24 May 2013 by Scott Gavura
Are sugar pills effective substitutes for vaccines? That’s what some are asking about Health Canada’s decision to approve 82 homeopathic “nosodes” which are sold by homeopaths as vaccine alternatives. Homeopathy is an elaborate placebo system of sugar pills. Of all alternative medicine, homeopathy is the most implausible of them all. Based on the absurd notion [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health Policy, Skepticism, Vaccines0 Comments
24 April 2013 by Michael Kruse
It’s National Immunization Awareness Week in Canada and across the world, and UNICEF is reporting the failure of Canada to achieve the 95% immunization rate required to protect the community from resurgences of deadly and debilitating infectious disease. At 84%, we are even below the UK, which is experiencing a severe measles outbreak, and we [...]
Posted in Canada, Health Policy, Skepticism, Vaccines3 Comments
05 April 2013 by Michael Kruse
After months of research and hard work from all of our volunteers at Bad Science Watch, we have launched the public phase of our campaign to stop the sale of homeopathic nosodes sold as “vaccine alternatives” in Canada. The website www.stopnosodes.org explains the position of Bad Science Watch and lays out the total lack of [...]
Posted in Canada, Health Policy, Skepticism2 Comments
21 March 2013 by Michael Kruse
Cross-posted from Huffington Post Canada On April 1st 2013, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctors and acupuncturists in Ontario will need a license to practice their unique brand of healing. This is the first of three vitalistic and unscientific healing practices to start accepting members in Ontario; the naturopaths will be next, followed by the homeopaths. [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Health Policy, Ontario2 Comments
16 February 2013 by Michael Kruse
This article cross-posted from the Huffington Post Canada I believe in personal autonomy, a cornerstone of the consent process in the health care system. Each person has the inherent right to decide what to put in their body, what treatment to have, or to refuse any treatment they are offered by their chosen healer. That [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health Policy, Skepticism1 Comment
18 January 2013 by Michael Kruse
This is a repost of an article that appeared on the Huffington Post Canada blog site on January 17 2013. There is a slowly rising tide of uncertainty in Canada over the necessity and safety of vaccines for childhood infectious disease. While the safety and efficacy of vaccines is very well established, doubt continues to be [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Health Policy, Skepticism, Vaccines1 Comment
17 January 2013 by Erik Davis
The following is a guest post by Jeremy Petch, health policy researcher and Opinions Editor at healthydebate.ca. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @JeremyPetch. Dr. Oz has become a ubiquitous television icon. His daily talk show, broadcast in Canada on CTV (owned by Bell Media), rules the daytime TV ratings. In real life, Dr. Oz is a [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Featured, Guest Post, Health Policy, Skepticism24 Comments
15 January 2013 by Dianne Sousa
Regular readers of Skeptic North will know that we have been consistently critical of Health Canada and how it regulates the natural health products industry in Canada. In short, we have argued that the regulation is far too permissive, consequently putting Canadians at unacceptable risk of harm. Unsurprisingly there are those that disagree. These folks [...]
Posted in Canada, Health, Health Policy, Skepticism4 Comments
29 August 2012 by Michael Kruse
Wouldn’t it be lovely if everybody had a pony? The gentle clip clop of its hooves on the roadway would be heaven. The swishing of the tail and the gentle up and down motion would be a delightful way to destress after a long hard week of work, and besides, decreasing stress makes one healthier, [...]
Posted in Canada, Health Policy, Skepticism6 Comments
24 August 2012 by Dianne Sousa
Some time ago, our resident pharmacist asked the question “Is there anything the Natural Health Products Directorate won’t approve?” In that post there was a short list of some of the products Health Canada has allowed on the market, including homeopathic insulin and chloroform. Unfortunately, these products are not peculiarities. I’ve made it a habit [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Health, Health Policy, Medicine, Skepticism1 Comment
More consequences of calling sugar pills “safe and effective”
Crack Your Back instead of a Vial of Vaccine?
Toronto Media, false balance, and the lack of evidence for claims about MIA vet John Hartley Robertson
How Western journalists in Vietnam and POW NGOs were not fooled by tales of MIA Vet back from the dead
Did a Canadian filmmaker find a left behind Vietnam vet or did credulous Toronto media give new life to an old scam?
