Quackery is a term used to describe the unethical practice of promising health-related benefits for which there is little or no basis. Quack is also a term used for an incompetent medical doctor, or any other person who dispenses false medical advice or treatment.
"Health fraud" is often used as a synonym for quackery, but this use can be problematic, since quackery can exist without fraud, a word which always implies deliberate deception. *
The word "quack" derives from "quacksalver," an archaic word originally of Dutch origin (spelled kwakzalver in contemporary Dutch), meaning "boaster who applies a salve."
More on [ Quackery ]
Opposing Views to Alternative Health
Evidence Based Healthcare

Targets Internet Health Fraud - FTC law enforcement and consumer education campaign focuses on stopping the quacks.
American Council of Science and Health - Press releases and articles related to health care fraud and quackery, activists and hype.
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Anti-Quackery Webring - Nearly 100 listings.
Meta Description: [ This ring is for sites that combat & debunk health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies, and are more interested in real, objective, scientific proof, than in the speculative, subjective, and un ]
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Avoiding Quackery - Offers an Online book with tips on how to protect yourself from quackery.
Meta Description: [ How to get the best medical care- A guide for the Intelligent Patient, an online book by Dr. Anirruddha Malpani & Dr. Anjali Malpani which provides a guide for the patient seeking medical information on the internet. ]
Canadian Quackery Watch - Monitors the media for reports of medical frauds and quacks. Includes features on individual quacks, pending lawsuits, scientific rebuttals of 'dubious' claims, and related links.
Meta Description: [ Protect yourself from quacks. Let QuackeryWatch helps you sift through the advertisements, the bad practitioners, and more. ]
Chirobase Practices - Skeptical guide to chiropractic history, theories, and current practices.
Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health - Devoted to the scientific examination of unproven alternative medicine and mental health therapies, which have become increasingly popular in the United States and the world.
Meta Description: [ Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine ]
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Health Quackery - Provides information on how to spot health quackery.
How to Spot Health Fraud - The FDA Backgrounder lists the most common kinds of health fraud. Provides advice on how to spot a quack and where to file a complaint.
Meta Description: [ Marketers of fraudulent health products often fall back on the same gimmicks to sell their products, but consumers can protect themselves from these worthless, sometimes dangerous products by learning some of the sellers' marketing techniques. ]
National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc. - The NCAHF is a USA voluntary health agency that focuses its attention upon health fraud, misinformation and quackery as public health problems.
Quackwatch - Covers unproven and scientifically questionable claims of alternative health therapies, vitamin peddlers, and other health frauds.
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Report of the Council on Scientific Affairs - Subject: Alternative Medicine. Long report which concludes that, There is very little evidence to confirm the safety or efficacy of most alternative therapies.
The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice - Peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to distinguishing scientifically-supported claims from scientifically-unsupported claims in clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, and allied disciplines.
Meta Description: [ Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Journal ]
U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Easy-to-read FDA publication about phony medicines and unproven treatments.
Meta Description: [ The Truth About Choosing Medical Treatments ]
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