is one of, if not the most, influential New Zealand writer, Ray Comfort is without a doubt the most influential Kiwi connected Christian. Ever.

Over the last few months or so, while I've been perusing the crazier corners of the internet, I've seen occasional mentions of a really interesting conspiracy theory - in Facebook feeds of COVID deniers, screenshots from private conspiracy Telegram groups, and videos from various protests and marches. The rumour that Jacinda Ardern's partner, Clarke Gayford, is secretly either under arrest, released on bail or imprisoned, and that this is for a drug related offence.

Obviously as skeptics we're pretty clued up on the idea of not using unproven therapies, especially when there's positive evidence that they don't work. It's been apparent for a while now that the evidence for Ivermectin as a COVID treatment or preventative is not very good, and it's been sad to see how many people don't seem to care about the lack of evidence and are taking it anyway.

The drug Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug (used on worms and head-lice), and has been touted as a treatment for COVID-19. On the anti-vaxx Facebook groups I monitor, it's frequently cited as the favoured treatment for COVID-19, along the same lines as Hydroxychloroquine - though that seems to have faded a little now.

Cocksy, a celebrity builder on New Zealand TV, has cancer and is currently on an experimental new treatment.

A friend recently pointed me at a post on healthnutnews (which reads a bit like an offshoot of mercola.com – this, it turns out, is hardly surprising). It's been a while since I've read anything so full of total nonsense – well, a few days, anyway!

Placebos may contain no active ingredients, but they have real effects on the human brain. This article is based on a presentation to the NZ Skeptics 2008 conference in Hamilton, September 26-28.

Holidaymakers planning trips to the tropics have been warned to avoid homeopathic remedies that are claimed to prevent malaria after several UK travellers contracted the potentially fatal disease (NZ Herald, 14 July).

There is little doubt there are criminals who are prepared to drug women in order to sexually assault them. History records the commonest drug used was chloral hydrate in an alcoholic drink (Mickey Finn). The modern equivalent is rohypnol, a drug discontinued in New Zealand owing to its abuse potential. However, as Ogden Nash observed "liquor is quicker" and alcohol remains the most likely cause of incapacity leading to unwanted sexual activity.

Now that Terri Schiavo has been allowed to die peacefully there is an opportunity to reflect on the matter free from the hysteria and religious arguments advanced as an excuse to maintain her in a vegetative state. When discussing the ethics of the situation with a local surgeon he commented that the main problem was that the feeding tube should never have been inserted in the first place. A feeding tube is surgically inserted into the stomach through a hole in the abdominal wall. Once such medical interventions have been made it is very hard to reverse them. In this case the debate appears to have been hijacked by Catholic pressure groups.

Cellulite is the term used by women's magazines to describe dimpled fat. It has no scientific or anatomical validity and it is simply ordinary fatty tissue that assumes a waffled appearance because fibrous tissue prevents the skin from fully expanding in areas where fatty tissue accumulates. This has been confirmed by a study where biopsies of fat and cellulite were microscopically indistinguishable by pathologists who were blinded as to the samples' origin. Calling fat "cellulite" is part of the modern trend to seeking alternatives to the (unpalatable) truth, in this case an adipose euphemism.

If the caring practitioner has no idea of what to do next, the decision may be best left in the hands of the Almighty. Too many clinicians, unfortunately, are unable to resist giving God a hand with the decision-making.

Whether or not you believe in the paranormal may depend entirely on your brain chemistry. People with high levels of dopamine are more likely to find significance in coincidences, and pick out meaning and patterns where there are none.

In the second of a two-part series, Jim Ring looks at what evidence means to different people

Thanks to reader Alan Pickmere for drawing my attention to colon cleansing. In a radio advertisement Alan heard the claim that the average adult has up to 10kg of preservatives and toxic waste in their colon. The actor, John Wayne had 20kg removed at autopsy, doubtless dating from the time spent venting his spleen against commie actors facing Senator Joe McCarthy's inquisition. Come to think of it, perhaps he should have "vented" more often.

I START with another example of chemists' lack of ethics and the gullibility of the public. In November 28 issue of the Listener, the ever suspicious Pamela Stirling did a good expose on Cellasine, the new herbal cellulite "remedy", which sold out in a few days when it came here.

Like Noel O'Hare, I attended the September Skeptics' conference. Noel, winner of an NZ Skeptics Bravo Award "for critical analysis and common sense for his health column throughout 1997", had a gripe (Shadow Of Doubt, Listener, 19 September 1998). He accused us of favouring "soft targets -- psychics, New Age fads, alternative medicine, astrology." "Poking fun at Creationists or crystal healers," he wrote, "may produce a warm glow of superiority -- but doesn't change much."

AS A CONFIRMED, but lightweight, sceptic, I have had to endure many jibes from friends and colleagues as I questioned information reported in the newspapers and on the news. Equally, I have had to explain what being a sceptic is really all about -- not straight dismissal of, but the opportunity to question information that is presented as fact.

Another "I've seen the light" American quack whizzed through New Zealand recently, spreading his own magical brew of antioxidants, lacto-vegetarian diets, bioFlavonoid herbs, and, wait for it, Maharishi Ayurveda compounds. Hari Sharma, Professor Emeritus at the Ohio State University, says that physicians are becoming pathogens, they are creating diseases. Like most saviours of the human race before him, he mixes scientific half truths and anecdotal stories to rubbish hundreds of years of painstakingly researched evidence-based medicine (GP Weekly, October 1997)

An editorial in the Christchurch Press (23 Nov 94) was critical of the Universities who are seeking approval from the NZQA and argued that they should continue to set their own high standards.

In the last issue I discussed how quackery can be practised by New Zealand doctors with impunity, "if they do so honestly and in good faith." Alaska has a similar clause which only disciplines maverick doctors if they harm their patients. In fact, the latest NCAF newsletter outlines how a Dr Rowen has been appointed to the state medical board after "curing" the governor's wife of lumbago by extracting one of her teeth. The link between the tooth and the back was made by an electro-acupuncture circuit using a Vega machine.

Myocardial infarction (heart attack, coronary thrombosis) is commonly caused by a blood clot blocking one of the three coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle. It is the commonest cause of death (4,000 p.a.) in New Zealand and other Western countries. Specialists have long wondered whether early administration of a fibrinolytic (blood clot dissolving drug) would reduce mortality.

In order to supplement the article on homeopathy by Bill Morris (March, 1989), I enclose copies of abstracts of clinical trials of homeopathic preparations published in reputable medical journals, some of which Morris has overlooked.