Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that treats patients with drug or herbal preparations that are so diluted that the final solution may not contain detectable amounts of the drugs or herbs.  In fact, homeopathic remedies may be so diluted that they are just water.  Clearly, any benefit obtained from such medicines would likely be due to the placebo effect, which is the belief by the patient that he or she will get better.  This belief sometimes has a therapeutic effect.  Homeopathic remedies may be just water, but they can cause harm by preventing a sick person from seeking competent medical advice and being cured by verified conventional treatments.

Homeopathic remedies are a big business.  The market for homeopathic medicines is estimated to be 300 million euros in France, 200 million euros in Germany, over 26 billion Rupees in India, and $200 million Dollars in the United States.

Homeopathic products do not need to be tested for safety or effectiveness, but they must be labeled with a list of ingredients and the conditions for which they are used.  A 1938 law allows drugs listed in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States to be sold without the validation that governs standard medications.  In essence, homeopathic products are manufactured and distributed without FDA approval.

Some homeopathic products may actually contain harmful substances.  In June 16, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using and discard three zinc-containing Zicam intranasal products because the products may cause a permanent loss of sense of smell.[1]  The manufacturer of Zicam, Matrixx Initiatives, agreed to pay $12 million dollars in 2006 to settle 340 law suits by consumers who claimed that Zicam had ruined or destroyed their sense of smell.  FDA Inspectors are also investigating other homeopathic products that have caused allergic reactions from impurities introduced during manufacturing.

Just because a product is popular or heavily marketed, it does not mean that it is safe and effective.  Claims for herbal medicines are a big gray area.  There are many herbal medicines whose ingredients have been proven effective.  The antibacterial properties of garlic and the pain relief from chewing leaves of willow, which contain aspirin, have been known for thousands of years.  However, the claims made for many herbal medicines are not likely to be confirmed through research by pharmaceutical companies because there are no profits to be made from natural products that cannot be patented.  A successful economic model for new drugs requires identifying the active compounds in a natural product and then creating synthetic analogues that can be patented.

[1] FDA Warnings on Three Zicam Intranasal Zinc Products [link]

You probably received an e-mail asking for your help to transfer several million dollars on behalf of the daughter of an important Nigerian head of state.  This is a social engineering scam that takes advantage of your gullibility and greed.

Another message in your mail box probably says that your on-line bank account has been canceled and that you need to verify the account data to restore access.  This type of scam is called “phishing” and it is generally linked to a fake or “spoof” web site designed to steal your account information.  If you fall for the scam, you will become a victim of identity theft and your compromised bank account will be drained.

The majority of spam e-mail in your inbox is most likely about how to get drugs without prescription.  The drugs can be sedatives, diet pills, or medications like Viagra for improved sexual performance.  Here is a small sample of typical junk mail.  Many of the spam e-mails are purposely misspelled to try to avoid spam filters and guarantee that they land in your mailbox.

Woodrow Hanson, Need any of the 3?..ViagraXanax vicodin valium?, 4:01 AM 3KB
Elba Sheridan, Ambien, Soma, Phentermin, and more without a prescription!, 3:58 AM 2KB
Mildred Thorpe, tips that are good for bed, 3:50 AM 2KB
Leroy Rutherford, We have great anti anxiety medications!!, 3:42 AM 3KB
Maria Cunningham, Much bigger, than you used to have it!, 3:35 AM 2KB
Adela Britton, Get all the medications you want online!, 3:15 AM 3KB
Dee Amos, prosolution pill, 3:13 AM 2KB
Joan Carson, good news for the bed, Tue, 7/21/09 3KB
Raymond Rollins, Get Vicodin Online - NoPRESCRIPTION Needed!, Tue, 7/21/09 3KB
Young Spears, Buy Hydrocodone Online from a US Pharmacy, Tue, 7/21/09 3KB
Leigh Trent, Acai Diet, lose weight without impossible diets, Tue, 7/21/09 4KB
Harriett Park, ORder ALL YOUR favorite meds online NO_PRES needed!, Tue, 7/21/09 2KB
Rich A. Robison, great web offer, Tue, 7/21/09 3KB

What is likely to happen if you respond to one of these messages?  One possibility is that you will get bilked.  You send your money to buy some drugs and you never see the drugs or your money.  To whom are you going to complain?  Will you complain to the police or some government agency that you did not get your illegal drugs?  Not very likely.  Another possibility is that your e-mail address is harvested by mass marketers to send you some more spam e-mail.   A third possibility is that the drugs that you get are fake and not what you expected.  The best thing to do is just to delete the junk mail.

The United States is the largest market for illegal drugs in the world.  America’s great hunger for drugs is what keeps the Mexican and Columbian drug cartels in business.  Many of the contacts for the distribution of illegal drugs start through the Internet using spam e-mail.

Learn about Drug Addiction

Today, President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.  The new legislation will put cigarettes under the control of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and will allow regulation of the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products.  The bill is expected to make it harder for minors to start smoking.

Before signing the bill at a White House ceremony, Obama said:

Almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday.  I know — I was one of these teenagers, and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.

President Obama has unsuccessfully fought against tobacco addiction.  His wife Michelle has asked him repeatedly to quit, but he has not been able to do it completely.  Obama has tried to quit smoking by chewing Nicorette Gum which contains nicotine.

Although nicotine is highly addictive, there are many social situations and daily rituals that establish Pavlovian reflexes and strengthen the urge to smoke.  Put a cup of coffee in front of a smoker, and immediately they reach for their cigarettes.  The nicotine addiction can be eliminated by gradually decreasing the daily dose, but the psychological factors that make it hard to quit require a radical restructuring of the smoker’s social life.

Learn about the psychological reasons for smoking

The Washington Post reported that more than 80 percent of the male smallmouth bass in the Potomac River are growing eggs, and after six years of searching, scientists still have not found the pollutants that are causing the abnormality.  The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which provides water to over 5 million people in the Washington metropolitan area says that the drinking water is clean, but the WSSC report for 2008 shows detectable levels of Dalapon (less than 1 microgram per liter), and Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (less than 2 micrograms per liter).[1]

Dalapon is a herbicide used to control grasses in a wide variety of crops.   Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is a commonly used plasticizer in the manufacture of articles made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  DEHP is also used as a hydraulic fluid and as a dielectric fluid in capacitors.

Many organic chemicals mimic the effects of sex-hormones.  DEHP metabolites in the blood of pregnant women have been significantly associated with decreased penis size, shorter anogenital distance, and the incomplete descent of testes in newborn boys.[2]

[1] WSSC Tap Water Analysis – 2008, Potomac Water Filtration Plant

[2] Pelley, Janet (November 2008). “Plasticizer may make boys less masculine“. Environ Sci Technol.

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) has admitted that he took performance-enhancing drugs supplied by his cousin.  For  many years, Rodriguez denied using performance-enhancing drugs, but Sports Illustrated reported that he was on a list of 104 players who tested positive during baseball’s 2003 survey.   The New York Yankees star said that he was young and naive when he tested positive in 2003 for Primobolan and testosterone.  At least A-Rod has come clean.  There are many other professional sportsmen who continue to deny that they used drugs even when there is physical evidence that they did.

In today’s world, it is possible to be taking steroids and not realize it.  Many steroidal drugs are sold over the counter without the need of a prescription.  Some drugs such as DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) are sold as “dietary supplements” that may slow aging, although there is no scientific evidence that they do.  DHEA is produced naturally by the adrenal glands and its production decreases with age.  DHEA is metabolized to steroids like androstenediol and androstendione, which can undergo further conversion to produce testosterone and the estrogens estrone and estradiol.

If you watch some late night TV shows, you are bombarded by commercials for male enhancement supplements which include prescription medicines like Viagra or Cialis which are non-steroidal drugs.  There are also many commercials for ExtenZe that can be obtained without a prescription by mail and is promoted as an herbal pill that may increase penis size by 1 to 3 inches in just a few short weeks.  What the commercials do not tell you is that, in addition to some herbs, ExtenZe contains DHEA and Pregnenolone (3B-hydroxypregn-5-en-10-one) both of which are steroidal drugs.

If you consume any pharmaceutical products, nutrition supplements, bodybuilding supplements, or diet aids, you could be taking some steroids without knowing it.