Quackbusters, modern day witchhunters--Jarvis, Barrett & Herbert
John Scudamore
We Have a Modern-Day Witch-Hunt And It's Threatening Your Access to
Healthcare by Julian Whitaker, M.D,
In the summer of 1692, Salem, Massachusetts, was the site of the most
deadly witch-hunt in American history. Accusatory musings of two
preadolescent girls set off a frenzy of hysteria that resulted in 20
executions, 19 by hanging and one by crushing. Another 150 people were
imprisoned, and 17 perished. A few years later, the government made
reparations to many of the families and tried to restore the reputations
of those so unjustly defiled and killed, but the Salem witch trials and
the personalities who conducted them remain testimony to the dark side
of humanity.
One would think that witch-hunting would be legally and socially banned,
yet it flourishes even today. Webster's dictionary defines it as "an
investigation usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to
uncover subversive political activity, disloyalty, etc., but really to
harass and weaken the entire political opposition." In the health
world, witch-hunting, in its modern form, is practiced by certain
members of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF).
They're Against Anything Outside of Conventional Medicine...
This non-profit, tax-exempt organization operates from the campus of
Loma Linda University, guided by NCAHF president, William T. Jarvis,
Ph.D., a Loma Linda University professor. NCAHF's stated purpose is to
"educate consumers, professionals, business people, legislators, law
enforcement personnel, organizations and agencies about health fraud,
misinformation, and quackery.''
Hogwash. This group seems more interested in purging the medical
profession of all types of health care other than Food and Drug
Administration (FDA)approved prescription drugs and conventional
surgery. In its eyes, if a health care professional utilizes virtually
any other therapy-chiropractic, acupuncture or nutritional
supplementation-he or she is, by definition, a "quack" and a "fraud."
The NCAHF is an organization dominated by a small group who liberally
brand health professionals and others with whom they disagree as quacks
and frauds.
...And That's Dangerous
This group's intolerance is dangerous. On April 7, 1997, I attended a
conference on the campus of Loma Linda University entitled, "Cancer
Quackery: What You Should Know!" The sole speaker was NCAHF president
Dr. Jarvis, who discussed the characteristics of quacks and frauds. Dr.
Jarvis ended the program with a videotape and discussion of Stanislaw
Burzynski, a physician who has developed a unique cancer treatment. Dr.
Jarvis held Dr. Burzynski up as an example of a typical cancer quack.
Dr. Jarvis has a Ph.D. in health education. He is not an M.D. and has
never treated a patient. One would think that before mislabeling Dr.
Burzynski, an M.D. and Ph.D., Jarvis would have investigated his
subject. Yet Jarvis, by his own admission, had never spoken to Dr.
Burzynski, never visited his clinic, and had not reviewed any of Dr.
Burzynski's patient records. I've been to the Burzynski Clinic on five
different occasions and have done extensive study of some of the patient
records. Dr. Jarvis did not even know that Dr. Burzynski is the
principal investigator in 72 FDA-approved clinical trials! Does the FDA
allow quacks and frauds to head up approved clinical trials?
http://catalog.com/bri/bri.htm
I Was Escorted Out by Armed Security Guards
The Loma Linda program invited audience participation, yet when I and
other people, including Mary Jo Siegel, a cancer patient who is alive
because of the Burzynski therapy, rose to counter Dr. Jarvis'
misinformed opinions, Jarvis called armed security guards, who ejected
us from the room. In the parking lot, we were kept under surveillance by
guards armed with German shepherds. On the campus of a major American
university, I feared for my safety and the safety of those with me.
Imagine: William Jarvis, a Loma Linda University professor, transforms
the campus of that university into such a cesspool of intolerance that
armed guards were used to silence informed rebuttal of his ghastly
character assassination. I registered a strong letter of complaint with
Loma Linda President Dr. Lyn Behrens, as did hundreds of other
physicians.
Attorneys for Loma Linda, in response, distanced the university, stating
that they only lease space to Jarvis and the NCAHF. However, the fact
that the program took place on the campus, the president is a professor
there, and NCAHF offices are on the campus, cloaks this organization
with the respect and authority of the university.
Is Your Doctor on the "Quacklist?"
As bad as it seems, calling the cops to silence contrary opinions is
only part of the nefarious actions of certain NCAHF members. John
Renner, M.D., from Kansas City, an active board member of the NCAHF, has
maintained a list of over 2,500 physicians, Ph.D.s and others he deems
to be quacks and frauds. To be on this list you just need to belong to
an organization that is studying nutrition or any therapy not yet
approved by the FDA. There's a 1990 copy of the list containing 1,137
M.D.s and 52 people with double doctorates. Although the list does not
appear to be in general circulation, it may have been supplied to
insurance companies and state medical boards. The result could be that
alternative physicians are financially blackballed, or put under
additional scrutiny.
John Renner has even put Linus Pauling, Ph.D., on this quacklist. Dr.
Pauling has been singled out by two authoritative sources as one of the
top 20 scientists of all time, along with Aristotle, Galileo and Newton.
The only other scientist selected from the 20th century was Albert
Einstein. Imagine, John Renner, a relative "no-weight" compared to Dr.
Pauling, labels the only person to be awarded two unshared Nobel prizes
as a fraud.
The NCAHF Harasses Innocent Victims
Certain board members of the NCAHF attack individuals, not their ideas.
They seem to be trying to intimidate others by destroying the livelihood
and reputations of individuals involved in nutrition or any non-drug
therapy.
For instance, Steven Barrett, M.D., and Ira Milner, R.D. (registered
dietician), both officers of NCAHF, attacked Shari Lieberman, Ph.D.,
R.D., by instigating a hearing before the American Dietetic Association
(ADA). The reason: Shari Lieberman wrote about the value of certain
nutritional supplements, which was contrary to the ADA's
"anti-supplement" position. For the first time ever, the ADA stripped a
member, Dr. Lieberman, of her R.D. credential, publicly humiliating her.
This caused her loss of prestige and credibility, and hurt her
financially. Dr. Lieberman sued the ADA for $40 million, and I wrote
about her suit, as well as the irrational nature of the ADA, in a
supplement to Health & Healing in January 1995. To obtain a copy, call
800/539-8219.
In a deposition of the case, Steven Barrett admitted to not being an
expert in nutrition and described himself as a "consumer strategist" and
a "journalist." On the eve of the trial, Dr. Lieberman had qualified 8
expert witnesses in support of her position. The ADA had qualified none.
The ADA settled this suit out of court. The settlement agreement is
confidential. However, the ADA publicly reinstated Dr. Lieberman's R.D.
credential and published a retraction of its earlier position, stating
that reasonable people can disagree on matters of nutrition science
without compromising their professionalism. This was a total disaster
for the ADA and the NCAHF.
Some NCAHF Board Members are Loose Cannons
In an even more nefarious personal attack on a health care provider,
Victor Herbert, M.D., a NCAHF board member, lodged a complaint with the
New York State authorities against Warren Levin, M.D., a nutritionally
oriented physician. Incredibly, Dr. Herbert was the only
complainant-there were no patient complaints at all-and, even more
bizarre, Dr.Herbert was the only witness against Dr. Levin. Typically,
in such hearings, there are patient complaints against the doctor, and
expert witnesses to support accusations. This travesty droned on for 14
years and caused the bankruptcy of Dr. Levin. Finally, the Regents of
the University of the State of New York threw the case out and were
particularly harsh in their assessment of Victor Herbert.
Folks, in a formal hearing, Victor Herbert went nuts. According to the
Regents' transcript of the hearing, Dr. Herbert's behavior was
"inappropriate and unacceptable," characterized by "inflammatory remarks
and inappropriate outbursts," and he used slanderous terms such as
"liar," "quack," "obnoxious," "vicious," and "scum bag." He often used
the term "fraud,', according to the Regents, "regardless of whether he
was answering a question posed by the respondent's attorney, the
petitioner's attorney or the hearing committee, or whether it was
responsive to the question posed."
Dr. Levin is back helping his patients in New York. Victor Herbert is
still on the prowl.
The NCAHF: Our Modern Witch-Hunters
So, there you have it. The National Council Against Health Fraud: What a
group! Consider the actions of four of its board members: Jarvis,
Renner, Barrett and Herbert. Jarvis silences informed opinion with guard
dogs, Renner keeps quacklists that could slander and harm thousands of
professionals, Barrett and Herbert engage in improper behavior to
destroy professional reputations of honest health-care practitioners,
and Herbert behaves uncontrollably in a formal hearing. Can you believe
that Loma Linda University allows any of this to go on?
Let's Get on NCAHF's Case Now
I predict that in 100 years, there will be tours of the NCAHF offices on
the Loma Linda campus entitled "20th Century Witch-hunters." Now let me
make one suggestion to you. Why not get some witchhunting memorabilia
now, before the museum opens! I sent the president of Loma Linda, Dr.
Lyn Behrens (1) the deposition of Steven Barrett taken in the ADA
defamation case, (2) the "quack list" compiled by John Renner, and (3)
the adjudication of Dr. Levin by the New York State University Regents
which, in my opinion, questioned the propriety of Victor Herbert.
Protect your access to medical treatment of your choice: Write Dr.
Behrens at this address: Dr. Lyn Behrens, President, Loma Linda
University, Loma Linda, CA 92350. Request that she send you a copy of
each of these documents. You might also ask her what it is like to share
a campus with the likes of the NCAHF. It astounds me that a major
American university, bedecked in all those platitudes about openminded
quests for truth, would house the NCAHF. Truth-seeking is incompatible
with witch-hunting.
It's time for the NCAHF to go away.
Julian Whitaker, M.D., Editor
John Scudamore
Aaron Andrew Fox wrote:
>
> On Wed, 4 Feb 1998, John Scudamore wrote:
>
> > We Have a Modern-Day Witch-Hunt And It's Threatening Your Access to
> > Healthcare by Julian Whitaker, M.D,
>
> witchcraft, as long as it doesn't claim to be scientific medicine.
>
Hmmm, Linus Pauling, Hoffer & Pfeiffer witches? You are worse than
Herbert.
Thanks for the demonstration of modern witch hunting talk. It looks
like your education is no defence against that sort of middle age
thinking and behaviour.
http://www.internetwks.com/pauling/
http://www.bbc.org/~hoffer/hofferhp.htm
http://www.mall-net.com/cathcart/
http://www.mall-net.com/cooter/
> And Linus Pauling died of cancer.
About 25 years after your cancer drug doctors.
>
> Aaron the witchhunter.
Yuk.