“NOSTRUM: a device or medicine prepared by the person recommending it.”
(Yes, it sounds like something from Ambrose Bierce, but in fact it’s the earliest definition of “nostrum” in the Oxford English Dictionary. The current meaning, basically a quack remedy, probably dates to the early part of the 20th century.
It is almost a year since the Department of Justice issued a press release titled “Drugmaker Nostrum and Its CEO Agree To Pay Up To $50 Million To Settle False Claims Act Claims For Underpaying Rebates Owed Under Medicaid Drug Rebate Program.” It takes a lot of chutzpah for a company to call its self “Nostrum,” “chutzpah” being a Yiddish term meaning nerve, cheek, gall, unmitigated audacity. Still, there is a lot of both chutzpah and medical quackery going around these days. In 1984, quackery was policed by the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and the Postal Inspection Service. (Nowadays the Postal Service has enough of a problem just delivering the mail.)
In the past century, the quack drugs were advertised by the shopping papers, but now the ads come by email – and while in the old days, they promised to lengthen your life, now the promise is to cure COVID-19. The FDA issued a report “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Continues to Combat Fraudulent COVID-19 Medical Products.” The FDA has been issuing a lot of warning letters, including one about “a seller of fraudulent chlorine dioxide products, equivalent to industrial bleach, frequently referred to as “Miracle Mineral Solution” or “MMS,” as a treatment for COVID-19. A number of other drugs, with no basis in fact, were promoted for COVID while it was recommended that people avoid the vaccine.
In 2020, the Journal of Medical Internet Research published a report, “Impact of Trump’s Promotion of Unproven COVID-19 Treatments and Subsequent Internet Trends: Observational Study.” While then-President Trump did not actually promote unproven drugs, he did speculate on the possibility that these drugs — hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin and remdesivir — might be useful in preventing or treating the disease. The reviewers found that from March 1 to April 30, 2020, Trump made 11 tweets about unproven therapies and mentioned these therapies 65 times in White House briefings, especially touting hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. “These tweets had an impression reach of 300% above Donald J Trump’s average. Following these tweets, at least 2% of airtime on conservative networks for treatment modalities like azithromycin and continuous mentions of such treatments were observed on stations like Fox News. Google searches and purchases increased following his first press conference on March 19, 2020, and increased again following his tweets on March 21, 2020. The same is true for medications on Amazon, with purchases for medicine substitutes, such as hydroxychloroquine, increasing by 200%.”
This review only focused on President Trump, apparently anyone in the entertainment industry can speak against vaccination and have some with some degree of influence. The popular culture magazine, The Cut, published an article, “Anti-Vaxx Celebrities Are Still Coming Out of the Woodwork.” They list 10 apparent celebrities (none really A list) who have spoken against COVID vaccine and or masking. The person with probably the most influence on anti-vaxing was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose aborted run for the Democratic nomination for president, followed by an independent run for the presidency, may have altered the opinion of many people.
The University of Colorado published “Fake News: Medical Quackery Enters a New Dimension Spread of Misinformation Evolves, Heightening Threats to Patients and Medical Science.” The US Surgeon General’s report of 2021 said the tactics of misinformation are:
• Presenting unqualified people as experts.
• Misleading consumers with logical fallacies.
• Setting impossible expectations for scientific research.
• Cherry-picking data or anecdotes.
• Introducing conspiracy theories.
A modicum of celebrity can convince the gullible to believe almost anything – but when it comes to disease and care, when there are diligent studies of drugs, conducted by qualified experts, it is essential that we trust only the trustworthy.
Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sam.uretsky@gmail.com
From The Progressive Populist, November 15, 2024
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