Quackwatch#Site reviews

{{Short description|American alternative medicine watchdog website}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Quackwatch

| logo = QuackWatch logo.png

| logo_size = 100px

| formation = 1969

| founder = Stephen Barrett

| type = Health fraud watchdog

| purpose = Combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct

| headquarters = United States

| language = English, French, Portuguese

| website = [https://quackwatch.org quackwatch.org]

| affiliations = National Council Against Health Fraud

| former_name = Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud

| dissolved = 2008 (as corporation); reorganized 2020 under Center for Inquiry

| parent_organization = Center for Inquiry

}}

Quackwatch is a United States-based website focused on promoting consumer protection and providing information about health related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. It primarily targets alternative medicine, questionable health claims, and practices it considers pseudoscience. It was founded in 1996 by Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist and former co-chair of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Initially operated under the nonprofit Quackwatch, Inc., it became part of the Center for Inquiry (CFI) in 2020. Its content is now maintained by CFI's Office of Consumer Protection and Pseudoscience.

Quackwatch has been cited by, and received both praise and criticism from, mainstream media, academic journals, and professional organizations. Supporters describe it as a resource for evidence-based health information, while critics, particularly proponents of alternative medicine, have challenged its tone and objectivity. The site includes articles, position papers, and links to regulatory actions, and it has been involved in broader efforts to monitor and report health fraud through affiliated networks such as the National Council Against Health Fraud and The Skeptics Society.

File:Quackwatch files at Center for Inquiry.jpg]]

History

Barrett founded the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud (LVCAHF) in 1969, and it was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1970. In 1996, the corporation began the website quackwatch.org, and the organization itself was renamed Quackwatch, Inc. in 1997.{{cite news |last=Baldwin |first=FD |date=July 19, 2004 |title=If It Quacks Like a Duck.{{nbsp}}...|url=http://www.medhunters.com/articles/ifItQuacksLikeADuck.html |publisher=MedHunters |access-date=February 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206060833/http://www.medhunters.com/articles/ifItQuacksLikeADuck.html |archive-date=February 6, 2008 |url-status=dead}} The Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation was dissolved after Barrett moved to North Carolina in 2008,{{cite web |last=Barrett |first=SJ |date=April 18, 2016 |title=Who Funds Quackwatch? |url=https://quackwatch.org/about/funding/ |publisher=Quackwatch |access-date=January 13, 2017}} but the network's activities continue.{{cite web |last=Barret |first=SJ |date=December 21, 2016 |title=Stephen Barrett, M.D., Biographical Sketch |url=http://www.quackwatch.com/10Bio/bio.html |publisher=Quackwatch |access-date=January 13, 2017}}{{cite web |last=Barret |first=SJ |date=May 2, 2007 |title=Quackwatch Mission Statement |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mission.html |publisher=Quackwatch |access-date=January 13, 2017}} Quackwatch co-founded, and was closely affiliated with, the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF).{{cite web|url=http://www.ncahf.org/about/history.html|title=NCAHF's History|access-date=October 29, 2007}}{{cite web |last=Barret |first=SJ |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/ |title=Quackwatch.org main page |publisher=Quackwatch |access-date=February 12, 2007 }}{{cite book|author-first1=Arabella|author-last1=Dymoke|title=The Good Web Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCipdQBDUucC&pg=PA35|access-date=September 4, 2013|year=2004|publisher=The Good Web Guide Ltd|isbn=978-1-903282-46-5|page=35|quote=Quackwatch is without doubt an important and useful information resource and injects a healthy dose of scepticism into reviewing popular health information. Its aim is to investigate questionable claims made in some sectors of what is now a multi-million pound healthcare industry.}}{{cite web |last=Politzer |first=Malia |date=September 14, 2007 |title=Eastern Medicine Goes West |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118971914846626834?mod=googlenews_wsj |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=September 14, 2007}} The NCAHF was formally dissolved in 2011.

In February 2020, Quackwatch became part of the Center for Inquiry. CFI planned to maintain its various websites and to receive Barrett's library later in the year.{{cite web |last1=Fidalgo |first1=Paul |title=Quackwatch Joins the Center for Inquiry |url=https://centerforinquiry.org/press_releases/quackwatch-joins-the-center-for-inquiry/ |website=Center for Inquiry |access-date=26 February 2020|date=February 26, 2020 }}

Mission and scope

Quackwatch is overseen by Barrett, its owner, with input from advisors and help from volunteers, including a number of medical professionals.{{cite web |last=Rosen |first=M. |date=October 1998 |title=Biography Magazine Interviews: Stephen Barrett, M.D. |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/biography.html |access-date=January 13, 2017 |publisher=Quackwatch}} Original published in Biography Magazine. In 2003, 150 scientific and technical advisors: 67 medical advisors, 12 dental advisors, 13 mental health advisors, 16 nutrition and food science advisors, three podiatry advisors, eight veterinary advisors, and 33 other "scientific and technical advisors" were listed by Quackwatch.{{cite web|last=Barrett |first=SJ |date=January 28, 2003 |title=Scientific and technical advisors |url=http://quackwatch.org/09Advisors/advbd.html |publisher=Quackwatch |access-date=January 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030416193827/http://quackwatch.org/09Advisors/advbd.html |archive-date=April 16, 2003 }} Many more have since volunteered, but advisor names are no longer listed.{{cite web |last=Barrett |first=SJ |date=March 20, 2011 |title=How to Become a Quackwatch Advisor |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/09Advisors/advbd.html |publisher=Quackwatch |access-date=January 13, 2017}}

Quackwatch describes its mission as follows:

...{{nbsp}}investigating questionable claims, answering inquiries about products and services, advising quackery victims, distributing reliable publications, debunking pseudoscientific claims, reporting illegal marketing, improving the quality of health information on the internet, assisting or generating consumer-protection lawsuits, and attacking misleading advertising on the internet.

Quackwatch has no salaried employees, and the total cost of operating all Quackwatch's sites is approximately $7,000 per year. It is funded mainly by small individual donations, commissions from sales on other sites to which they refer, profits from the sale of publications, and self-funding by Barrett. The stated income is also derived from the usage of sponsored links.

Site content

The Quackwatch website contains essays and white papers, written by Barrett and other writers, intended for the non-specialist consumer. The articles discuss health-related products, treatments, enterprises, and providers that Quackwatch deems to be misleading, fraudulent, or ineffective. Also included are links to article sources and both internal and external resources for further study.

The site is developed with the assistance from volunteers and expert advisors.{{cite news|title=Let's check in with the skeptics! (They're way more fun than the credulous)|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/02/lets-check-in-with-the-skeptics-theyre-way-more-fun-than-the-credulous-.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=February 5, 2010}} Many of its articles cite peer-reviewed research and are footnoted with several links to references.{{cite web|title=Quackwatch|url=http://www.factchecked.org/Sfts_PolicyWonksDetails.aspx?myId=8|work=FactCheckED.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070921193725/http://www.factchecked.org/Sfts_PolicyWonksDetails.aspx?myId=8|archive-date=September 21, 2007}} A review in Running & FitNews stated the site "also provides links to hundreds of trusted health sites."{{cite news|title=Cutting through the haze of health marketing claims|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/27449056/cutting-through-haze-health-marketing-claims|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414232045/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/27449056/cutting-through-haze-health-marketing-claims|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-04-14|work=Thomson Gale|publisher=Running & FitNews|date=September–October 2007|access-date=February 1, 2008}}

= Related and subsidiary sites =

Naturowatch is a subsidiary site of Quackwatch{{cite journal |title=Bacteria, ulcers, and ostracism? H. pylori and the making of a myth |first=Kimball C. |last=Atwood IV |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=28 |issue=6 |page=27 |year=2004|url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/bacteria_ulcers_and_ostracism_h._pylori_and_the_making_of_a_myth}} which aims to provide information about naturopathy that is "difficult or impossible to find elsewhere".{{cite web |url=http://www.naturowatch.org/ |title=Naturowatch^SM |access-date=April 28, 2017}} The site is operated by Barrett and Kimball C. Atwood IV, an anesthesiologist by profession, who has become a vocal critic of alternative medicine.{{cite journal |title=Alternative medicine trial suspends recruitment |first=Mark |last=Parascandola |journal=Research Practitioner |volume=9 |issue=6 |page=193 |year=2008|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266795147}}

The site is available in French[http://www.sceptiques.qc.ca/quackwatch/ Quackwatch en Français] and formerly in German[https://web.archive.org/web/20020124192258/http://neuropsychiater.org/quackw.htm Quackwatch auf Deutsch] (archived) and Portuguese,[https://web.archive.org/web/20100127015251/http://quackwatch.haaan.com/index.html Quackwatch em Português] as well as via several mirrors.

Influence

Sources that mention Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch as a useful source for consumer information include website reviews,{{cite magazine |last=Jaroff |first=L |date=April 22, 2001 |title=The Man Who Loves To Bust Quacks |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101010430-107254,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406044958/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101010430-107254,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 6, 2005 |magazine=Time |access-date=August 16, 2007}}{{cite news|first=Bao-Anh |last=Nguyen-Khoa |title=Selected Web Site Reviews — Quackwatch.com |url=http://www.ascp.com/publications/tcp/1999/jul/access.shtml |publisher=The Consultant Pharmacist |date=July 1999 |access-date=June 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318041703/http://www.ascp.com/publications/tcp/1999/jul/access.shtml |archive-date=March 18, 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/new.html|title=Recent Additions to Quackwatch|access-date=April 4, 2019}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/review.jhtml?id=865 |magazine=Forbes |title=Best of the Web website reviews: Quackwatch. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114071544/http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/review.jhtml?id=865 |archive-date=January 14, 2008 }}{{cite news|title=Diet Channel Award Review Of Quackwatch|url=http://www.thedietchannel.com/Quackwatch-Review.htm|access-date=September 18, 2007|quote=Quackwatch is a very informative site which informs you about health fraud and gives you advice on many decisions.}}{{cite news|title=U.S. News & World Report: The Best of The Web Gets Better |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/991115/archive_002597_7.htm |work=US News |date=November 7, 1999 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524122033/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/991115/archive_002597_7.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2006 }} government agencies, and various journals{{Cite journal |pmc = 1803699|year = 2006|last1 = Pray|first1 = W. S.|title = Ethical, Scientific, and Educational Concerns with Unproven Medications|journal = American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education|volume = 70|issue = 6|pages = 141|pmid = 17332867|doi = 10.5688/aj7006141}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0273475303257763|title=If it Walks Like a Duck{{nbsp}}...: Concerns about Quackery in Marketing Education|journal=Journal of Marketing Education|volume=26|pages=4–16|year=2004|last1=Chonko|first1=Lawrence B.|s2cid=167338734|id={{ERIC|EJ807197}}}}{{Cite journal |pmid = 16336135|year = 2005|last1 = Sampson|first1 = Wallace|title = Propagation of the absurd: Demarcation of the absurd revisited|journal = The Medical Journal of Australia|volume = 183|issue = 11–12|pages = 580–1|last2 = Atwood IV|first2 = Kimball|doi = 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb00040.x|s2cid = 43272637}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0002-8223(01)00117-1|title=Internet hoaxes: How to spot them and how to debunk them|journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association|volume=101|issue=4|pages=460|year=2001|last1=Cunningham|first1=Eleese|last2=Marcason|first2=Wendy}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1001/jama.280.15.1380|pmid=9794323|title=Click here: How to find reliable online health information and resources|journal=JAMA|volume=280|issue=15|pages=1380|year=1998}} including The Lancet.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)78918-2|title = Medical quackery squashers on the web|journal = The Lancet|volume = 351|issue = 9114|pages = 1520|year = 1998|last1 = Larkin|first1 = Marilynn|s2cid = 54300255}}

= Mention in media, books, and journals =

Quackwatch has been mentioned in the media, books and various journals, as well as receiving several awards and honors.{{cite web|title=Awards Received by Quackwatch|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/Awards/awards.html |work=Quackwatch|date=November 7, 2005 }} The Journal of the American Medical Association mentioned Quackwatch as one of nine "select sites that provide reliable health information and resources" in 1998. It was also listed as one of three medical sites in U.S. News & World Report's "Best of the Web" in 1999. Thomas R. Eng, director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health, stated in 1999 that while "the government doesn't endorse Web sites{{nbsp}}...[Quackwatch] is the only site I know of right now looking at issues of fraud and health on the Internet."{{cite news|first=Donna|last=Ladd|title=Dr. Who? Diagnosing Medical Fraud May Require a Second Opinion|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/doctor-who-6421391|work=The Village Voice|date=June 22, 1999|access-date=August 5, 2017}}

Sources that mention quackwatch.org as a resource for consumer information include the United States Department of Agriculture, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Skeptic's Dictionary, the Diet Channel, and articles published in The Lancet, the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, the Journal of Marketing Education, the Medical Journal of Australia, and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.Sources that mention quackwatch.org as a resource for consumer information:

{{cite web|url=https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/fraud-and-nutrition-misinformation|title=Fraud and Nutrition Misinformation |work=Food and Nutrition Information Center|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=March 31, 2019}}
{{cite journal |pmc = 1803699|year = 2006|last1 = Pray|first1 = W. S.|title = Ethical, Scientific, and Educational Concerns with Unproven Medications|journal = American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education|volume = 70|issue = 6|pages = 141|pmid = 17332867|doi = 10.5688/aj7006141}} Quackwatch and Skeptical Inquirer are suggested resources for a pharmacy course on unproven medications and therapies.
{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)78918-2|title=Medical quackery squashers on the web|journal=The Lancet|volume=351|issue=9114|pages=1520|year=1998|last1=Larkin|first1=Marilynn|s2cid=54300255}}. Names Quackwatch as the premier site for exposing purveyors of health frauds, myths, and fads.
{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0273475303257763|title=If it Walks Like a Duck{{nbsp}}...: Concerns about Quackery in Marketing Education|journal=Journal of Marketing Education|volume=26|pages=4–16|year=2004|last1=Chonko|first1=Lawrence B.|s2cid=167338734}} Chonko states "Many of the thoughts on which this article is based are adapted from materials found on this site." (referring to Quackwatch)
{{cite journal |pmid = 16336135|year = 2005|last1 = Sampson|first1 = W.|title = Propagation of the absurd: Demarcation of the absurd revisited|journal = The Medical Journal of Australia|volume = 183|issue = 11–12|pages = 580–1|last2 = Atwood IV|first2 = Kimball|author-link2=Kimball Atwood|doi = 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb00040.x|s2cid = 43272637}}. Sampson says that "CAM source information tends to exclude well known critical and objective web pages such as those found on Quackwatch (www.quackwatch.org)."
{{cite journal |doi = 10.1016/S0002-8223(01)00117-1|title = Internet Hoaxes|journal = Journal of the American Dietetic Association|volume = 101|issue = 4|pages = 460|year = 2001|last1 = Cunningham|first1 = Eleese|last2 = Marcason|first2 = Wendy}}
U.S. National Institutes of Health: [http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/quackery.htm Health Quackery: Spotting Health Scams] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831003638/http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/quackery.htm |date=August 31, 2009 }} – U.S. National Institutes of Health
{{cite web|title=Nursing on the Net Web Sampler: Health News, Health Fraud & Continuing Education|url=https://nnlm.gov/psr/guides/nursing-sampler/news-fraud-ce|website=National Network of Libraries of Medicine: Pacific Southwest Region|access-date=April 18, 2019}}
{{cite web|first=Robert Todd|last=Carroll|title="alternative" health practice|url=http://skepdic.com/althelth.html|work=Skeptic's Dictionary|date=January 29, 2008|access-date=February 2, 2008}}
Diet Channel: {{cite news|title=Diet Channel Award Review Of Quackwatch|url=http://www.thedietchannel.com/Quackwatch-Review.htm|publisher=Diet Channel|access-date=September 18, 2007|quote=Quackwatch is a very informative site which informs you about health fraud and gives you advice on many decisions.}} In addition, several nutrition associations link to Quackwatch.{{cite news|title=Links|url=https://gnyda.org/Links|publisher=Greater New York Dietetic Association|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421143950/https://gnyda.org/Links|url-status=dead}}
•{{cite news|title=Professional Resources — Health Quackery|url=https://www.dce.org/public-resources/health-quackery|work=American Dietetic Association|publisher=Diabetes Care and Education|year=2007|access-date=April 21, 2019}} An article in PC World listed it as one of three websites for finding the truth about Internet rumors.Robert Luhn, "[http://www.pcworld.com/article/111109-3/best_free_stuff_on_the_web.html Best Free Stuff on the Web] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918065108/http://www.pcworld.com/article/111109/article.html |date=September 18, 2012 }}," PC World June 30, 2003 A Washington Post review of alternative medicine websites noted that "skeptics may find Quackwatch offers better truth-squadding than the Food and Drug Administration or the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine."Leslie Walker. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/tech/marchpullout/032699wwwmedicine.htm Alternative Medicine Sites.] Washington Post, March 26, 1999

The books Low-Carb Dieting for Dummies (2003),{{cite book |author=Katherine B. Chauncey |pages=292 |title=Low-Carb Dieting For Dummies |publisher=For Dummies |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7645-2566-7}} The Arthritis Helpbook (2006),{{cite book |author1=Kate Lorig |author2=James Fries |pages=[https://archive.org/details/arthritishelpboo00rnka/page/335 335] |title=The Arthritis Helpbook |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7382-1070-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/arthritishelpboo00rnka/page/335 }} The Rough Guide to the Internet (2007),{{cite book |author1=Peter Buckley |author2=Duncan Clark |chapter=Thing to do online |pages=273 |title=The Rough Guide To The Internet |edition=13th |publisher=Rough Guides |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84353-839-4}} Navigating the Medical Maze: A Practical Guide (2008),{{cite book |author=Steven L. Brown |chapter=How Can I Tell If The Evidence Is Any Good? |pages=[https://archive.org/details/navigatingmedica00brow/page/191 191] |title=Navigating the Medical Maze: A Practical Guide |edition=2nd |publisher=Brazos Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58743-207-1 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/navigatingmedica00brow/page/191 }} Chronic Pain for Dummies (2008),{{cite book |chapter=Ten or So Web Sources for People with Chronic Pain |pages=327 |title=Chronic Pain For Dummies |publisher=For Dummies |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-471-75140-3}} and The 2009 Internet Directory (2008){{cite book |author1=Vince Averello |author2=Mikal E. Belicove |author3=Nancy Conner |author4=Adrienne Crew |author5=Sherry Kinkoph Gunter |author6=Faithe Wempen |pages=[https://archive.org/details/2009internetdire0000unse/page/236 236] |title=The 2009 Internet Directory: Web 2.0 Edition |edition=1st |publisher=Que |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7897-3816-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/2009internetdire0000unse/page/236}} mention or use content from Quackwatch.

= Citations by journalists =

Quackwatch and Barrett have also been cited by journalists in reports on therapeutic touch,{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} Vitamin O, Almon Glenn Braswell's baldness treatments, Robert Barefoot's coral calcium claims, William C. Rader's "stem cell" therapy, noni juice, shark cartilage and saturated fat.Journalist mentions of Quackwatch criticisms of:

Almon Glenn Braswell: Associated Press (September 13, 2004). [http://www.nbc4.tv/news/3725785/detail.html Man Once Pardoned By Clinton Again Faces Prison.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201032145/http://www.nbc4.tv/news/3725785/detail.html |date=December 1, 2005 }}
Robert Barefoot's coral calcium claims: Leon Jaroff, (March 14, 2003), [http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,433084,00.html Coral Calcium: A Barefoot Scam], Time magazine
William C. Rader's "stem cell" therapy: Brian Vastag (September 2, 2008), [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082902517_pf.html Injections of Hope: Doctors Promote Offshore Stem Cell Shots, but Some Patients Cry Foul] Washington Post
Noni juice: {{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/03/02/hscout531309.html|title=Noni Juice Might Lower Smokers' Cholesterol|magazine=Forbes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322074356/https://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/03/02/hscout531309.html|archive-date=March 22, 2007}}
Shark cartilage: Leon Jaroff, (September 29, 2004), [http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,703185,00.html Medical Sharks], Time magazine
Saturated fat: {{cite news |last1=Hamblin |first1=James |title=A Heart Surgeon's Viral Confession |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/a-heart-surgeons-viral-confession/283413/ |access-date=April 28, 2019 |work=The Atlantic |date=January 28, 2014 }}

= Recommendations and endorsements =

The American Cancer Society lists Quackwatch as one of ten reputable sources of information about alternative and complementary therapies in their book Cancer Medicine.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/cancermedicine60002unse/page/|isbn=978-1-55009-213-4|year=2003|encyclopedia=Holland – Frei Cancer Medicine|edition=6|at=[https://archive.org/details/cancermedicine60002unse/page/ Table 76-4, Reputable Sources of Information about Alternative and Complementary Therapies]|publisher=American Cancer Society|editor1-first=Donald W|editor1-last=Kufe|editor2-first=Raphael E|editor-last2=Pollock|editor-first3=Ralph R|editor-last3=Weichselbaum|editor-first4=Robert C|editor-last4=Bast Jr.|editor-first5=Ted S|editor-last5=Gansler|editor-first6=James F|editor-last6=Holland|editor-first7=Emil|editor-last7=Frei III|first1=Barrie R.|last1=Cassileth|first2=Andrew|last2=Vickers|title=Chapter 76. Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies}} In a long series of articles on various alternative medicine methods, it uses Quackwatch as a reference and includes criticisms of the methods. A list of articles on many forms of alternative medicine on the American Cancer Society website that use Quackwatch as a source. [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Oxygen_Therapy.asp?sitearea=ETO&viewmode=print Oxygen Therapy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030825205753/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/content/eto_5_3x_oxygen_therapy.asp?sitearea=ETO&viewmode=print |date=August 25, 2003 }}, {{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Metabolic_Therapy.asp |title=Metabolic Therapy |access-date=July 26, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628015912/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Metabolic_Therapy.asp |archive-date=June 28, 2010 }} Metabolic Therapy, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Kirlian_Photography.asp Kirlian Photography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122103514/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Kirlian_Photography.asp |date=January 22, 2010 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Crystals.asp Crystals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627204410/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Crystals.asp |date=June 27, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Psychic_Surgery.asp Psychic Surgery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123194128/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Psychic_Surgery.asp |date=January 23, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Folic_Acid.asp?sitearea=ETO&viewmode=print& Folic Acid] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415193137/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Folic_Acid.asp?sitearea=ETO&viewmode=print& |date=April 15, 2009 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Craniosacral_Therapy.asp Craniosacral Therapy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202210402/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Craniosacral_Therapy.asp |date=February 2, 2010 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Transcutaneous_Electrical_Nerve_Stimulation.asp Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628014310/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Transcutaneous_Electrical_Nerve_Stimulation.asp |date=June 28, 2010 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Neuro-Linguistic_Programming.asp?sitearea=ETO Neuro-Linguistic Programming] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409115545/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Neuro-Linguistic_Programming.asp?sitearea=ETO |date=April 9, 2010 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Questionable_Practices_In_Tijuana.asp Questionable Practices In Tijuana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627111208/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Questionable_Practices_In_Tijuana.asp |date=June 27, 2010 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MIT/content/MIT_2_3X_Breathwork.asp Breathwork] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205032040/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MIT/content/MIT_2_3X_Breathwork.asp |date=December 5, 2006 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Moxibustion.asp Moxibustion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628014157/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Moxibustion.asp |date=June 28, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Faith_Healing.asp Faith Healing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212221706/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Faith_Healing.asp |date=February 12, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Cancer_Salves.asp?sitearea=ETO Cancer Salves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628020717/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Cancer_Salves.asp?sitearea=ETO |date=June 28, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Qigong.asp Qigong] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626010408/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Qigong.asp |date=June 26, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Osteopathy.asp?sitearea=ETO&viewmode=print Osteopathy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030806004535/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Osteopathy.asp?sitearea=ETO&viewmode=print |date=August 6, 2003 }}, [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Imagery.asp Imagery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425070930/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Imagery.asp |date=April 25, 2010 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MIT/content/MIT_2_3X_Qigong.asp Qigong] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528100333/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MIT/content/MIT_2_3X_Qigong.asp |date=May 28, 2008 }},

[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Magnetic_Therapy.asp?sitearea=ETO Magnetic Therapy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627204312/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Magnetic_Therapy.asp?sitearea=ETO |date=June 27, 2010 }}.

The Health On the Net Foundation, which confers the HONcode "Code of Conduct" certification to reliable sources of health information in cyberspace, recommends Quackwatch.[http://www.hon.ch/MediaCorner/FAQs_HONcode.html#HONcode8 Can you give some examples of charlatans and fraud on the health Internet?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910032450/http://www.hon.ch/MediaCorner/FAQs_HONcode.html#HONcode8 |date=September 10, 2015 }} Health On the Net Foundation It also advises Internet users to alert Quackwatch when they encounter "possibly or blatantly fraudulent" healthcare websites.[http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/audience_t.html How to be a vigilant user.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513092504/http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/audience_t.html |date=May 13, 2014 }} Health On the Net Foundation

In a 2007 feasibility study on a method for identifying web pages that make unproven claims, the authors wrote:

{{quote|Our gold standard relied on selected unproven cancer treatments identified by experts at http://www.quackwatch.org{{nbsp}}... By using unproven treatments identified by an oversight organization, we capitalized on an existing high quality review.{{cite journal|pmid=17911859|url=http://www.hon.ch/medinf07_fichiers/Doc/Aphinyanaphongs_2007a.pdf|year=2007|last1=Aphinyanaphongs|first1=Y.|title=Text categorization models for identifying unproven cancer treatments on the web|journal=Studies in Health Technology and Informatics|volume=129|issue=Pt 2|pages=968–72|last2=Aliferis|first2=C.|access-date=March 28, 2009|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031234/http://www.hon.ch/medinf07_fichiers/Doc/Aphinyanaphongs_2007a.pdf|url-status=dead}}}}

Site reviews

Writing in the trade-journal The Consultant Pharmacist in 1999, pharmacist Bao-Anh Nguyen-Khoa characterized Quackwatch as "relevant for both consumers and professionals" and containing articles that would be of interest to pharmacists, but that a peer review process would improve the site's legitimacy. Nguyen-Khoa said the presence of so many articles written by Barrett gave an impression of lack of balance but that the site was taking steps to correct this by recruiting expert contributors. He also noted that

Barrett often inserts his strong opinions directly into sections of an article already well supported by the literature. Although entertaining, this direct commentary may be viewed by some as less than professional medical writing and may be better reserved for its own section.

Donna Ladd, a journalist with The Village Voice, in 1999 described Barrett as "a full-time journalist and book author", "never a medical researcher", and one who "depends heavily on negative research ... in which alternative therapies do not work" but "says that most case studies that show positive results of alternative therapies are unreliable". She quoted Barrett as saying that "a lot of things don't need to be tested [because] they simply don't make any sense".

Writing in The Lancet, Mona Okasha wrote that Quackwatch provides an "entertaining read", but described it as only appropriate for limited use as it fails to provide a balanced view of alternative cancer treatments.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1016/S1470-2045(00)00162-5|title = Quackery on the web – questionable cancer therapies|year = 2000|last1 = Okasha|first1 = Mona|journal = The Lancet Oncology|volume = 1|issue = 4|pages = 251}} Jane Cuzzell viewed Quackwatch similarly, arguing that it was entertaining but that the "resource value of this site depends on what the visitor is seeking" and had concerns about the appearance of bias in the selection of the material.Cuzzell, Jane. (2000). "[https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A62140088/AONE?u=unisa&sid=AONE&xid=0350297 Quackwatch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions]", Dermatology Nursing, Apr. 2000, p. 134. Accessed 6 November 2019. However, while Lillian Brazin also found it to be biased, she described Quackwatch as credible, and noted both the credentials of the contributors and the thoroughness of the content.{{cite journal | last1 = Brazin | first1 = Lillian R | year = 2007 | title = Alternative and Complementary Therapies | journal = Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet | volume = 11 | issue = 2| pages = 91–96 | doi = 10.1300/J381v11n02_08 | s2cid = 216590316 }}

In a 2002 book, Ned Vankevitch, associate professor of communications at Trinity Western University,{{cite web|url=https://twu.ca/academics/faculty/profiles/vankevich-ned.html |title=Ned Vankevitch |work=Trinity Western University |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927044610/http://twu.ca/academics/faculty/profiles/vankevich-ned.html |archive-date=September 27, 2012 |url-status=dead }} places Barrett in a historical tradition of anti-quackery, embracing such figures as Morris Fishbein and Abraham Flexner, which has been part of American medical culture since the early-twentieth century. Although acknowledging that Quackwatch's "exposé of dangerous and fraudulent health products represents an important social and ethical response to deception and exploitation", Vankevitch criticizes Barrett for attempting to limit "medical diversity", employing "denigrating terminology", categorizing all complementary and alternative medicine as a species of medical hucksterism, failing to condemn shortcomings within conventional biomedicine, and for promoting an exclusionary model of medical scientism and health that serves hegemonic interests and does not fully address patient needs.{{cite book|author=Vankevitch, Ned|chapter=Limiting Pluralism|editor=Ernst, Waltraud |title=Plural medicine, tradition and modernity, 1800-2000 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2002 |pages=219–244|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVp71Gp4eE4C|isbn=978-0-415-23122-0}}

Waltraud Ernst, professor of the history of medicine at Oxford Brookes University,{{cite web |url=http://history.brookes.ac.uk/research/degrees/step2/prof.asp?ID=583 |title=Waltraud Ernst |work=Oxford Brookes University |access-date=May 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513070612/http://history.brookes.ac.uk/research/degrees/step2/prof.asp?ID=583 |archive-date=May 13, 2014 |url-status=dead }} commenting on Vankevitch's observations in 2002, agrees that attempts to police the "medical cyber-market with a view to preventing fraudulent and potentially harmful practices may well be justified". She commends "Barrett's concern for unsubstantiated promotion and hype," and says that "Barrett's concern for fraudulent and potentially dangerous medical practices is important," but she sees Barrett's use of "an antiquarian term such as 'quack'" as part of a "dichotomising discourse that aims to discredit the "'old-fashioned', 'traditional', 'folksy' and heterodox by contrasting it with the 'modern', 'scientific' and orthodox." Ernst also interprets Barrett's attempt to "reject and label as 'quackery' each and every approach that is not part of science-based medicine" as one which minimizes the patient's role in the healing process and is inimical to medical pluralism.{{cite book |editor=Ernst, Waltraud|author=Ernst, Waltraud |chapter=Plural medicine, tradition and modernity|title=Plural medicine, tradition and modernity, 1800–2000 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2002 |pages=1–18 |isbn=978-0-415-23122-0|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVp71Gp4eE4C}}

A 2003 website review by Forbes magazine stated:

Dr. Stephen Barrett, a psychiatrist, seeks to expose unproven medical treatments and possible unsafe practices through his homegrown but well-organized site. Mostly attacking alternative medicines, homeopathy and chiropractors, the tone here can be rather harsh. However, the lists of sources of health advice to avoid, including books, specific doctors and organizations, are great for the uninformed. Barrett received an FDA Commissioner's Special Citation Award for fighting nutrition quackery in 1984. BEST: Frequently updated, but also archives of relevant articles that date back at least four years. WORST: Lists some specific doctors and organizations without explaining the reason for their selection.

A 2004 review paper by Katja Schmidt and Edzard Ernst in the Annals of Oncology identified Quackwatch as an outstanding complementary medicine information source for cancer patients.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1093/annonc/mdh174|pmid = 15111340|title = Assessing websites on complementary and alternative medicine for cancer|journal = Annals of Oncology|volume = 15|issue = 5|pages = 733–742|year = 2004|last1 = Schmidt|first1 = Katja|last2=Ernst|first2=Edzard|author-link2=Edzard Ernst|doi-access = free}}{{cite web|author=Helen Pilcher|title=Unreliable websites put patients at risk – Expert in complementary medicine criticizes bogus cancer advice|url=http://www.bioedonline.org/news/news.cfm?art=1200|work=BioEd Online|publisher=Macmillan Publishers Ltd}}

The Good Web Guide said in 2006 that Quackwatch "is without doubt an important and useful information resource and injects a healthy dose of scepticism into reviewing popular health information", but "tends to define what is possible or true only in terms of what science has managed to 'prove' to date".[http://new.thegoodwebguide.co.uk/index.php?rid=1772 The Good Web Guide.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103051137/http://new.thegoodwebguide.co.uk/index.php?rid=1772 |date=November 3, 2007 }} Retrieved on September 14, 2007.

The organization has often been challenged by supporters and practitioners of the various forms of alternative medicine that are criticized on the website.{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2003.tb00081.x|title=Evaluating Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Limits of Science and of Scientists|journal=The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics|volume=31|issue=2|pages=198–212|year=2003|last1=Hufford|first1=David J.|pmid=12964264|s2cid=29859505}}. Hufford's symposium presentation was the counterpoint for another doctor's presentation, which argued that "alternative medicine" is not medicine at all. See {{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2003.tb00080.x|title=The (Alternative) Medicalization of Life|journal=The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics|volume=31|issue=2|pages=191–197|year=2003|last1=Schneiderman|first1=Lawrence J.|pmid=12964263|s2cid=43786245}}