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Those who've bought the book already may be unaware that there's a missing chapter. Even if you haven't read the book, I strongly recommend reading this chapter - it's about one Matthias Rath, a peddlar of vitamins, who has (in my opinion) the dubious distinction of being one of the most unpleasant people I've ever heard tell of and who is still feted by alternative therapists.
Rath, in the UK (to quote Goldacre),
In South Africa his adverts claimed that
Rath sued Goldacre and the Guardian when they called him out on his stupid claims, a case which cost £500,000 to defend.
But the part of the chapter which makes your blood run cold is the section where he discusses how South African politicians were taken in by the likes of Rath and his employee, one Anthony Brink. And it doesn't stop there...Goldacre draws pertinent conclusions for the way that those who influence policy decisions allow things like religion to affect matters like abortion and cultural approaches to AIDS. It's seriously worth reading.
Rath, in the UK (to quote Goldacre),
"claimed that “90 per cent of patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer die within months of starting treatment”, and suggested that three million lives could be saved if cancer patients stopped being treated by conventional medicine. The pharmaceutical industry was deliberately letting people die for financial gain, he explained. Cancer treatments were “poisonous compounds” with “not even one effective treatment”."
In South Africa his adverts claimed that
˜The answer to the AIDS epidemic is here.” Anti-retroviral drugs were poisonous, and a conspiracy to kill patients and make money. “Stop AIDS Genocide by the Drugs Cartel said one headline. “Why should South Africans continue to be poisoned with AZT? There is a natural answer to AIDS.” The answer came in the form of vitamin pills. “Multivitamin treatment is more effective than any toxic AIDS drug. Multivitamins cut the risk of developing AIDS in half.”
Rath sued Goldacre and the Guardian when they called him out on his stupid claims, a case which cost £500,000 to defend.
But the part of the chapter which makes your blood run cold is the section where he discusses how South African politicians were taken in by the likes of Rath and his employee, one Anthony Brink. And it doesn't stop there...Goldacre draws pertinent conclusions for the way that those who influence policy decisions allow things like religion to affect matters like abortion and cultural approaches to AIDS. It's seriously worth reading.