Category Archives: Health

Rachael Dunlop talks homeopathy

Posted in Big Placebo, Health, Scam by

Dr. Rachael Dunlop, Vice President of Australian Skeptics, chats on 4MK about homeopathy in Australia [approx 11min].

Rachael touches on the harm caused by homeopathy – the denial of evidence based medicine. Specifically, baby Gloria Thomas and Penelope Dingle – wife of the unimaginably unethical Dr. Peter Dingle.

Dingle, a professional “toxin” fear monger made a pact with a homeopath to write a book about the hoped for “cure”, gambling with his wife’s life. Feel free to read the inquest below. Page 40 begins the evidence and demolition of the lies of homeopath Francine Scrayen. The bald faced lying of Dingle himself begins on page 61. The brutality of the pairs callousness defies description. The State Coroner of Western Australia dismisses the veracity of both their testimonies.

It’s true that Penelope believed homeopathy would work. Yet, the decision to save her and follow medical advice was refuted by Peter Dingle and Scrayen time and again. Soon to be on ABC’s Australian Story – watch promo. Below that is a confronting video on baby Gloria, who died of eczema after her parents dismissed medical advice or failed to follow through. They were jailed for manslaughter.

What’s The harm: Gloria Thomas Sam

End War On Drugs, Try Legalisation: Global Commission On Drug Policy

Posted in Health, Illicit Drug Policy by

The Global Commission on Drug Policy aims;

To bring to the international level an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies.

Their goals are to;

  • review the basic assumption, effectiveness and consequences of the ‘war on drugs’ approach
  • evaluate the risks and benefits of different national responses to the drug problem
  • develop actionable, evidence-based recommendations for constructive legal and drug policy reform

At the beginning of June they released a comprehensive report [below] arguing that the War on Drugs had failed and that it was time to look at options such as regulation and legalisation. With opiate use up 34.5%, cocaine use up 27%, cannabis use up 8.5% in a decade, the GCDP recommends an end to the criminalisation, stigmatisation and marginalisation of drug users who do no harm to others. Portugal successfully decriminalised drugs a decade ago.

   Report of The Global Commission on Drug Policy – June 2011

Banning synthetic cannabinoids – a “kronic” overraction?

Posted in Anti-Drug Lobby, Health, Illicit Drug Policy by

During Questions Without Notice in the Australian Senate on June 22nd [Page 50], Senator Steve Fielding challenged federal Attorney-General Representative, Senator Joe Ludwig over his government’s intentions toward previously legal synthetic cannabinoid products, known quaintly as “synthetic cannabis”.

One particularly common brand is named “Kronic”. Fielding’s ignorance is telling. He refers to such products as being “sprayed with a synthetic chemical” and as such are “designed to manipulate people’s minds”. He further relays concerns about anecdotal reports, which whilst serious are not conclusive. No documentation or conclusive study is presently available leaving quantification and qualification impossible. No correction has been made for the use of other substances in conjunction with Kronic or pre-existing psychiatric conditions or symptoms. It is for the very reason we must take these reports seriously that they deserve proper scientific inquiry.

Ludwig admirably fills his time relaying the excessive reaction of W.A. in banning such preparations under the Misuse of Drugs Act (which provides for a 25 year sentence in certain cases). QLD will move to ban 15 of these products under the QLD Drugs Misuse Act. He omits that NSW is seeking to regulate “synthetic pot” at the level of heroin. One wonders at the logic of this rash action given the well documented failure of prohibition and the recent report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy, damning prohibition and urging implementation of legalisation models [CNN].

More prohibition opens the way for criminals to move from growing, harvesting, preparing and packaging cannabis for transport and sale, to switch to small vials of synthetic cannabinoids. These could be added to any legal vegetable matter or herb, in unknown concentrations and mixes further compounding already known problems arising from an imbalance in cannabinoids due to hydroponic growing techniques.

ABC Lateline gave a balanced report on these developments. When NSW health minister, Kevin Humphries, describes psychotropic synthetic cannabinoid preparations as a “synthetic psychotic drug”, one can be sure he’s not speaking from a position of evidence. Still, “synthetic pot” that’s been with us for four years, will now be as illegal as heroin, in NSW. As already noted anti-drug zealot and W.A. Premier, Colin Barnett was true to form in announcing 25 year prison terms for some offences.

The fact is we don’t know the full side effects of synthetic cannabinoids ingested without supervision beyond the certainty that inhalation of any combustible material is a dire challenge to pulmonary health. We may assume confidently that psychotropic effects are similar to cannabis. And we may ask genuine questions about the effect of significantly greater concentrations of THC in synthetic concoctions both as acute and long term (or chronic – no pun) effects. Paul Dillon raises good points about the rapid rise of availability, of varieties of synthetic drugs. Paul does raise a false analogy citing a synthetic THC cannabinoid – no doubt HU-210 – referring to it being 100 times more potent that natural THC. Had he taken the time to express the need for health responses here it would have been welcome.

Indeed, we don’t know the the effects of 22% of Complimentary and Alternative Medicines in Australian pharmacies that, lacking any trial data, were fraudulently submitted as “evidence backed” and rashly added to the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods by the TGA. But there’s no rush to ban these products or to wage a War on Placebo, despite fears of adverse drug interactions or contamination with heavy metals and poisons. Regrettably, this clip has the standard file footage of unnamed researchers looking at brain scans as the voice over notes doctors concerns – despite only anecdotal stories of nasty side effects. Both good and bad effects are the same as cannabis. Sanity is provided by Alex Wodak and Robbie Swann.

Prohibition has failed splendidly, leading only to the creation of vast underworld markets. Here, we may watch it in action. I support warnings that smoking a loosely controlled herb dosed with cannabinoids is cause for caution. But removing the product from legal tax paying outlets and placing it in the hands of criminals who will now sell it as genuine cannabis – without the risks of handling genuine cannabis – is appallingly short sighted.

Ultimately, synthetic illicit drugs are here only because the certain profit provided by prohibition of already popular drugs, has empowered criminal enterprise to produce them. Perhaps it’s time we began to learn from history. I reject argument from antiquity – that humans have always used drugs and thus always will. But it’s irrefutable that without the lucrative market provided by prohibition many of todays problematic illicit drugs would not exist.

The Global War on Drugs has failed. Synopsis from The Global Commission on Drug Policy

Meryl Dorey misreads evidence and misleads on HPV vaccine

Posted in Anti-Vaccination Lobby, Denialism, Health by

How much more evidence are we going to need to see before we say that we registered this dangerous vaccination before we had any idea of the many autoimmune conditions it would cause? It’s time to withdraw Gardasil and Cervarix from the market. Meryl Dorey, President Australian Vaccination Network, wrote on June 20th [or 21st Australian time].

The only problem with the above statement is that the evidence Dorey cites does not implicate HPV vaccination as causal to any reactions. We’ll get to that.

It was predictable. Any straw that blew past suggesting adverse reactions, no matter how tenuous, to vaccination against papillomavirus would be seized by Meryl Wynn Dorey. Particularly given this June 18th Lancet study abstract – two or three days earlier – entitled Early effect of the HPV vaccination programme on cervical abnormalities in Victoria, Australia: an ecological study. And just to knock out the “all vaccine research is funded by Big Pharma” untruths; the funding for this study? None.

We do know that vaccine and screening registers aren’t linked. So we’re unable to conclusively comment just yet on the numbers of vaccinated girls presenting without pre-cancerous cells. HPV vaccine is the only variable however, and database linkage would allow more explicit results. We can read above that data collected twice before and twice since the programme began, show a marked negative deviation away from the linear progression of HPV infection induced adenocarcinoma’s and cytological abnormalities.

It is further encouraging in that no change was noted in age groups already sexually active. On June 17 SMH published Cervical cancer vaccine working: study

AUSTRALIA’S cervical cancer vaccination program appears to be paying off, reducing the number of pre-cancerous cells found in young women, a new study has found.

Melbourne researchers have reported in The Lancet that the number of high-grade cervical abnormalities found in Victorian girls under 17 has halved since the program began in 2007, taking the incidence from about one in 100 to one in 200.

It also reported the beginning of a declining trend of abnormalities in women aged 18 to 20, but said there had been no drop off in older age groups.

The researchers said this was probably because older women had already been infected with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) through sexual activity. The cervical cancer vaccine protects females against several strains of the Human Papillomavirus because it is known to cause cervical cancer.

On July 6th, SMH published, Huge Success for Gardasil;

Rates of new genital wart infection in Australia have plummeted, research shows, in an early positive sign of the success of mass Gardasil vaccinations.

A study taking in patient data from sexual health clinics across the country has shown up to a 60 per cent drop off in new genital wart cases since 2007, when the anti-cancer vaccine was rolled out.

Gardasil works by preventing the transmission of four strains of the Human papillomavirus (HPV), two of which cause cervical cancer and two which cause genital warts.

Experts say while its effect on cervical cancer rates would take longer to materialise, the vaccine’s ability to prevent a less serious though embarrassing problem was now clear.

[….]

“While we knew from clinical trials that the vaccine was highly effective, Australia is the first country in the world to document a major benefit for the population as a whole.”

Free Gardasil vaccinations were offered to Australian girls and young women, aged 12 to 26 years, and about 80 per cent of those eligible are thought to have taken up the offer.

Researchers pooled data from eight sexual health clinics Australia-wide, covering 110,000 new patients and the period from 2004 to 2009.

So let’s quickly examine how the Australian (anti) Vaccination Network weaves it’s lethal message. Dorey’s Twitter account announces, “Autoimmune hepatitis type 2 following anti-papillomavirus vaccination in a (sic) 11 year old girl << more evidence of vax issues”. I followed the link to Dorey’s own website and Tweeted a reply I copied directly from there. “we do not provide evidence for a causal link… may be related… to vaccine… in a genetically predisposed individual”.

Remember, Australia’s self-titled vaccine expert has claimed at the top of her post that, “It’s time to withdraw Gardasil and Cervarix from the market.” I’m not dismissing the seriousness of the potential relationship here “in an 11 year old girl”. But in context imagine how many lives would be lost and disturbed if Dorey’s claim was implicated. Genital warts would increase by 60% and pre-cancerous lesions would double. Here’s the giveaway paragraph. Bold mine, showing five phrases that refute conclusive causality:

Although we do not provide evidence for a causal link, we suggest that the occurrence of the autoim- mune (sic) hepatitis may be related to the stimulation of immune system by adjuvated-vaccine, that could have triggered the disease in a genetically predisposed individual.

Here’s Meryl Dorey‘s entire post.

The actual abstract is here. More so Ms. Dorey asks, “How much more evidence are we going to need…”.

Well with all respect, a damn sight more evidence than a single case of HV2 that could have been triggered due to genetic predisposition in one child. A case that’s suggested as maybe being related to HPV vaccination, alongside a clear qualification of the absence for a causal link.

Indeed Dorey’s abuse of the word “evidence” and the quite ridiculous call to abandon the programme is neatly opposed by the caution employed by The Lancet article authors. The Guardian reports in part:

Australian study of injection to protect against HPV virus reveals drop in high-grade abnormalities among under-18s

…. That finding, say the authors, “reinforces the appropriateness of the targeting of prophylactic HPV vaccines to pre-adolescent girls”.

The findings were greeted with international interest.

“The not-so-cautious optimist in us wants to hail this early finding as true evidence of vaccine effect,” write Dr Mona Saraiya and Dr Susan Hariri of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, US, in a linked commentary for the journal.

But they said they wanted to know more about the vaccine status of the individuals (each woman is supposed to have three shots) and wanted more work to establish whether the reductions in potential cancers were really a result of vaccination or some other cause.

Michael Quinn, professor of gynaecology and gynaecologic oncology at the University of Melbourne, said: “The study is the first anywhere in the world to show falling rates of high-grade change in very young women.

“Although this is likely to be due to the effects of the vaccination programme, further analysis of information linking women’s smear history to their vaccination history will be needed to prove that the fall is entirely due to vaccination rather than other factors.”

Public health experts say that women should not assume they are not vulnerable to the disease after vaccination and should still go for regular screening checks.

In conclusion it appears once again Meryl Dorey is using her hatred for evidence based medicine and vaccines in particular to scare monger an innocent public.

“Getting The Point” – the antivaxxer response to 60 Minutes’ story on their danger to Australia

Posted in Anti-Vaccination Lobby, Denialism, Health by

The Sixty Minutes story on the benefits of vaccines was a conspiracy. Because NineMSN is “a joint venture between Microsoft (yes, Bill Gates – and we know what he thinks about vaccines – they are ‘magic’ according to his latest interview) and PBL whose chairman, James Packer, sits on the board of major vaccine and drug maker, Glaxo Smithkline. Do you REALLY think that a station with their hands in that much dirty money would even THINK about doing a fair story on this issue?” says Meryl Dorey, President of The Australian (anti) Vaccination Network.

Nothing sets off a conspiracy minded anti-vaccination lobbyist like facts.

Below this text is a Sixty Minutes Australia segment, Getting The Point, that aired June 12th 2011. The only irrationality comes from micro-palaeontologist, Viera Scheibner. She is marketed as one of the world’s foremost experts on vaccines, is “sought after as a speaker and expert witness” and worshipped by fellow Bent Spoon winner Meryl Dorey. Scheibner’s claim of being an expert witness and other outright lies are dealt with here splendidly.

“…I am not satisfied that her formal qualifications and professional experience properly equip her to provide a valid professional opinion on the complex subject of immunology…” and
“…one must question her capacity to properly evaluate and interpret the results of others’ scientific experience. I am not prepared therefore to accept her evidence in preference to that of…
 – Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
[….]
“I draw attention [to] misleading information provided by Dr Viera Scheibner … who continuously writes against immunisation. In the 9 March edition of the Medical Observer, she submitted a very unusual letter [which] makes claims that are not supported by the documentation she referred to. It is very important for people to realise that the information provided by Dr Scheibner is not accurate.” – NSW Legislative Council

Whilst exploiting white coat syndrome through use of her PhD title of “Doctor” to mislead those seeking advice, Viera defends her lack of qualifications. Sixty Minutes found that she has “a doctorate in the natural sciences”, and “some nursing qualifications”. And whilst all autism cases are caused by vaccines, the absurdity of this claim is dismissed because Viera knows more than any doctor. There is nothing good to be said about vaccines, and immunity is gained best by contracting the disease.

In March 2004 there was some activity in the BMJ defending the scam of one no-longer-a-doctor, Andrew Wakefield. We now know his work was fraudulent. Quite ironic because defence of Wakefield and attacks on Brian Deer, were often themed on the bias of the dastardly pro-vaccine industry publication, the BMJ. Which incidentally allowed Scheibner [Principle Research Scientist (Retired)] to publish a letter that gives one ample insight;

Orthodox medicine is toxic and harmful. It seems accepted that all medications have side (undesirable) effects. However, this is only relevant to orthodox medications. Correctly administered, homoeopathic remedies and natural remedies have no side effects. One has to elaborate here that there could be uncomfortable feelings after homoeopathics but they are desirable effects. Elevated temperature, rashes and vomiting are signs of detoxification and of a desired change of a chronic condition into an acute illness leading to healing.

Which to the lay person means homeopathy does not work. The disease of, say, measles will run it’s course and fevers (convulsions for 1 in 200), rashes, high temperature are symptoms of the infection you will endure until it passes. If you are unfortunate enough to be one of the one in 5,000 who die, sustain encephalitis or one in 8,000 who contract Subacute Sclerosing Panencepahltiis you will not recover. She continues…

Orthodox medicine with its pharmaceutical industry has become a huge money spinner and as such has become vulnerable to political interference. Vaccination is the best example. To make a lot of money, vaccinators want to vaccinate every child. The more children are vaccinated, the more obvious are the serious side (undesirable) effects including brain damage and death. Politically motivated medicine denies or plays down undesirable effects. The word “obvious” has been banished even though it is considered prudent medical practice that when a medication or a procedure is administered and symptoms appear afterwards, then that medication and/or procedure must be considered as the cause of the observed symptoms…..

This rubbish goes on, ultimately ending with a bald faced lie: “No Competing Interests”. But Scheibner’s hoop jumping can be easily matched by her Bent Spoon Award winning pal, Meryl Dorey. The Australian Vaccination Network Facebook page – aka The Twilight Zone – lit up with outrage at the intrusion of evidence. The first “response” was from Meryl Dorey herself and bulging with lies. Meryl was advised not to appear. She didn’t choose not to. Presently in the Supreme Court fighting the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission it was a no brainer.

Meryl Dorey comment on facebook

But worse is her claim that a.) she offered them the names of reputable doctors and b.) that reporters actually contacted her to make excuses for not interviewing them. Then follows the ranting about Bill Gates and James Packer, who “… don’t care about your children or my children. They don’t care if they live or die. So long as they can make money doing what they are doing and protect their financial interests in the meantime…”.

Conspiracy rant - Meryl DoreyOther comments included, “What a crap biased report, no surprise. Immunization rates must need a boost.” “Pathetic piece of reporting. One can only hope that people see it for what it was.” “Why weren’t the parents of Ashley Epapara and Saba Button interviewed? For the exact reason that MD mentions above. Not good for business.” “Isn’t this a live vaccine … can’t the reporter pass on the virus to the baby if she just had her booster shot???” “When will reporters actually read Dr Andrew Wakefield‘s study and report on it accurately? Are they incompetent reporters who don’t check their facts, or are they outright liars? And if they are incompetent reporters, how to they get to be on a prime time program like 60 minutes? Ugh. So glad you didn’t lower yourself Meryl Dorey. Disgusting and irresponsible reporting by 60 minutes.”

And on it goes with feverish “liking” of each twilight zone observation.