06 October 2011 by Ethan Clow
About five months ago I wrote about the situation of Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site where drug addicts could receive clean needles, medical supervision during drug use, and access to drug treatment. I was very concerned as a skeptic that a new form of science based drug policy known as harm reduction was going to [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Health, Health Policy26 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
04 September 2011 by Rob Tarzwell
If Vancouver’s The Georgia Straight‘s Alex Roslin knows how to reliably estimate cancer risk from ultra-low radiation exposures which are, by his own report, below overall background, he knows something the world’s radiobiologists and cancer epidemiologists don’t, despite decades of intense study. Roslin’s “Safe” radiation levels after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster challenged by citizens, hits [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Environment, Media, Science7 Comments
10 August 2011 by Rob Tarzwell
This is a guest post from Dr. Rob Tarzwell. Dr. Tarzwell is a nuclear medicine specialist (in training) at UBC in Vancouver, and is on the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He is a CFI advisor. Vancouver’s Georgia Straight, no stranger to willfully stupid incredulity on science matters, has once [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Environment, Medical Conditions6 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
06 June 2011 by Michael Kruse
In my final update, I just wanted to point out some of the conflicts between the public and technology that have ensued since the Simcoe County, Ontario, as well as discuss a couple of studies that did not get a lot of attention but were interesting, none the less. WiFi and Cell Phone Towers Since [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Medical Conditions, Ontario, Skepticism8 Comments
18 May 2011 by Ethan Clow
The Harper Government (which is now the legal name for the Government of Canada) is currently continuing its campaign against Vancouver’s safe injections site, Insite. What is a safe injection site? Simply put, this is a location operating under an exemption from Canada’s drug laws that allow addicts to safely use needle drugs. Addicts can [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Health, Health Policy13 Comments
28 March 2011 by Erik Davis
Last year, I took a look at a product called ProstaCaid, which bills itself as “a comprehensive prostate formula that targets prostate cancer and promotes healthy prostate cells.” The product caught my eye after its creator tweeted about “Research on new prostate formula that naturally combats #prostatecancer!” but when I checked the data it came [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, British Columbia, Canada, Health, Health Canada Approves..., Health Policy, Medicinal Advertising, Skepticism14 Comments
01 February 2011 by Michael Kruse
This coming weekend groups from all over Canada (except the east coast – hop to it!!) will be participating in the international 10:23 Campaign as they attempt a death-defying “overdose” from homeopathic medications. Participants will swallow “overdoses” of scam medications sold by major retailers which contain no active ingredients. The action is the culmination of [...]
Posted in Alberta, Alternative Medicine, British Columbia, Canada, Events, Ontario, Quebec10 Comments
01 November 2010 by Ethan Clow
Recently a Creationist, one Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, (his PhD is in chemistry) has been touring in British Columbia speaking on the subject of evolution. The title of his talk is “Evolution: The Greatest Hoax on Earth” which is his way of suggesting that he can refute the claims made by Richard Dawkins in his latest [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Evolution, Science, Skepticism4 Comments
Can Coconut Oil Reverse Alzheimer’s Disease?
Toronto Aetherius Society: His Master’s Voice, stuff that goes boom, and a lack of proof (Part 2)
Toronto Aetherius Society: Jesus, Venusians, and some bad astronomy (Part 1)
Skeptical Fails and Wins This Week
Acupuncturist claims cervical cancer is for prostitutes
