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Old Scams In New Bottles

Posting Date: 08/29/2005

Why is the grass always greener someplace else? The idea that remedies from a far-away, exotic location are more potent than anything home grown harkens back to the traveling medicine shows of the 19th century.

These days, instead of snake oil salesmen hawking their wares from the back of a wagon, we have late-night cable television infomercials and Web-based promotions. But the same principles apply.

Beware anyone selling the famous Bora-Bora Beetle Juice that is guaranteed to grow hair, improve your love life, relieve arthritis pain, eliminate wrinkles and cure cancer. Such claims are often accompanied by amazing testimonials: ?I lost 350 pounds overnight without any dieting thanks to 3-B juice.?

Keep in mind that testimonials, as fascinating as they may be, do not constitute scientific evidence. Sometimes they are completely fictitious. If someone maintains that royal bee dandruff enlarged his penis by 4 inches, be skeptical, especially if it costs $29.95 for a three-day supply.

You might think that the FDA would crack down on the scamsters. In truth, neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Federal Trade Commission is able to police the Internet for fraudulent claims. That means you are on your own. Here are some claims that should make you suspicious:

The product is a ?breakthrough,? especially one that doctors don?t want you to know about. Actual medical breakthroughs are rare, and you will read about them in the paper or see them on the news.

Also watch out for ?miracle cures.? They are few and far between, and rarely come in a bottle.

Desperate people are especially vulnerable. When traditional treatments fail for serious conditions like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or Alzheimer?s disease, people may cling to any glimmer of hope. But the claim that a product can cure an incurable disease should sound alarms.