10 September 2012 by Kim Hebert
Screenshot taken summer 2011 from here. For context, see Part 1 and Part 2. I have outlined some general issues with the alternative medicine industry, I have described Bell Lifestyle Products as an example of the apparent futility of Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Database registration, and I will now describe the complaints I submitted [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health, Medicinal Advertising3 Comments
29 July 2012 by Kim Hebert
My husband and I went to TAM 2012 this year and have finally had a chance to settle down from our vacation following the conference. This is a short summary of the highlights and low-lights of TAM – in my opinion! Different folks will have liked/disliked other things. I welcome people to share their thoughts [...]
Posted in Skepticism10 Comments
29 July 2012 by Kim Hebert
Well, this is a bit late, as it got lost in the draft pile for a while. But better late than never. It’s 2012, which means we’re mere months away from a flurry of white-manufactured Mayan exoticism. It also means looking back at the psychic predictions that came out in 2011! In the past I’ve [...]
Posted in Pseudoscience, SkepticismComments Off
26 March 2012 by Kim Hebert
Pictured: Health consumers For background, see Part 1. The company I’m going to talk about is called “Bell Lifestyle Products” and I will use this example to demonstrate the uselessness of Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Database. The BLP “About Us” page is a testimonial by one of the owners summarizing anecdotal reports for their [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health, Medicinal Advertising1 Comment
16 January 2012 by Kim Hebert
Last January, Marketplace took on homeopathy, a frequent topic among skeptical circles — for good reason. This past Friday they looked into Cold-Fx with somewhat more mixed results. On the positive side, they correctly point out a relatively major concern with natural health products (other than the glaring lack of evidence for efficacy) — poor [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health, Media, Reviews3 Comments
02 December 2011 by Kim Hebert
Hello? Anyone? Skeptics are often accused of being dogmatic, closed-minded, and/or shills when they criticise particular industries or companies for dishonest, irresponsible, or ethically questionable practices. The natural health industry, with its general lack of oversight and use of science as shiny wrapping paper instead of an inherent foundation, is a veritable cornucopia of claims [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health, Medicinal Advertising7 Comments
01 October 2011 by Kim Hebert
(Photo by monkeywing.) Pictured: An actual homeopathic remedy. I am not kidding. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has drawn criticism recently for their bizarrely-worded policy proposal regarding alternative medicine, most notably from the Canadian Medical Association (general organization feedback here). Common concerns were that the policy is insufficiently objective and science-based, [...]
Posted in Alberta, Alternative Medicine, British Columbia, Canada, Health16 Comments
17 August 2011 by Kim Hebert
Typical Mabus threat. As I noted in an update to my previous Mabus post, but will highlight here in case anyone missed that and/or the Twitter chatter, the SPVM (Montreal Police) tweeted this evening that they had made an arrest in the David Mabus case. Later, Canadian media (CTV Montreal, CyberPresse (French), Global Montreal, CTV [...]
Posted in Announcements, Quebec1 Comment
11 August 2011 by Kim Hebert
tl;dr If you would like to report harassment or threats from Mabus, see contact info for the Montreal Police at the bottom of this post. ______________________________ Taken from a Mabus-related Facebook group (see link below) A man from Montreal, who generally goes by the name David Mabus, has been harassing scientific, atheistic, and skeptical bloggers [...]
Posted in Announcements, Events, Quebec13 Comments
09 August 2011 by Kim Hebert
Should governments spend health care dollars on naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, and hypnotherapy, all in the name of “integrative” cancer care? If you live in British Columbia, your government has answered “yes”. This past June the BC provincial government [pdf] announced new funding for five “integrative cancer care centres” in the province. The private provider, Inspire [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, British Columbia, Health Policy, Medical Conditions, Pseudoscience8 Comments
Kim Hébert is an occupational therapist. She is interested in the promotion of science and reason, particularly regarding therapeutic health interventions. She blogs occasionally about occupational therapy and other health topics at Science-Based Therapy. Her hobbies are art and astronomy. **All views expressed by Kim are her personal views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers, associations, or other affiliations. All information is provided for discussion purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for consultation with a licensed and accredited health professional.
