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Opinions expressed in letters and articles published in the HealthSense Newsletter belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of HealthSense.

The editor reserves the right to amend text if necessary but will, where possible, consult the author to ensure accuracy is maintained.

Letters and articles for publication are welcomed — find out more about how to write for us, and contact the Newsletter Editor.

We acknowledge with thanks the work of solicitor Thomas West of Richard Slade & Company, London, who checks our newsletter for potential legal concerns pre-publication; and HealthSense Secretary Philippa Pigache for her careful checking and subbing of the drafts.

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Unless otherwise stated, material from the HealthSense Newsletter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You are welcome to republish articles from the HealthSense Newsletter in any medium or format, even commercial. The license does not permit changes to the original contents. When using our material, you must give appropriate credit to the original author(s). We request that you also provide a link to the original content on the HealthSense website, and a link to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

CURRENT AND PAST ISSUES

From 1989 to the current issue. Follow the links for the full newsletter, individual articles, and downloadable pdf versions.

HealthSense Newsletter 124 – Autumn 2023

Published November 2023

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

  • NEWS IN BRIEF HealthSense slams govt consultation on doctor's interests, and more
  • MEDIA Press coverage of new study on screening – not everyone gets the message
  • OBITUARY Ronald Bradley, pioneer of evidence-based intensive care, remembered by John Illman
  • OPINION Anti-cancer drug makers are not the only ones holding back on facts in patient-facing information
  • NUTRITION Why demonise ultra-processed foods? David Bender argues for more nuance and less puritanism
  • BOOK REVIEW Till Bruckner reviews a new book about the search for justice in the Monsanto trials
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR The study of placebos is now a speciality in its own right, says Colin Brewer

HealthSense Newsletter 123 – Summer 2023

Published August 2023

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

  • EVENTS This year's AGM and Awards Night plans
  • NEWS IN BRIEF Latest achievements and news from our brilliant volunteers, and opportunities to get involved
  • CHARITY HARMS Les Rose is keeping up pressure on the Charity Commission over charities that could harm
  • RESEARCH INTEGRITY Prison for trachea researcher but some deadly research is still not retracted
  • STUDENTS Lydia Shackshaft looks at the evidence base around how evidence is taught at medical school
  • PUBLIC HEALTH A complaint about an NHS screening leaflet produces a positive response
  • LAST WORD Placebos and regression to the mean – some thoughts on general practice, from James May

HealthSense Newsletter 122 – Spring 2023

Published April 2023

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

HealthSense Newsletter 121 - Winter 2022-23

Published January 2023

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

HealthSense Newsletter 120 - Autumn 2022 

Published October 2022

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

HealthSense Newsletter 119 - Summer 2022

Published August 2022

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

  • NEWS IN BRIEF More about charities promoting questionable treatments; plus whistleblowing; transparency; new publications and shoutouts for HealthSense in the press
  • IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK What are the UK regulators doing (and not doing) about machines claiming to use quantum physics to protect from electrosmog? Les Rose investigates
  • RESEARCH The replication crisis in science – can it be fixed? By New Scientist's Claire Wilson, in an article made available exclusively to HealthSense members
  • COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE Why would a doctor want to do integrative medicine? Edzard Ernst asks the question and finds some intriguing answers

HealthSense Newsletter 118 - Spring 2022

Published April 2022

(Print)  ISSN 3029-0236; (Online) ISSN 3029-0244

  • NEWS IN BRIEF We are namechecked in Private Eye; a company is fined for misleading advertising; and this year's HealthSense Student Prize is open for entries!
  • FEATURE Vincent Marks and colleagues present an early history of the charity now named HealthSense
  • TREATMENTS Why deny patients with chronic fatigue syndrome treatments that can help? By researcher Peter White
  • MEETING REPORT How a Cancer Screening Surrogate Endpoints Workshop led to a radical new research idea from Michael Baum
  • BOOK REVIEW Till Bruckner on “Malignant: How Bad Policy and Bad Evidence Harm People with Cancer”

HealthWatch Newsletter 117 - Winter 2021-22

Published January 2022

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Consultation success; awards; research integrity and more
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARD WINNER Christina Pagel: Covid-19 data – what’s the story?
  • AGM 2021 HealthWatch chair Susan Bewley sums up the year
  • INTERNATIONAL NEWS Celebrating ten years of Friends of Science in Medicine, by John Dwyer
  • MEETING REPORT #MakeItPublic – announcing new transparency initiatives from NHS research
  • PUBLIC HEALTH We need to be able to talk openly about assisted dying, says Colin Brewer
  • BOOK REVIEW “Patients’ emancipation: towards equality” reviewed by Mitzi Blennerhassett
  • LAST WORD Reading for your sanity: some recommendations from Rupert Fawdry

HealthWatch Newsletter 116 - Summer 2021

Published August 2021

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS  Celebrating HealthWatch’s 30th birthday with Prof David Spiegelhalter; student prize; an appearance in Private Eye; and more
  • ETHICS  Why alternative medicine is not the way to meet women’s healthcare needs, by Arianne Shahvisi
  • CONSUMER PROTECTION The MHRA responds to HealthWatch’s questions on bioresonance devices
  • RESEARCH INTEGRITY Stephen Bradley reviews progress in two years since publication of the Declaration to Improve Health Research
  • BOOK REVIEW  Transparency, Power and Influence in the Pharmaceutical Industry, reviewed by Till Bruckner

HealthWatch Newsletter 115 - Spring 2021

Published May 2021

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Whistleblower spends over a decade pursuing a retraction; success on concerns over counselling research; webinars and articles; and a new competition
  • NUTRITION Should we fight Covid-19 with fermented foods … or not? David Bender explains
  • PSYCHIATRY Allen Frances on the growing problem of antidepressant overprescription
  • RESEARCH INTEGRITY The dark side of biomedical research illuminated by Geoff Webb
  • DENTISTRY Does your child really need orthodontics? Keith Isaacson says sometimes, they really do

HealthWatch Newsletter 114 - Winter 2020-21

Published January 2021

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS  Transparency campaign success; challenging the Charities Commission; breast cancer surgery advance; "Pseudoscience kills"; a new sponsor for the HealthWatch Student Prize; and much more
  • INVESTIGATION  The case for a register of doctors' interests: Simon Peck shares his shocking findings in the private healthcare sector
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARDWINNER 2020 Bringing stats to the masses: Jennifer Rogers explains how to make sense of data during a global pandemic
  • REPORT FROM HEALTHWATCH'S CHAIR  HealthWatch Chair Susan Bewley sums up 2020
  • PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENTS  Caroline Struthers' devastating commentary takes the case of ME treatments to explain why it is not only drugs and devices that can harm
  • STUDENTS How Matthew Choy scooped the top prize in last year's HealthWatch Student Prize competition, with some brilliant runner-up entries
  • NUTRITION  The trouble with nutrition research, by David Bender
  • LAST WORD  Caroline Richmond on how Lily the Pink and Dr Crippen made their secret remedies, and a century-old war on quackery

HealthWatch Newsletter 113 - Summer 2020

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

HealthWatch Newsletter 112 - Spring 2020

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

HealthWatch Newsletter 111 - Winter 2019-20

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

HealthWatch Newsletter 110 - Autumn 2019

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

HealthWatch Newsletter 109 - Summer 2019

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

HealthWatch Newsletter 108 - Autumn 2018

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

HealthWatch Newsletter 107 - Spring 2018

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS FEATURE There are seven worldwide, fundamental problems with all electronic patient records - and one solution
  • NEWS Roger Fisken calculates that the “liquid biopsy” fails the cancer screening test
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARDWINNER Deborah Cohen’s no-holds-barred presentation on the dark side of health reporting
  • ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES Loretta Marron charts the rise and rise of traditional Chinese medicine
  • STUDENTS The winners of the sixteenth annual HealthWatch Student Prize
  • POEM The Quack Doctor, a reflection by Caroline Richmond
  • LAST WORD "The erotic tendencies of Trappist monks"

HealthWatch Newsletter 106 — Autumn 2017

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS FEATURE British universities are not sharing the results of their research, resulting in wasted public money and danger to patients
  • NEWS Consultations, awards, a new book, and how patience with homeopathy is running out
  • TREATMENTS How a routine practice during childbirth could be putting newborn's lives at risk
  • NUTRITION Can this best-selling "healthy" 21-day diet plan live up to its promises?
  • MEETING REPORT Worlds collide: an on-the-spot-report from an NHS Public Consultation event
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR "Regulatory agencies are like a car with only two speeds - too fast and too slow"
  • LAST WORD Another hair-raising story about cancer hits the headlines, but the truth will surprise you

HealthWatch Newsletter 105 — Spring/Summer 2017

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS FEATURE Criminologist Mike Sutton calls for an urgent study into the public health impact of the US president's promotion of the idea that vaccines cause autism
  • NEWS Deborah Cohen, BMJ investigative journalist, to receive this year's HealthWatch Award; whistleblower Peter Wilmshurst calls for the Science and Technology Committee to resume its inquiry into research integrity; and more…
  • CONSUMER PROTECTION Getting bad science claims off the internet, one website at a time
  • NUTRITION Lowering blood cholesterol saves lives — or does it?
  • DENTISTRY Want to have straight teeth by Christmas? An expert view of the 6-month smile promise
  • BOOK REVIEW sex, lies and brain scans — can an MRI scan read your mind?

HealthWatch Newsletter 104 — Winter 2016-17

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS FEATURE Are the WHO guilty of woo? An out-of-date World Health Organization report is being widely cited as evidence for the efficacy of needling, and Australia’s award-winning Loretta Marron calls on the WHO to set the record straight for the sake of the poorest and most vulnerable.
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARD WINNER Peter Gotzsche is tired of being labelled controversial – the Cochrane scientist and author who compares big pharma to organized crime just wants to tell the truth about medicine. He pulls no punches in his talk to the HealthWatch AGM, reported here.
  • BOOK REVIEW broadcaster and journalist Nick Ross shares a taste of Edzard Ernst’s new book on homeopathy
  • plus Chairman's report from latest AGM, Student Prizewinners and news updates

HealthWatch Newsletter 103 — Autumn 2016

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS FEATURE Les Rose has exposed charities that promote unproven and useless remedies to the sick and vulnerable. This is the latest on his public campaign, and – finally – news of possible action from the Charities Commission.
  • NEWS breast screening victory in Uruguay, and more news on science and integrity from home and abroad.
  • ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES Evidence needed! For effective therapies for disabled children. Christopher Morris from PenCRU on a resource that promotes quality information for affected families.
  • MEDIA Is “balance” always necessary in news reporting? An extract from the latest book by awardwinning author and journalist John Illman
  • MEETING REPORT Students are the future of HealthWatch. John Kirwan and Debra Bick on the inspiration generated by our healthcare student workshop.

HealthWatch Newsletter 102 — Summer 2016

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • PUBLIC HEALTH Dr Roger Fisken alerted the MHRA to a device making impossible medical claims. But is his complaint being investigated or ignored? His case raises questions about lack of transparency of the work of this public body
  • MEDIA John Illman, winner of a 2016 Medical Journalists’ Association award, explains why anecdotes in the media are so much more powerful than statistics 
  • OBITUARY A tribute to the recently-late John Garrow, professor of human nutrition, leading obesity expert, and a passionate campaigner for evidence
  • NUTRITION Can foods really boost the immune system? David Bender examines the claims and finds some truths, and some more questionable stuff
  • NEWS News of the 2016 HealthWatch Debate which addressed the motion: “This house believes sugar is harmful so all sugary foods should be taxed, not just soft drinks”
  • BOOK REVIEWS The secrets of complementary and alternative are revealed—by magician Richard Rawlins; and the memoirs of Beulah Bewley, an inspirational woman who qualified as a doctor in the 1950’s and went on to become a Dame of the British Empire for services to women doctors
  • LAST WORD Medical journalist and author Caroline Richmond celebrates the continuing fall in homeopathy prescriptions

HealthWatch Newsletter 101 — Spring 2016

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • PUBLIC HEALTH Stillbirth: the facts that policitians and the media fail to understand, by Catherine Williams
  • NEWS Farewell to Andrew Herxheimer; 2016 debate news; the end of the line for Saatchi Bill; News in Brief
  • MEDIA Barbara Rowlands explains how CAM became the “thing” of the 1990s
  • PUBLICATION ETHICS Brian Earp on an insiduous tactic promoting misinformation in the scientific literature
  • CIBeT? How Popeye was right about spinach, and everyone else got it wrong: mythbusting by Mike Sutton
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR James May responds on science and religion

HealthWatch Newsletter 100 — Winter 2015-16

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Dr Mark Porter’s AGM talk; student prizewinners; homeopathic prescription ban news; and News in Brief
  • HEALTHWATCH AGM 2015 James May sums up our busiest year so far
  • JOHN MADDOX AWARD Why Edzard Ernst was a perfect fit for “standing up for science” award, by Nick Ross
  • PHARMACEUTICALS Leonore Tiefer tells the story of the hunt for the pink Viagra
  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Margaret McCartney responds to Nick Ross on confidentiality; Frank Odds on mixing religion with evidence
  • MEETING REPORT Michael Baum pays a memorable visit to our counterparts in the Netherlands

HealthWatch Newsletter 99 — Autumn 2015

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS HealthWatch at Euroscepticscon; return of the Medical Innovation Bill; and News in Brief
  • OPINION Nick Ross on how medical confidentiality can delay progress and cause misdiagnosis—have we gone too far?
  • NUTRITION Sadly the fountain of eternal youth remains beyond our grasp, despite what you may read on the internet, says David Bender
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR Is “ethical drug promotion” an oxymoron? Alain Braillon asks
  • PUBLIC HEALTH Colin Brewer on the government’s plans to reduce suicides to zero—realistic or not?
  • LAST WORD Is there a place for religion in the life of the sceptic? James May argues that there is

HealthWatch Newsletter 98 — Summer 2015

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS The Age Extension Trial of Mammography Screening; French whistleblower sued; Trouble in Sydney; and News in Brief
  • EVIDENCE Treating addiction: science too often comes second to dogma, says Colin Brewer
  • NUTRITION David Bender flexes his muscles but can find no evidence to support the use of protein supplements RESEARCH CPR2: your chance to support HealthWatch, stand up for fair tests, and get published
  • STUDENT’S VIEW Prizewinning students Lynette Fox and Arthur Woo critique a real-life trial protocol
  • PUBLIC HEALTH Dyfrig Hughes and colleagues ask why NICE recommends no disinvestment to offset investment
  • BOOK REVIEW Loretta Marron and the cult of the celebrity

HealthWatch Newsletter 97 — Spring 2015

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Saatchi bill debate; MIST trial doctor verdict; and News in Brief
  • EVIDENCE HRT and conflicts of interest among the experts who talk and write about it
  • NUTRITION David Bender on fats and facts; while Lucy Aphramor dissects NICE’s evidence on weight management
  • ALTMED A new name for a US research organisation, but will anything else change? Loretta Marron asks
  • BOOK REVIEW The gentle rebellion of a Scientist in Wonderland

HealthWatch Newsletter 96 — January 2015

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Saatchi bill; and News in Brief
  • HEALTHWATCH AGM outgoing chairman Keith Isaacson reports on 2014; Student prizewinners
  • 2014 HEALTHWATCH AWARD Simon Singh’s AGM presentation on songs, science and being sued
  • EVIDENCE The sad truth about suicide, from psychiatrist Colin Brewer
  • BOOK REVIEW An unusual but welcome guide to dealing with domestic and sexual violence in primary care
  • LAST WORD Jim Thornton on the research findings that could harm women, yet were never investigated

HealthWatch Newsletter 95 — October 2014

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS The breast screening age extension trial; Saatchi bill; homeopath’s register; and News in Brief
  • MEDIA Gwyn Williams published his ‘personal view’ in a medical journal ... and lived to tell the tale
  • EVIDENCE The MJA’s new guide to interpreting the results of clinical trials—a briefing from John Illman
  • INQUIRY Presenting evidence to the House of Commons Inquiry into Screening, with Keith Isaacson and Michael Baum
  • NUTRITION Which is worse—fat or sugar? David Bender goes into the dietary detail
  • LAST WORD Edzard Ernst on why, statistically speaking, CAM cannot be called “evidence-based”

HealthWatch Newsletter 94 — July 2014

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS AGM, research fund, a new evidence-based app, and News in Brief
  • MEETING REPORT The system of medical research publishing stands accused—James Illman reports on the trial
  • PUBLIC HEALTH Effective policies on healthcare for drug users benefit the whole community, say IDHDP
  • EVIDENCE Tom Treasure on the flaws in the evidence for and against surgical removal of lung metastases
  • MEDIA Why are couples with infertility problems drawn to complementary therapies? Kate Brian explains
  • BOOK REVIEW Tom Moberly reviews Nick Ross’ book, Crime

HealthWatch Newsletter 93 — April 2014

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS
  • BOOK REVIEW “Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime” by Peter Gøtzsche, reviewed by David Colquhoun
  • TREATMENTS David Bender greets news of an artificial pancreas with scepticism; Michael Henk on Wikipedia’s fairnes
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR E-cigarettes—friend or foe? asks Peter Hajek
  • LAST WORD Do you really want to succeed in academic life? William Lee considers the big questions

HealthWatch Newsletter 92 — January 2014

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS AGM report; New publications; Asking for evidence; In the name of health; News in Brief
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT The year in view from Keith Isaacson; HealthWatch Student Prize report
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARDWINNER Fiona Godlee’s presentation on the revolution in the medical literature
  • MEDIA John Illman goes in pursuit of balance and truth in the media
  • BOOK REVIEW Tom Moberly reviews Donna Dickenson’s “Me Medicine vs We Medicine”
  • LAST WORD The perils of open access publishing—David Bender is your guide through that minefield

HealthWatch Newsletter 91 — October 2013

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS “Scant evidence” for NHS Health Checks; AGM news; New patron; HealthWatch research accepted; News in Brief
  • PUBLIC HEALTH An innovation in the care of the elderly with dementia
  • RESEARCH Randomised controlled trials don’t always work: David Bender on the reasons why
  • MEDIA Michael Baum sets the record straight with the facts about tamoxifen that the Times wouldn’t publish
  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Richard Rawlins responds to Prince Charles’writing on “integrated health”
  • LAST WORD The blood products sell-off scare—not much of a story, says Caroline Richmond

HealthWatch Newsletter 90 — July 2013

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS A sad farewell to HealthWatch’s friend and past treasurer; News in Brief
  • CLINICAL Murali Varma on the misunderstandings surrounding that most feared of diagnoses
  • SLIMMING A weight loss plan and its promises: David Bender goes head to head with Alizonne
  • WOMEN’S HEALTH New egg-freezing technology—less liberation, more heartbreak: Miriam Zoll observes
  • RESEARCH Edzard Ernst on research that has crossed the line—not just poor, but unethical
  • LAST WORD Campaigners celebrate the birth of a new law after the 21st Century’s most successful campaign

HealthWatch Newsletter 89 — April 2013

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS £50,000 research fund launched; Lecture “a milestone” for HealthWatch; AllTrials news; News in Brief
  • OPINION Les Rose reviews a royal vision of “post-modern medicine”
  • MEDIA Horsemeat and purity issues discussed by David Bender; James May on the tragedy of dashed hopes
  • RESEARCH Research into a complementary treatment for arthritis has positive results
  • INNOVATIONS Which new inventions had the RSM audience on their feet? Ask Keith Isaacson
  • LAST WORD Alex Rose receives GP training in alternative therapies

HealthWatch Newsletter 88 — January 2013

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS A new crop of HealthWatch patrons; AGM Student prize-winners; News in Brief
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Keith Isaacson looks back on a year of new projects and forward thinking
  • 2012 HEALTHWATCH AWARDWINNER Tim Harford of “More or Less” with the stats that harm your health
  • RESEARCH David Bender on the realities of peer review
  • THE NATION’S HEALTH How overdiagnosis of cancer harms the healthy, by Murali Varma
  • LAST WORD Les Rose describes his dealings with the ABPI over Bad Pharma

HealthWatch Newsletter 87 — October 2012

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Why did MDU refuse support to Peter Wilmshurst? plus AGM; Pharmacovigilance; News in Brief
  • OPINION Is it time to review the whole idea of peer review? asks Nick Ross
  • INTERVIEW Edzard Ernst, retiring professor of complementary medicine, talks to John Illman
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR Donna Dickenson responds to the review of her new book in our last issue
  • THE NATION’S HEALTH Read HealthWatch’s reaction to the NHS Commissioning Board’s draft mandate
  • LAST WORD David Bender describes the curious mix on a local bookshop’s shelves

HealthWatch Newsletter 86 — July 2012

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS France courts clear experts; Extending the research project; News in Brief
  • EVIDENCE Roger Fisken responds to reports questioning the true value of “evidence-based medicine”
  • NUTRITION Vitamin supplements:kill, cure or completely pointless? David Bender reviews the evidence
  • MEDIA Fears that dental x-rays could cause cancer are examined by Keith Isaacson
  • BOOK REVIEWS John Illman takes on two new books about subjects that really matter
  • LAST WORD A hypnotists’ claims for treating hypertension raise James May’s blood pressure

HealthWatch Newsletter 85 — April 2012

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS a new global network supporting science; a theatre chooses a new charity to support; News in Brief
  • STUDENT PRIZE in ten years interest has increased and the quality of entries improved, says Walli Bounds
  • REGULATORY AFFAIRS a look at how medical devices are licensed in Europe
  • PATIENT INFORMATION new clinical trial search website offers evidence-based hope to patients
  • BOOK REVIEW John Garrow reviews the Patient Paradox by Margaret McCartney
  • MEETING REPORT Sense About Science at the Medico-Legal Society: Jenny Isaacson was there
  • QUACKERY FOR CATS Caroline Richmond on the final hours of a much loved friend

HealthWatch Newsletter 84 — January 2012

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Awards, more awards, and new committee members at AGM, and News in Brief
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT sharing ideas and supporting science, James May looks back on the year
  • 2011 AWARDWINNER Brian Deer shares his achievements and regrets over the MMR investigation
  • CHIROPRACTIC Back manipulation as gene therapy—how the oddest idea went global, by Steve Salzberg
  • MEETING REPORT David Bender presents at the College of Medicine, and Derek Ho was there
  • LAST WORD Protecting patients, disciplining doctors: John Garrow reports from the Medical Journalists Assn

HealthWatch Newsletter 83 — October 2011

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • PUBLIC HEALTH Les Rose’ battles of words with the Department of Health and the General Medical Council
  • NEWS Brian Deer receives HealthWatch award; sports bracelets fail the test; and news in brief
  • WHISTLEBLOWING the SensaSlim saga continues for Australian doctor Ken Harvey with a second libel suit
  • MEDIA Keith Isaacson on the latest in sports medicine; Mike Baum driven to distraction by the Soil Association
  • HOMEOPATHY more on homeopathic dentists, here the evidence is examined by Edzard Ernst
  • NUTRITION David Bender responds to new research on dangers from vitamin supplements
  • LAST WORD James May wins—by a nose—an Indian head rub in a pub quiz

HealthWatch Newsletter 82 — July 2011

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS University premises being used to mislead? EBM vindicated in Africa; and news in brief
  • LIBEL CASE REPORT Standing accused: a first-person report from the libel battlefield by Peter Wilmshurst
  • PSYCHOTHERAPY Colin Brewer on the Science Museum’s recent controversial exhibition
  • DENTISTRY Homeopathic dentists are said (by homeopaths) to be more caring. Keith Isaacson is doubtful
  • NEWS Australian whistleblower is the subject of new libel case
  • MEETING REPORT Nick Ross reports on a meeting with a mind to aid understanding of health research
  • LAST WORD James May looks at non-medical approaches to healing

HealthWatch Newsletter 81 — April 2011

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Developments at MHRA, Exeter University, HealthWatch on Facebook and news in brief
  • OPINION James May questions Cicero’s proclamation that the health of the people is the highest law
  • EXPOSING MISCONDUCT Who else is to blame for researchers’misdeeds? asks John Garrow
  • COMPLEMENTARY MEDS The placebos on offer at the local pharmacists’ shop, as described by Edzard Ernst
  • CONSUMER PROTECTION Kenneth Chan on progress towards evidence-based food labelling in Europe
  • TREATMENTS Keith Isaacson reports on the use of naturally-derived compounds in the fight against malaria

HealthWatch Newsletter 80 — January 2011

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS The Wilmshurst-NMT Medical libel case; AGM news; and news in brief with web links
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT James May reviews the successes and setbacks of the year 2010
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARDWINNER 2010 David Colquhoun on how the net has challenged bad science
  • EVIDENCE Could a sceptical frame of mind help you pass exams? Ashley Simpson and Susan Bewley say it could
  • OPINION An energy-boost freebie from a high street chemist causes concern for a dietitian
  • BOOK REVIEW David Bender reads Alternative Medicine, the latest in the Issues Series

HealthWatch Newsletter 79 — October 2010

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Medics protest as the UK government vows the taxpayer must continue to fund homeopathy
  • INTERNATIONAL Gerard Dubois and Alain Braillon on whistleblowing and French public health
  • PUBLIC HEALTH The shocking truth about the fragility of supplies of life-saving drugs in British baby units
  • RESEARCH Is it possible that Applied Kinesiology could be effective at all? The maths shows why it’s unlikely
  • EVIDENCE Edzard Ernst has reservations about the quality of NHS Evidence on CAM
  • LAST WORD John Garrow muses on models and miracles

HealthWatch Newsletter 78 — July 2010

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Private health screening concerns; AGM news;Consumer protection update; News in brief
  • MEDIA Medical journalists meet to discuss the need for libel law reform—John Garrow reports
  • ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE Narcissism and closed minds: viewpoints from James May and Edzard Ernst
  • PUBLIC HEALTH Good news for dentists: Keith Isaacson on why brushing teeth cuts heart attack risk
  • RESEARCH Les Rose peer reviews a paper for a CAM journal; Progress with libel law reform
  • LAST WORD Peter May asks whether surgery could be behind a case of “miraculous” healing

HealthWatch Newsletter 77 — April 2010

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • CONSUMER PROTECTION John Garrow investigates the Consumer Direct and CUPTR scandal
  • NEWS Parliament polarized and protestors galvanized over homeopathy
  • NEWS in brief
  • MEDIA Critics of evidence-based medicine do humanity a disservice, argues James May
  • MEETING REPORT: SCREENINGMichael Baum on breast cancer screening and opening minds
  • EVIDENCE AND POLICY Reducing doctors' hours - Keith Isaacson argues it's not always better for patients
  • DRUG SAFETY Caroline Richmond salutes the late drug regulation pioneer James Goddard

HealthWatch Newsletter 76 — January 2010

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • AGM NEWS
  • NEWS: Will drug companies advertise to consumers in Europe? The divers’ hero;
  • News in brief
  • CHAIRMAN'S REPORT James May records a busy year for HealthWatch with many successes
  • 2009 HEALTHWATCH AWARD Development of fair tests in health care, presented by Iain Chalmers
  • ORGANIC FOODS Where theres muck theres magic. David Bender is down on the farm
  • PHARMACEUTICALS Keith Isaacson considers the evidence: is a daily aspirin for your heart really safe?
  • LAST WORD An appeal for money for a cancer units healing garden leaves Caroline Richmond seething
  • Catch up online, video clips for news and entertainment

HealthWatch Newsletter 75 — October 2009

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS WHO withdraws support for homeopathy
  • Iain Chalmers for AGM award
  • Latest news in brief
  • REPORTING RESEARCH New development in the Wilmshurst case, reported by John Garrow
  • INTERNATIONAL VIEW Aussie sceptic Loretta Marron on consumer protection down under
  • MEDIA When reasoned debate gives way to libel suits and threats, science suffers, says Edzard Ernst
  • BOOK REVIEW Gillian Robinson enjoys fifty new ideas from the world of genetics
  • LAST WORD David Bender on the mysteries of swine flu
  • Some light relief on YouTube

HealthWatch Newsletter 74 — July 2009

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Homeopathy and the developing world
  • Iain Chalmers for award
  • NHS slated by Obamas critics
  • MEDIA When reasoned debate gives way to libel suits and threats, science suffers, says Edzard Ernst
  • NUTRITION Which slimming diets dont work, and why: Garrow and Bender discuss research and experience
  • EVIDENCE Gillian Robinson on the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the HealthWatch Student Prize
  • GENERAL PRACTICE How important is patient choice when it comes to quality health care?asks James May
  • RESEARCH How to cheat in research: David Bender tells tales of cooked, trimmed and forged data
  • LAST WORD Les Rose explains why new labels for homeopathic remedies make the licensing body look silly

HealthWatch Newsletter 73 — April 2009

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Fears over new CAM council
  • NEWS Prince slated over Duchys detox potion
  • NEWS cardiologist libel case update
  • NEWS in brief
  • LAW Britain's libel laws are a threat to the public health of this country, a lawyer explains
  • POSITION PAPER John Garrow explains what makes a diet dangerous
  • PUBLIC HEALTH Is the NHS Alliance promoting alternative medicine?asks Edzard Ernst
  • OPINION Treatment with placebo is far from benign, argues Alain Braillon
  • BOOK REVIEWSMyths about autism cures exposed; and the truth about who really owns your body
  • LETTER Michael Henk on his struggle to give his patients evidence-based treatment

HealthWatch Newsletter 72 — January 2009

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Whistleblower sued
  • AGM news
  • Book, web and journal launches
  • News in Brief on petitions and priests
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT David Bender's outgoing report reviews HealthWatch's many activities
  • 2008 HEALTHWATCH AWARDWINNER Evidence-based general practice from Margaret McCartney
  • PHARMACY John Garrow wonders where evidence comes in the list of priorities of the modern pharmacist
  • TECHNOLOGY The evidence behind the electro-interstitial scanner is examined by David Bender
  • BOOK REVIEW Caroline Richmond on the book that makes statistics, far, far too interesting

HealthWatch Newsletter 71 — October 2008

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Multivitamins and the Guardian
  • AGM news
  • A challenge for clinicians
  • News in brief
  • MEDIA A new online initiative to preserve traditional folk remedies for future generations
  • Essential reading and listening
  • PHARMACEUTICALS Including unpublished data can change the results of meta-analysis, says David Bender
  • HERBS Could this berry be the slimming wonder drug of the future?
  • TREATMENTS James May checks out a new gadget available at local pharmacies
  • RESEARCH Alexander Technique shown effective in trial but method had flaws, explains John Garrow
  • LAST WORD Applying evidence in clinical practice: Susan Bewley on an uncomfortable truth

HealthWatch Newsletter 70 — July 2008

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Consumer protection laws get experts wondering
  • Homeopathy petition falls short
  • ASA news
  • News in brief
  • RESEARCH The story of two remarkable brothers in science, as told by Caroline Richmond
  • TREATMENTS Keith Isaacson reports on how evidence finally changed the use of antibiotics in dentistry
  • TESTING John Garrow recalls how his DIY kinesiology trial made its way to the pages of the BMJ
  • MEDIA A new BBC series on alternative medicine raised eyebrows and smiles for Les Rose
  • BOOK REVIEW The new Singh-Ernst collaboration reviewed by Gillian Robinson
  • Latest booklist
  • LAST WORD Ray Tallis on moral questions
  • A visiting professor resigns

HealthWatch Newsletter 69 — April 2008

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS:Peer review and the advancement of science
  • NEWS "Screening halves deaths" claim questioned
  • News in brief
  • Festschrift honours Baum
  • New position paper on cancer
  • New face on the committee
  • HOMEOPATHY The evidence for homeopathys efficacysquirms under David Bender’s magnifying glass
  • CAM THERAPIES Caroline Richmond learns the fascinating story behind the "sharks don't get cancer" myth
  • RESEARCH In an obituary of Stephen Straus, Cees Renckens questions priorities in CAM research
  • LETTERS Gillian Tindall writes about Ray Tallis difficult moral questions

HealthWatch Newsletter 68 — January 2008

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Homeopathy conference slated
  • WoW Show concerns
  • AGM news
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: We are small but we are not insignificant - David Bender sums up the year
  • AWARDWINNER: The full text of Richard Tallis' AGM speech on anecdote, data and media case studies
  • CIBeT: Can it be true that nearly half of clinical treatments are of unknown effectiveness? asks John Garrow
  • LETTERS: Was attack on HRT justified?
  • LETTERS: Can science really be so arbitrary?
  • LAST WORD: Les Rose on post-modernist views of science
  • Some poor planning from the Tory party

HealthWatch Newsletter 67 — October 2007

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS HealthWatch AGM details
  • BBC CAM complaints upheld
  • Alzheimers Society alliance criticised
  • OPINION HRT is under fire again, but Michael Henk explains that the evidence has been misinterpreted
  • REFLECTION In the post-modern world, is any knowledge really certain?considers James May
  • CIBeT John Garrow's occasional series questions the evidence behind a radio quote on homeopathy
  • MEETING REPORT Clinical trials are not always relevant to patient needs, Keith Isaacson learns
  • REVIEW Evidence is put aside to make way for good TV, reports Neville Goodman
  • POSITION PAPER An excerpt from David Bender’s updated position paper on Functional Foods

HealthWatch Newsletter 66 — July 2007

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Will homeopathy now die?
  • Insulin murder book published
  • Does the AMA really say adults should take vitamin pills?
  • News in brief
  • MEDIA: Can it be true? John Garrow wants audiences to be more critical of "evidence" from "health experts"
  • POSITION PAPER The regulation of homeopathic medicines in the UK, prepared by Les Rose
  • BOOK REVIEW Diana Brahams is enthralled by the new Marks:Richmond book on Insulin Murders
  • PERSONAL VIEW Caroline Richmond on some realities and frustrations of life with lymphoma
  • TREATMENTS A philosophical view from James May on the demand for alternatives in general practice
  • LAST WORD Why are doctors not taking the nutrition message more seriously? asks a hypertensive David Bender

HealthWatch Newsletter 65 — April 2007

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: The meddling prince
  • Should NICE evaluate complementary medicines?
  • NEWS: new faces on the committee
  • NEWS: challenges to media "nutrition experts"
  • OBITUARY: A sad farewell to Michael Allen, who passed away in January
  • News in brief
  • POSITION PAPER: An authoritative summary of the issue of trans-fatty acids and their effect on health
  • INTERNET: A one-woman campaign for evidence-based health information on the web
  • Watts on 3D "keepsake" scans
  • MEETING REPORT: John Garrow listens in awe to gerontologist-philosopher-author Professor Raymond Tallis
  • TREATMENTS: Hoodia and detox footpads are all over the Internet. David Bender explains why not to buy

HealthWatch Newsletter 64 — January 2007

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Awards for bad and good science
  • And not the HealthWatch award
  • Ineffective new drugs
  • NEWS: dangers of ignoring NICE advice; vitamin research news
  • CHAIRMAN'S REPORT: David Bender sums up a busy year in his speech to the HealthWatch AGM
  • RESEARCH - transgressing the boundaries: Edzard Ernst on why healthcare and post-modernist thinking shouldn’t be mixed
  • NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE: Patient centred medicine is a flawed concept, explains John Garrow
  • BOOK REVIEW: John Garrow reviews a new book on food cures
  • BOOK REVIEW: Caroline Richmond reviews a new book on bad research
  • Canada issues "senseless" homeopathy regulations
  • HOMEOPATHY: Stealthily introduced legislation is debated in the House of Lords

HealthWatch Newsletter 63 — October 2006

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Claims allowed without evidence
  • HealthWatch AGM details
  • Alarm over homeopathic malaria remedies
  • Chinese medicine cancer warning
  • NEWS in brief
  • PHARMACEUTICALS Suddenly counterfeit drugs are everywhere. Michael Allen explains why
  • NUTRITION Antioxidant supplements: good for you? The evidence suggests not, says David Bender
  • RESEARCH FOCUS Aubrey Blumsohn on barriers to scientific integrityin pharmaceutical research
  • LETTERS David Crosby and Elizabeth Fairfax roll back the dark ages creeping into modern medicine
  • HOMEOPATHY HealthWatch announces its position on an absurd and dangerous new ruling

HealthWatch Newsletter 62 — July 2006

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Support for scientists' NHS letter
  • AGM news
  • RCGP's answers on CAM
  • Melatonin report correction
  • PERSONAL VIEW Professor Michael Baum shares his diary of a surreal week
  • MEDIA A new health advice website is born
  • Funding threat to drugs advice
  • BBC CAM series criticised
  • NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS Could vitamins slow the onset of age-related blindness? asks Keith Isaacson
  • OPINION John Garrow is disappointed by the Department of Healths response to CAM letter
  • LAST WORD Neville Goodman despairs that so many cannot distinguish evidence from anecdote

HealthWatch Newsletter 61 — April 2006

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Magnets on prescription "may be placebo"
  • Separating facts from fiction about chemicals
  • NEWS: The Lords debate homeopathy
  • The public need education to support medical research
  • News in brief
  • Alternative treatments: Veterinary homeopathy
  • CONSUMER ISSUES: Naturally safe?
  • RESEARCH: Tackling publication bias and selective reporting
  • NEWS: ICM publishes correction after persecution slur
  • Cancer researchers' fury at "miracle" report
  • LAST WORD: Slipping through the net

HealthWatch Newsletter 60 — January 2006

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS AGM award-winners;
  • NEWS the Smallwood report’s “fresh look” at complementary medicine in the NHS
  • The James Lind Alliance
  • CHAIRMAN'S REPORT John Garrow describes HealthWatch’s distinguished history at AGM 2005
  • EVIDENCE Award winner Edzard Ernst’s AGM speech on the “good, bad and ugly” of complementary medicine
  • RESEARCH FOCUS If it’s published, it must be OK. Or is it? asks David Bender
  • OPINION Les Rose’s ideas on how to stem the modern tide of unreason in health treatments
  • LAST WORD Muddled thinking from a politician on the benefits of homoeopathy

HealthWatch Newsletter 59 — October 2006

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Lancet issues challenge to NICE on homoeopathy
  • Are patients at risk from OTC statins?
  • OPINION Neville Goodman on how the growing evidence base fails to dilute the homoeopaths beliefs
  • EVIDENCE Autism treatments: parental expertise has its limits, argues parent and doctor, Michael Fitzpatrick
  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Tamoxifen, breast cancer and the voice
  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Health service club class analogy faulty?
  • LAST WORD A silent epidemic of bogus health warnings

HealthWatch Newsletter 58 — July 2005

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • 2005 HealthWatch award winner announced
  • Cosmetic advertising
  • The spread of misleading health information on the net
  • Patient-centred view of drug risks
  • The MHRA: changing for the better?
  • News in brief
  • MEDIA John Illman on how to turn a few seconds of airtime to your advantage
  • Were NICE right to recommend eye movement therapy for trauma cases? James Ost believes they were not
  • EVIDENCE Can the NHS afford a club class tier of health care? asks John Garrow
  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Sunlight and vitamin D: the debate continues
  • LAST WORD Dietitians urged to promote evidence-based medicine over anecdote-based benefits

HealthWatch Newsletter 57 — April 2005

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Attacks on Prince Charles alternative healthcare booklet
  • RESEARCH The Clinical Trials Directive: John Garrow reviews its effects a year after implementation
  • RESEARCH The Clinical Trials Directive: Walli Bounds asks what has really changed
  • POSITION PAPER The HealthWatch position paper on the design of clinical trials
  • FORUM Sunscreening: can you be too careful? Oliver Gillie and Sara Hiom debate the dangers
  • The problem of vitamin D
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR Cancer and alternative therapies: a personal view from Caroline Richmond
  • Eye movement therapy for tsunami victims
  • LAST WORD David Bender considers whether water ionizing for health is money down the drain

HealthWatch Newsletter 56 — January 2005

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • A plea for life-saving sanity
  • Web site commended
  • AGM news
  • Government to encourage use of CAM
  • Publish at your peril
  • Sense About Science explained
  • CHAIRMANS REPORT Our important contribution: John Garrow reports on the year 2004
  • AWARD-WINNER 2004Richard Smith’s speech on the relationship between drug companies and medical journals
  • ADVERTISING More muscle is needed to regulate ads for herbal products, says Les Rose
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR David Crosby calls for new strategies
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR Barbara Hollingworth on evidence and the pill

HealthWatch Newsletter 55 — October 2004

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Richard Smith to receive award
  • Michael Baum rebukes Prince Charles
  • HealthWatch AGM details
  • News in brief
  • OPINION Ask about medicines week: can we trust the answers?Michael Allen asks the question
  • EVIDENCE John Garrow wonders whether commercial bias could have influenced a review of obesity treatments
  • More transparency, more freedom of information Andrew Herxheimer's evidence to the Health Committee of the House of Commons
  • MEDIA The challenge of reporting medical research in the mass media, explained by Geoff Watts
  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Ellen Grant and David Bender debate the science behind hair analysis
  • LAST WORD Neville Goodman applauds Michael Fitzpatrick's book on MMR vaccine controversy

HealthWatch Newsletter 54 — July 2004

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • WHO warns on alternative medicines
  • UK centre for evidence-based surgery
  • A fond farewell to Deborah Bender
  • News in brief
  • MEDIA Stem cell research holds promise, but the breakthroughs won’t come overnight
  • FLUORIDATION The British Dental Health Foundation speaks up for the fluoridation of public water supplies
  • ETHICS Dr Andrew Herxheimer considers the secrecy surrounding the work of ethics committees
  • EVIDENCE Can you trust what the “experts” say? Treat research reports with caution, suggests John Garrow
  • MAGIC OR MEDICINE? Dr Gus Plaut ponders “unproven” remedies that could be worth testing
  • LAST WORD Dr David Bender dips his toes into the murky waters of foot spa detox
  • Dangerous web-sites

HealthWatch Newsletter 53 — April 2004

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Blind faith and fair tests, by Nick Ross
  • How randomised controlled trials protect us, by John Garrow
  • News: Direct action to defend research
  • News: Clinical trials “an endangered species”?
  • News: Quality and validity: web paper to download
  • Human guinea pigs, and how the media view fair tests of medical treatments, by Iain Chalmers
  • The case against Directive 2001/20/EC: The “Save European Research” campaign, by Dr Brian Moulton
  • In defence of Directive 2001/20/EC: The Clinical Trial Directive Will Improve Trial Quality, by Michael Allen
  • Chairman's summary: Trials and tribulations: where should the balance lie? by John Garrow

HealthWatch Newsletter 52 — January 2004

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Government plans for CAM funding questioned
  • News from HealthWatch AGM 2003
  • HEALTHWATCH AWARD WINNER Dr Peter Wilmshurst on obstacles to honesty in medical research
  • EVIDENCE: Earl Baldwin of Bewdley explains the scientific case against fluoridation of public water supplies
  • MODERN MYTHS CHALLENGED: How much water should we drink? asks Dr David Bender
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Professor John Garrow sums up HealthWatch’s year

HealthWatch Newsletter 51 — October 2003

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS Fluoride debate reopened
  • New faces at AGM
  • Italy bids farewell to “Dr Hope"
  • News in brief
  • OPINION: UK medicines are too often poorly labelled and patients could be at risk, says Michael Allen
  • EVIDENCE: What is the point of detox diets? David Bender checks the claims and finds them short on science
  • MEETING REPORT: Interpreting the evidence: John Garrow on how research findings cannot always be taken at face value
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Mis-informed consent
  • NHS INITIATIVES: The expert patient will soon be here
  • Bad science exposed
  • LAST WORD …on Internet offers. Should you snap up that crocodile cure?

HealthWatch Newsletter 50 — July 2003

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Screening debate, conference news, and focus on doctors and drug companies
  • Farewell and thanks to Geoff Watts
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Is the good ship NHS in danger of sinking? John Garrow issues a timely warning
  • How gullible are we?
  • EVIDENCE: Exeter’s department of complementary medicine celebrates ten years of excellence
  • RESEARCH FOCUS: Andrew Herxheimer proposes a new patient-centred dimension to clinical research
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Sid Rodrigues on his one-man campaign against health misinformation
  • LAST WORD: Neville Goodman on the GMC’s reluctance to take a stand on dubious remedies

HealthWatch Newsletter 49 — April 2003

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • NEWS: Whistleblower honoured
  • Time for transparency
  • Changes proposed to European herbal directive
  • Student competition publicised
  • News in brief
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: John Garrow proposes a new kind of HealthWatch award
  • PERSONAL VIEW: Alex Gardner on why secret phobics are so vulnerable
  • RESEARCH: Consumers were the losers in vitamin research row, says Robert Woodward
  • MEDIA: Neville Goodman applauds press reports criticising homoeopathy and cancer drug trials
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The circumcision debate: a Jewish doctor responds
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: New Zealand GPs “fed up” with drug advertisements
  • LAST WORD: Food for thought

HealthWatch Newsletter 48 — January 2003

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • More members, more awards
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Malcolm Brahams reviews his final year as HealthWatch’s chairman
  • BREAST CANCER SCREENING A cruel deception? Professor Michael Baum’s AGM presentation
  • Complementary medicine research under threat
  • News in brief
  • OPINION Male circumcision: minor surgery or an unforgivable cut? Dr Peter Ball discusses
  • ONCOLOGY MEETS BOLLYWOOD An award-winning cancer film reaches new audiences
  • POSITION PAPER Advertising prescription drugs to consumers is a bad idea, says Michael Allen
  • This position paper is also available in Adobe Acrobat format at dtc.pdf
  • SLIMMING SCIENCE OVERSTRETCHED Professor John Garrow explains lipid science to the courts
  • LETTERS PAGE Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton in defence of The Detox Diet

HealthWatch Newsletter 47 — October 2002

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • AGM details
  • NEWS: support for herb laws
  • COMMENT: Neville Goodman on amalgam filling fears
  • MEDIA: Statistics plus HRT equals panic—Michael Henk and Michael Baum appeal to reason
  • POSITION PAPER: David Bender sets out HealthWatch’s position on multi-vitamin supplements
  • TRADING STANDARDS: Why a mail-order slimming scam took so long to prosecute, by John Garrow
  • PERSONAL VIEW: One of the human tragedies that lie behind the debates on efficacy of herbal treatments

HealthWatch Newsletter 46 — July 2002

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Michael Baum to receive HealthWatch Award
  • Entrants invited for HealthWatch protocols competition
  • Why can't CAM be researched properly?
  • New clinical trials web resource
  • Understanding the public's MMR fears
  • News in brief
  • Opinion: mistletoe has failed the cancer test, but you might never have known it
  • Daring to question the value of prostate screening
  • Future Health Bulletin
  • Book review: Intoxication in the Glen
  • Letter: Are orthodontists rejecting more effective alternatives?
  • Letter: The evenhandedness debate continues
  • Letter: Breast cancer survival rate figures can be misleading
  • Last word: On-line healing

HealthWatch Newsletter 45 — April 2002

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • WHAT IS SCREENING HIDING? John Garrow's search for evidence of benefits
  • OPINION Paul Diamond on training therapists
  • MMR Michael Allen digests the evidence
  • MEDIA Neville Goodman and the Barefoot Doctor
  • CANCER Caroline Richmond on miracle cures
  • MEETING REPORT GP Registrar James May is the token sceptic in the doctors’ Alt Med training group
  • Web sites to see
  • LETTERS: Evenhandedness - 1
  • LETTERS: Evenhandedness - 1
  • LETTERS: smallpox
  • LAST WORD Lewis Wolpert on protecting scientific terms

HealthWatch Newsletter 44 — January 2002

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • AGM welcomes Claire Rayner
  • £10,000 grant application a success
  • News in brief
  • CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Malcolm Brahams reviews a year of growing membership and profile
  • BIOTERRORISM serious threat or damp squib? asks Caroline Richmond
  • CANCER TRAGEDY Dutch CAM devotee dies from untreated breast cancer, Jan Willen Nienhuys reports
  • CLAIRE RAYNER tells HealthWatch members what patients are really for
  • OPINION Matthew Parris considers miraculous cures, beatification, and what they might mean to the rest of us
  • Letter: Fasted if not detoxed
  • PILLS AND POTIONS BY POST David Bender finds claims that might not live up to their promise
  • BOOK REVIEW John Garrow compares guide by Edzard Ernst with Alan & Maryon Stewart’s

HealthWatch Newsletter 43 — October 2001

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • From strength to strength
  • Who can we trust in medicine? - Geoff Watts addresses AMRC
  • David Bender helps "rubbish" the detox myth
  • News in brief: sponsors of medical research
  • News in brief: electromagnetic waves
  • News in brief: Prince Charles is planning to help build a model alternative hospital
  • News in brief: astrology
  • A medical journalist's duty
  • Alternatively: well, who would have thought it?
  • Valid voices
  • Truth and hype in the drugs business
  • Practice nurse herbalists
  • Book review: Snake oil and other preoccupations by John Diamond
  • Internet sites to see: DIPEx - a wealth of information and experience

HealthWatch Newsletter 42 — July 2001

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Claire Rayner to accept HealthWatch Award
  • SlimSweet: a dieter's dream or just a sugary sell?
  • Vitamin C megadoses linked with cancer risk
  • Alternative cancer treatments "ineffective"
  • Healthy Foods book mailing "unduly alarming" says ASA
  • News in brief: Reflexology works - whether it's the real thing or a placebo
  • News in brief: Critical study of astrology
  • Opinion: Does it work? Is it safe?
  • Forum: St John's wort - questioning the answers
  • Nutrition: Towards regulation of dietary supplements?
  • Book review: Voodoo science by Robert Park
  • Internet sites: Pink Unicorns and GKT Medical Ethics Group

HealthWatch Newsletter 41 — April 2001

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Thurstan Brewin and John Diamond: a personal tribute
  • Obituary: Thurstan Brewin
  • Obituary: John Diamond
  • BMJ campaign for integration: voices of dissent
  • News: Give credit where it's due
  • News: No more free lunches?
  • News in brief: Adverse events in NHS hospitals
  • News in brief: Gingko for tinnitus
  • News in brief: Warm friendly doctors
  • News in brief: MMR vaccination and autism
  • Ethics: Blowing your own whistle
  • Homeopathy: Not even a true placebo?
  • Book Review: Fighting the silent killer - coming to terms with ovarian cancer
  • Letter: Laser eye surgery - the acid test
  • Letter: Why this blind, unquestioning trust?

HealthWatch Newsletter 40 — January 2001

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • John Diamond's Close encounters with alternative medicine
  • News: Experts needed to assist with media enquiries
  • News: League Tables: appropriate to health services ?
  • News: Cancer trial results "take too long to publish"
  • News in brief: The Lords estimate that £1.6 billion is spent on CAM
  • News: More on mobile phone safety
  • News: Homeopath's objection to vaccination advertisement
  • News: Chinese Traditional Medicine and AIDS
  • Chairman's report to AGM 2000
  • Complementary therapies - flower power: all in the mind ?
  • Regulatory affairs: Lords report on CAM released
  • Book review: Medical Journalism - exposing fact, fiction, fraud
  • Letter: Dental extraction - more harm than good ?

HealthWatch Newsletter 39 — October 2000

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • To resuscitate ... or not?
  • Are cancer patients properly informed about new drugs?
  • John Diamond to address HealthWatch AGM
  • Iain Chalmers receives knighthood
  • News in brief
  • Meeting report: Submission to the House of Lords
  • Treatments: the changing face of refractive surgery
  • Opinion: The first real test of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
  • Book review: The Complete Guide to Integrated Medicine

HealthWatch Newsletter 38 — July 2000

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The new nutritonal nonscience
  • Does medical journalism kill?
  • News: a dedicated web address for HealthWatch
  • Award for John Diamond at HealthWatch AGM 2000
  • Nick Ross to help transform the NHS
  • Complaint against ABPI ad not upheld
  • Consultants "are treated like gods"
  • Conference notification: nanobiotechnology
  • Favourite quotes
  • Consumer issues: Fluoride - are concerns justified?
  • Media: Could dental extraction really do more harm than good?
  • Letter: Cranial osteopathy - detrimental effects a coincidence?

HealthWatch Newsletter 37 — May 2000

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The NHS: A crisis come of age
  • John Diamond joins HealthWatch
  • "Energy" supplements may have been implicated in stroke
  • House of Lords to report on CAM
  • US alternative medicine chief faces conflicting pressures
  • Conference notification: Drug discovery, and therapies from natural products
  • Acupuncture: the point is, does it work?
  • Herbal remedies: Warnings issued on St John's Wort
  • Book Review: Your Health at Risk - What doctors and the government aren't telling you
  • Personal view: Therapeutic adventures - cranial osteopathy
  • Letter: The Tomatis method
  • Health on the Web

HealthWatch Newsletter 36 — January 2000

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The GM furore: Who's to blame?
  • Chairman's report: Ambitious plans for the future
  • Opinion: Not so NICE after all
  • Back to HealthWatch main page
  • Meeting report: Questionable claims in a Belfast hospital
  • News and media: Healing on television
  • NCAHF is now NCRHI
  • HealthWhich? slams gadgets
  • Book review: Acupuncture, a scientific appraisal

HealthWatch Newsletter 35 — October 1999

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Court orders HIV-1 test for baby
  • News: GM on the menu at this year's AGM
  • Research linking electromagnetic fields and cancer deemed fraudulent
  • Stamping out research miscoduct
  • BMJ tackles CAM
  • Advertising Standards Authority report:Thin on proof
  • Trading standards: Ultra fat burner fizzles out
  • Opinion: Why are so many nurses peddling new age therapies?
  • Consumers' Association: Does Healthline give the right advice?
  • Forum: Are they mistaken to call for "war on cancer"?
  • Media: Fat patches are back: HealthWatch comments on Talk Radio
  • Book review: Homeopathy - what are we swallowing?

HealthWatch Newsletter 34 — July 1999

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • What W.D.D.T.Y. doesn't tell you
  • News: New media contact
  • Health benefits of religion questioned
  • Conference news: Visit the operating theatre of the future
  • Alternative therapy clue to cancer patients' distress suggests study
  • ASA reports: Make a living hypnotising, but don't drink the water...
  • NSAID leaflets: warnings nclear?
  • NICE for the NHS
  • Editorial: How patients feel about unproven cancer therapy
  • Getting chiropractic into perspective
  • Letter: Dangers of herbal products and dietary supplements
  • Letter: Launching a new industry?

HealthWatch Newsletter 33 — April 1999

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Two views on health screening
  • News: Evidence-based challenge to complementary medicine
  • Negative results for homeopathy "proving" trial
  • You name it ... I can't promise to make it happen
  • Obituary: Arnold E Bender, 1918-1999
  • Legal matters: Secret out-of-court settlements in drug injury cases
  • Health fairs: Cures for sale in Belfast
  • Merting report: “Indian Grass Therapy”
  • Media: Ginkgo biloba and a free lunch
  • More cancer hopes dashed
  • Letter from Dr G S Plaut

HealthWatch Newsletter 32 — January 1999

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Award to Polly Toynbee
  • Press Complaints Commission: Corrected promptly, with due prominence
  • News: JAMA puts alternatives to the test
  • Supplement ads still questionable
  • Echinacea fails the cold challenge
  • HealthWhich? exposes food allergy testing
  • Sceptics on Sky TV
  • Chairman’s report: Working with other organisations to inform the public
  • Are highly dilute homoeopathic remedies placebos?
  • The need to compare results
  • Media: Careless talk on mobile 'phone dangers

HealthWatch Newsletter 31 — October 1998

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Sincerity is not enough
  • News: Skrabanek Foundation offers prize
  • News: Poly Toynbee to receive HealthWatch award
  • Ireland sees return of the NuTron diet
  • Media: keeping the faith
  • Get on your bike, Grandpa
  • Industry: Virtual companies and CROnyism
  • Dogs not psychic
  • ASA news: Magic, magnets and mind over matter
  • Meeting report: stopping the clock
  • Favourite quotes
  • Internet sites to see
  • Web doctor

HealthWatch Newsletter 30 — July 1998

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Prince Charles calls for integration
  • ISFE grant
  • Use of therapeutic touch "unjustified"
  • Editorial: Is this a licence to distort the truth?
  • EMEA: erratum
  • Clinical trials: They would say that, wouldn't they
  • Minimally invasive therapies for benign prostate disease
  • Another cure for cancer?
  • Letter: Medical fraud on the internet
  • Letter: The last word on vitamin B6

HealthWatch Newsletter 29 — April 1998

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Why Nick Ross supports HealthWatch
  • Psychics baffled by skeptic
  • Dowsing for ... food allergies?
  • Sky TV documentary features HealthWatch experts
  • The EMEA celebrates its third birthday
  • Book review: Studies show - a popular guide to understanding scientific studies
  • Homeopathy studies stir up a storm
  • Letter: More on vitamin B6

HealthWatch Newsletter 28 — January 1998

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Annabel Ferriman: Pitfalls of medical journalism
  • "Slim trial" ad: complaint upheld
  • Homeopathy effect not all placebo
  • 1997 AGM: Chairman's report
  • The vitamin B6 controversy
  • Fraud in medical publications
  • Doctors in controversy over "natural born healers"
  • Are you serious...

HealthWatch Newsletter 27 — October 1997

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Are we being alarmed unnecessarily?
  • Blood and urine therapy is "quackery" concludes RPS committee
  • EMFs: tell the public the truth
  • Psychic healers: complaints upheld
  • Candida: How much of a threat?
  • HealthWatch doctors air views in documentary
  • Medical editors united against research fraud
  • Nurses practising complementary therapies
  • Letter: Is this good science?

HealthWatch Newsletter 26 — July 1997

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Fat magnets come unstuck
  • ASA uphold complaint by HealthWatch
  • Research misconduct admitted
  • New mobile 'phone scare
  • Patches get the thumbs down
  • Clinical trials and consumers
  • Homeopathic arnica "not effective"
  • Importance of bedside manner
  • Spotting junk science
  • CA aiming for "even-handed" assessment of therapies
  • Letter: Complementary cures - taking time to work?

HealthWatch Newsletter 25 — April 1997

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • HealthWatch poses questions on complementary medicine to BMA
  • No increase in leukemia risk from transmitters
  • "Active asparagus" claims challenged
  • Asthma charity appoints expert in complementary therapies
  • Traditional methods facing modern scrutiny
  • Book review: The Which? Guide to Complementary Medicine
  • Book review: Complete Nutrition - How to Live in Total Health
  • Has your body been modified yet?
  • Earthquakes and multiple sclerosis
  • Trial by 'phone-in
  • New publication welcomed
  • Complementary medicine "should be included in medical curriculum"
  • Science-based complementary medicine
  • Letter: Evidence-based medicine on the net

HealthWatch Newsletter 24 — February 1997

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The vanishing defendant
  • Sir Richard Doll receives HealthWatch award
  • HealthWatch featured in Independent on Sunday
  • Trading Standards Officers warn against "Svelt-patch"
  • Complaints upheld against holistic hypnotherapists
  • Regulation of complementary medicine
  • Through a glass darkly
  • Book review: Complementary medicine - an objective appraisal
  • Risky business
  • Electromagnetic fields "not harmful"
  • Letter: Melatonin use in jetlag
  • Letter: Is scientific method always the method of choice?
  • Papers withdrawn over fraud

HealthWatch Newsletter 23 — October 1996

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Melatonin could disrupt sleep patterns
  • Mobile 'phone fears groundless?
  • Regulate dietary supplements, says CA
  • "It demolished my rolls of fat" ... advertising watchdog disputes claim
  • Some food supplements contain ephedrine
  • Improving the standards of RCT reporting
  • More power ... less cancer ... more confusion?
  • Alternative interior design
  • Complaints upheld against computerised treatment systems and magnetic fields
  • A degree of scepticism
  • Magnetic "breakthrough for pain sufferers"
  • Vitamin pushers
  • Has cancer research wasted millions chasing viruses and vaccines?
  • Book review: Evidence-based general practice - a critical reader
  • Book review: Complementary medicine and the law
  • Book review: Essential oil safety - a guide for health care professionals
  • Letter from Dr David Peters
  • Letter from Dr Gene Feder
  • Letter from Dr Gus Plaut

HealthWatch Newsletter 22 — July 1996

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Side-effects after alternative treatments
  • Exposing fraud in mainstream medicine
  • Prevalence of alternative therapies
  • Misleading drug marketing targeted
  • Slim improvement in weight loss ads
  • Sharks don't get cancer ... or do they?
  • Vitamins again
  • Blood-and-urine therapy under investigation
  • "Strange Days" adds welcome balance
  • Book Review: Chiropractic - the victim's perspective
  • More about selenium
  • The Lords debate fringe medicine
  • Dead doctors ... healing from beyond the grave
  • Position paper: Screening and checkups for healthy adults

HealthWatch Newsletter 21 — April 1996

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Royal Pharmaceutical Society tones down homeopathy advice
  • "Miracle" slimming pill company prosecuted
  • New appointment for Vincent Marks
  • Boots to fund research
  • Vitamin ad: complaint upheld
  • Homeopathy claims birth success
  • Why is the BHMA trading sense and reason for mumbo jumbo?
  • The media and the power line scare
  • Law: Advertising remedies for cancer
  • Letter: More on selenium
  • You too can be a nutritionist ... for £215

HealthWatch Newsletter 20 — January 1996

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The need for evidence-based medicine
  • Complementary medicine carries risks, says Health Which?
  • Health tips from "green" books
  • Music therapy
  • HealthWatch AGM: Chairman's report
  • But why can't complementary medicines be subjected to RCT?
  • Trading standards prosecute after "cancer relief" claims
  • Testing times for Chinese medicines
  • TV review: Doctors in the dock
  • Are we selenium deficient?
  • "Miracle" ads could offend, say ASA
  • Snake oil on the internet
  • Evidence-based old wives' tales

HealthWatch Newsletter 19 — October 1995

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • £60 million spent on alternative medicines
  • Acupuncture - elusive and exciting
  • Consumers in the dark over 'light' foods
  • Allergy tests "could lead to wrong treatment"
  • Complaints upheld against arthritis ads
  • MS sufferers resort to illegal drugs
  • Chiropractic "more beneficial than hospital treatment" concludes trial
  • Editorial: Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing
  • Identifying randomised trials in titles and references
  • Trading Standards: Food Source One - Nutra Health UK Ltd
  • Skeptics discuss increase in fringe medicine in Europe
  • Opinion: Homeopathy - it may be popular, but does it work?
  • Position paper: Functional foods

HealthWatch Newsletter 18 — May 1995

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Vaccine critics threaten child immunity
  • ASA says celebrities must not endorse therapies
  • Water births are safe, says report
  • New fraud guide published
  • Iron could be harmful
  • Report seeking to legitimise complementary medicine in EU
  • Needless X-rays may be harming patients
  • Which? Way to Health calls for end to drug secrecy
  • Fringe leader calls for testing
  • New Age beliefs
  • Warnings needed on herbal remedies
  • The qualified doctor - how it all began
  • Medical astrology
  • Magic prescriptions
  • The pitfalls of evidence-based medicine
  • Letter to the editor: kinesiology
  • Book review: Alternative healthcare - a comprehensive guide
  • Slimming products: a success in court

HealthWatch Newsletter 17 — February 1995

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Risks of fringe medicine are ignored
  • Drop travel jabs for homeopathy, says author
  • Mixed results for homeopathy trials
  • Herb degree launched
  • Acupuncture trial begins
  • Doctors' healthcare opinions often wrong
  • Herbal medicines go free from licences
  • Vitamin A cancer puzzle
  • Folic acid message fails to get through
  • Drug secrecy must end
  • Cancer quacks filmed in secret
  • Avoid the Nutron diet
  • Brain impulses for arthritis
  • Clinical ecology - multiple allergy: where's the evidence?
  • Pain and the placebo
  • Recent studies have confirmed that doctors themselves are powerful therapeutic agents
  • Holism: a worthy cause is hijacked

HealthWatch Newsletter 16 — October 1994

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Acupuncture - elusive or illusory
  • Position paper: Diet and health - the dangers of dieting
  • Slimming remedies under scrutiny
  • Editorial: The Health Education Authority Guide to Complementary Medicine
  • Book Review: Guide to Complementary Medicine and Therapies
  • Book Review: The Good Health Food Guide
  • Nutri to halt product-led seminars
  • Fraternising with the fringe
  • Conflicts of interest and disclosure of consultancies
  • Chairman's report, AGM 20/9/94

HealthWatch Newsletter 15 — July 1994

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The European Medicines Evaluation Agency comes to the UK
  • Forum - Health of the Nation
  • Norris Cerullo: Miracles at Earl's Court
  • Anti-science and pseudo-science in Russia and Germany
  • Letter to the Editor from Brian Wall
  • Universal cure in the 18th century

HealthWatch Newsletter 14 — Spring 1994

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Serious disease claims made for food supplements
  • Censured diet ads bore MOPS logo
  • New diet pill tactic
  • Surges in herbal sales will falter
  • Full recovery from seven blood clots
  • Homeopathic sales can continue without proof of efficacy
  • Free anti-wrinkle tablets
  • Harley St skin ads criticised
  • Homeopathy degree funded for GPs
  • HealthWatch challenges Hay diet to trial
  • Paper-watch - from the press
  • Healthwatch rejects Labour's proposals for complementary therapies on the NHS
  • New complementary Professor stresses 'scientific rigour': interview with Edzard Ernst

HealthWatch Newsletter 13 — Autumn 1993

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Critics challenge Boots herb move
  • Slimming patch adds still plague media
  • Press cuttings used to plug product
  • 'Secrecy culture' misleads patients
  • Placebo as good as therapy
  • Herbs banned from medicines are OK in foods
  • Catarrh ad played on fears
  • Chestnut seeds in HIV marketing fear
  • Press report: sceptics
  • Press report: placebos
  • HealthWatch criticised
  • Exeter University: herbal standards project
  • Position paper: The placebo effect
  • AGM welcomes new Exeter Chair of Complementary Medicine
  • Outgoing Chairman's report: HealthWatch needed more than ever before
  • Annual award to Geoff Watts: Medical journalism - triumphs and pitfalls

HealthWatch Newsletter 12 — Summer 1993

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Health companies avoiding law to claim wondercures
  • Editorial- disinformation to promote products
  • Books substitute for advertising
  • Pharmacists pressured into medicinal claims
  • Product names can confuse
  • Public relations avoids legal problems
  • Freephone lines offer privacy for strong claims
  • Press cuttings used as advertisements
  • Mail order claims worry ASA
  • How to register a medicine
  • How to register a food supplement
  • Advertising medicines and alternative supplements
  • Where to complain
  • Conviction of Reverend Doctor Elizabeth Marsh
  • In memoriam: Brian Inglis
  • Nutritional intervention: trials in doubt

HealthWatch Newsletter 11 — Spring 1993

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Diet Doctors sell slimming
  • Journal calls for register of controlled trials
  • The Cochrane Centre: born 1 October 1992
  • HealthWatch on TV
  • Good Clinical Practice: uncommon care in the Common Market
  • NIH tackles "alternative" medicine
  • Complementary medicine: still no chair to sit upon
  • HealthWatch Position Paper: Cancer

HealthWatch Newsletter 10 — Summer 1992

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Epilepsy drugs sold as intelligence boosters
  • Cellulite claims are unsubstantiated
  • Call for clampdown
  • Advertising body slams health critics
  • Editorial: The Good Health Guide
  • Why we must keep the lid on the black magic box
  • Physician heal thyself: John Garrow puts orthodox therapies under scrutiny
  • Media watch: a low fact diet
  • Position paper: designing clinical trials (A revised version of this position paper was agreed in January 2005)
  • HealthWatch AGM

HealthWatch Newsletter 08a — October/December 1991

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Healthwatch is now a registered charity
  • Science and slimming - controlled trials by television
  • HealthWatch's Silly Season Shortlist: vitamin C and seaweed tights; aerobic spectacles
  • Candida albicans - the "Yeast Syndrome"

HealthWatch Newsletter 08 — October/December 1991

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Vega test for allergy diagnosis
  • HealthWatch and Wellcome - an explanation
  • Acupuncture under attack in two recent reports
  • Preconceptual care - at a price - Hair analysis and Foresight
  • Selenium for hair
  • Awards for worst slimming aids
  • Cancell - an irregular substance touted as a cancer cure
  • Mercury from dental amalgam - why general practitioners might unintentionally give patients wrong information
  • Quackery in the treatment of people in residential care: dubious psychotherapy used on deprived children
  • Charity profits on fear of cancer

HealthWatch Newsletter 07 — July/August 1991

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Healthwatch is now a registered charity
  • Science and slimming - controlled trials by television
  • HealthWatch's Silly Season Shortlist: vitamin C and seaweed tights; aerobic spectacles
  • Candida albicans - the "Yeast Syndrome"

HealthWatch Newsletter 06 — May 1991

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • The Bristol Cancer Care Help Centre: reflections on the controversy
  • Official cancer quackery axed
  • Pharmacists want legal controls for 'natural' remedies
  • Misleading health advertisements
  • Dangers of the toytown pharmacopoeia
  • Alternative medicine pays
  • What could be more respectable than an NHS diploma in biochemistry?
  • The Vegatest
  • Magnesium-OK
  • Derek Jameson and royal jelly

HealthWatch Newsletter 05 — August 1990

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3903; (Online) ISSN 3033-3911

  • Position paper: Confiance and Magnesium-OK
  • Position paper: Registration of homeopathic remedies for sale in UK
  • Who needs vitamin and mineral supplements?
  • The chiropractic debate
  • Which? Way to Health slates a premenstrual tension supplement

Campaign Against Health Fraud Newsletter 04 — April 1990

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3881; (Online) ISSN 3033-389X

  • Should we change our name?
  • The Foresight Saga - hair analysis and preconceptual care
  • Letter: Should we support the British Chiropractic Association?
  • Folklore arthritis remedies
  • Anti-vaccination propaganda - What the papers don't say
  • Legal news: Theology and homeopathy
  • Diet and cancer
  • Complaint from ME Action Campaign?

Campaign Against Health Fraud Newsletter 03 — Spring 1990

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3881; (Online) ISSN 3033-389X

  • The Campaign bashers
  • 'Body building' health foods - a challenge
  • Germanium still a cause for concern
  • Bogus doctors
  • What doctors don't tell you
  • Desensitization injections for hay fever
  • Gerson therapy and coffee enemas
  • An apology to Duncan Campbell
  • Book review: Follies and Fallacies in Medicine
  • Book review: Non-specific Aspects of Treatment
  • Book review: The Whole Truth - the Myth of Alternative Healing

Campaign Against Health Fraud Newsletter 02 — Autumn 1989

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3881; (Online) ISSN 3033-389X

  • The need for action on nutritional claims
  • Delta T health fraud
  • Campbell demands apology for 'facile offence'
  • Campaign launches to wide media coverage
  • Book review: The house journal for doc-bashers
  • Book review: Hypochondria - woeful imaginings
  • Cancer: the legacy of quackery by Michael Baum

Campaign Against Health Fraud Newsletter 01 — (undated)

(Print)  ISSN 3033-3881; (Online) ISSN 3033-389X

  • Why a campaign against health fraud?
  • The aims of the Campaign
  • CAHF Archivist
  • Monitoring the promotion of health claims
  • What the I papers don't say
  • Do newer hayfever drugs cause KO?

  • Why promotion of Pill supplement should be more tightly regulated
  • Why herb could be a natural danger
  • Asking the questions that hang over holism
  • Cogent and succlnct guide
  • Pick up this nutritional Penguin