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
30 May 2012 by John Underhay
When I was in Prague recently, I passed a esthetician’s shop with an odd sight in the window. Apparently, they were having a sale, as “Akce Prijde ve dvou, platte jednou” roughly translates (according to Google Translate) as “Come in for one, get two”. Although I have heard of Fish Pedicures before, this is the [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, SkepticismComments Off
12 February 2012 by Melany Hamill
Hey there skeptifans. Here are the media Fails and Wins you sent me this week. Study Debunks Ionic Footbath Detox Claims Scott spotted this win in the Epoch Times. You may have heard of these ionic footbaths that claim to suck toxins out of you through your feet. The water turns brown as you use [...]
Posted in Skeptical Fails and WinsComments Off
27 January 2012 by Richelle McCullough
While doing some digging into the quackery of a local acupuncturist, I came across a sentiment that I found more than usually appalling. In her story of why she became an acupuncturist, she tells a melodramatic tale about a positive Pap smear test result that changed her life*. There’s all the usual makings of an [...]
Posted in Alberta, Alternative Medicine, Health, Medicine, Skepticism, Vaccines21 Comments
19 October 2011 by John Underhay
Recently, on the CBC television program, The Dragon’s Den (Episode 3, available here), a product that the sales team for Roxon claimed to prevent and treat migraine and tension headaches was demonstrated. The product, Cefaly, is a tiara-like headband worn over the forehead delivers small electrical impulses. Their demonstration satisfied the Dragons, as they received [...]
Posted in Health, Medicinal Advertising7 Comments
06 September 2011 by John Underhay
According to the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (ND), there are approximately 1500 NDs practising in Canada. The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) is the accreditation body for NDs and lists the following schools: The Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine (New Westminster, British Columbia) The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (Toronto, Ontario) The [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada123 Comments
05 November 2010 by Aysha Khan
When Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial was first published in 2008 it’s hard to imagine that Simon Singh had any idea what the next two years would have in store for him. The book is written by Singh, a science writer with a PhD in particle physics, and Edzard Ernst, a former clinical [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, ReviewsComments Off
27 October 2010 by Erik Davis
Welcome to the third installment of my five-part series on Magical Thinking, running Monday – Friday this week, which provides more background for my talk at Skepticamp Toronto last weekend. You may wish to read Part 1 and Part 2 first, to put this post into context. On Essentialism & Vitalism In yesterday’s article, we [...]
Posted in Cognition, Critical Thinking, SkepticismComments Off
24 September 2010 by Kim Hebert
British Columbian taxpayers saw a bad situation turn worse recently. Not only is the provincial Ministry of Health subsidizing acupuncture, but practitioners are administering other alternative-health treatments and falsely billing them as acupuncture. For example: A staff member at the Ha Chinese Medicine Wellness Clinic in Richmond said they would apply the subsidy to Chinese [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, British Columbia, Health9 Comments
13 June 2010 by Melany Hamill
A lot of you were on the lookout for fails and wins this week! Most of the articles were sent in by several different people. Thanks for keeping a critical eye on these news stories and sending them in! Bloggers poke holes in latest acupuncture study Michael and Scott both spotted this win at CTV [...]
Posted in Skeptical Fails and Wins1 Comment
