So-called alternative medicine (SCAM*) is largely useless; very few
SCAMs demonstrably generate more good than harm. Yet, SCAM is popular
and has grown into a huge business. Spending on SCAM in Australia (2016)
was estimated to be AUS$3.9bn, in the UK (2008) £4.5bn, and in the US
(2012) US $30.2bn. Why is something that is expensive and useless
nevertheless popular? One answer is that consumers are constantly being
misled about SCAM. Consequently, many of us have come to believe things
that are quite simply not true. Currently, over 50,000,000 websites
promote SCAM, and consumers are being bombarded with information not
just via the internet, but also via newspapers, magazines, books and
many other sources.
This situation has the potential of separating us from our cash or even
of damaging our health. There is little that protects us from greedy
SCAM-entrepreneurs and over-enthusiastic SCAM-therapists. Therefore, we
ought to protect ourselves.
This book offers this protection for anyone who is willing to reconsider
their own beliefs. It discloses the errors and lies that misled you into
believing things about SCAM that are untrue. It analyses the many
falsehoods used in the promotion of SCAM, explains the erroneous
thinking behind them, and presents the scientific evidence in easily
understandable terms. In a way, Ernst's new book amounts to a course in
critical thinking, a skill that should prove to be helpful far beyond
the realm of healthcare.
*Ernst's previous book was entitled SCAM: So-Called Alternative
Medicine.
