National Council Against Health Fraud
| Formation | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Extinction | 2002 |
| Type | Network of people |
| Location |
|
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Official language
|
English |
|
Chairman
|
Stephen Barrett |
| Website | www |
The National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF) was a not-for-profit, US-based organization, run by Dr. Stephen Barrett, a retired American psychiatrist and author, that described itself as a "private nonprofit, voluntary health agency that focuses upon health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems." The NCAHF has been criticized by the supporters of the treatments it opposes, including practitioners of alternative medicine.
According to its official website, the NCAHF evolved from three separate organizations, the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, Inc. (LVCAHF, now called Quackwatch), Southern California Council Against Health Fraud (SCCAHF), and an unnamed group in northern California.
According to NCAHF's mission statement, its activities and purposes include:
NCAHF's positions on consumer health issues are based on what they consider ethical and scientific principles that underlie consumer protection law. Required are:
NCAHF states that its funding is primarily derived from membership dues, newsletter subscriptions, and consumer information services. Membership is open to everyone, with members and consultants located all over the world. NCAHF's officers and board members serve without compensation. NCAHF states they unite consumers with health professionals, educators, researchers, attorneys, and others.
The NCAHF asserts that acupuncture is scientifically unproven as a modality of treatment. The NCAHF says (as of 1990) that research during the past twenty years has failed to demonstrate that acupuncture is effective against any disease. Perceived effects of acupuncture are, argues the NCAHF, probably due to a combination of expectation, suggestion and other psychological mechanisms. The NCAHF points out that acupuncture was banned in China in 1929 but underwent a resurgence in the 1960s. The organization also advocates that insurance companies should not be required to cover acupuncture treatment, and that licensure of lay acupuncturists should be phased out.
There has long been controversy regarding the use of amalgam fillings by dentists, because the amalgam contains mercury. Some forms of mercury are toxic to humans, but the NCAHF cites the CDC in stating that there is no evidence that "the health of the vast majority of people with amalgam is compromised" or that "removing amalgam fillings has a beneficial effect on health". The NCAHF criticizes those who they believe exploit unfounded public fears for financial gain. NCAHF asserts that breath, urine and blood testing for mercury are inaccurate. Other tests for mercury exposure described by the NCAHF as invalid can include skin testing, stool testing, hair analysis and electrodermal testing.
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