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Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe questionable 2007 . The word ''quack'' derives from ''quacksalver'', an archaic word originally of Dutch origin (spelled ''kwakzalver'' in contemporary Dutch), meaning "boaster who applies a Salve ." "Quacksalver" - American Heritage Dictionary THE QUACKSALVER : The peddling of unproven, and sometimes dangerous, medicines, cures or treatments, has existed throughout human history. In medieval times, theatrics were sometimes mixed with actual medicine to provide entertainment as much as healing. Some quack medicines often had little in the way of active ingredients, while others only had ingredients that made a person feel good, such as Morphine and related chemicals. Though some did have medicinal effects that tend to combat infection, particularly those containing mercury, silver and Arsenic , ignorance as to their correct use resulted in debilitating and sometimes fatal side effects. HISTORY OF QUACKERY IN THE UNITED STATES With little knowledge as to the cause and effects of illnesses, widely marketed "cures" (as opposed to locally produced and locally used remedies), often referred to as ''' as a cure-all medicine by Johann Maria Farina and his imitators. The later years of the 18th century saw an increase in the number of internationally marketed quack medicines, the majority of which were British in origin,Griffenhagen, George B.; James Harvey Young, "Old English Patent Medicines in America," Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 218, Smithsonian Institution: Wash., 1959), 155-83. and which were exported throughout the British Empire as well as the (by then independent) United States. So popularly successful were these treatments that by 1830 British parliamentary records list over 1,300 different "proprietary medicines", House of Commons Journal, 8 April 1830 the majority of which can be described as "quack" cures today. British patent medicines started to lose their dominance in the United States when they were denied access to the American market during the s is usually considered to have been a "golden age" of quackery in the United States. This was mirrored by similar growth in marketing of quack medicines elsewhere in the world. In the United States, false medicines in this era were often denoted by the slang term Snake Oil , a reference to sales pitches for the false medicines which used claims that their exotic ingredients were responsible for the supposed results or benefits. Those who sold them were called "snake oil peddlers", and usually sold their medicines with a fervent pitch similar to a Fire And Brimstone religious sermon. They often accompanied other theatrical and entertainment productions that travelled as a road show from town to town, leaving quickly before the falseness of their medicine could be discovered. Not all quacks were restricted to such small-time businesses however, and a number, especially in the United States, became enormously wealthy through national and international sales of their products. One among many examples is that of William Radam , a German immigrant to the USA who, in the 1880s, started to sell his "Microbe Killer" throughout the United States and, soon afterwards, in Britain and throughout the British colonies. His concoction was widely advertised as being able to "Cure All Diseases" (W. Radam, 1890) and this phrase was even embossed on the glass bottles the medicine was sold in. In fact, Radam's medicine was a therapeutically useless (and in large quantities actively poisonous) dilute solution of Sulphuric Acid , coloured with a little red Wine . Radam's publicity material, particularly his books (see for example Radam, 1890), provide an insight into the role that Pseudo-science played in the development and marketing of "quack" medicines towards the end of the 19th century. Similar advertising claims to those of Radam can be found throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. "Dr." Sibley, an English patent medicine seller of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, even went so far as to claim that his Reanimating Solar Tincture would, as the name implies, "restore life in the event of sudden death". Another English quack, "Dr. Solomon" claimed that his Cordial Balm of Gilead cured almost anything, but was particularly effective against all venereal complaints, from Gonorrhoea to Onanism . Although it was basically just brandy flavoured with herbs, it retailed widely at 33 shillings a bottle in the period of the Napoleonic Wars , the equivalent of over $100 per bottle today. Not all patent medicines were without merit. Turlingtons Balsam of Life, first marketed in the mid-18th century, did have genuinely beneficial properties. This medicine continued to be sold under the original name into the early 20th century, and can still be found in the British and American Pharmacopoeia s as "Compound tincture of benzoin". It can be argued that for some of these medicines this is an example of the Infinite Monkey Theorem in action. The end of the road for the quack medicines now considered grossly fraudulent in the nations of North America and Europe came in the early 20th century. February 21 , 1906 saw the passage into law of the Pure Food And Drug Act in the United States. This was the result of decades of campaigning by both government departments and the medical establishment, supported by a number of publishers and journalists (one of the most effective of whom was Samuel Hopkins Adams , whose series "The Great American Fraud" was published in Colliers Weekly starting in late 1905). This American Act was followed three years later by similar legislation in Britain, and in other European nations. Between them, these laws began to remove the more outrageously dangerous contents from patent and proprietary medicines, and to force quack medicine proprietors to stop making some of their more blatantly dishonest claims. QUACKERY IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE Considered by many an archaic term, ''quackery'' is most often used to denote the peddling of the "cure-alls" described above. Quackery continues even today; it can be found in any culture and in every medical tradition. Unlike other advertising mediums, rapid advancements in communication through the Internet have opened doors for an unregulated market of quack cures and marketing campaigns rivaling the early 1900s. Most people with an E-mail account have experienced the marketing tactics of Spamming — touting the newest current trend for miraculous remedies for "weight-loss" and "sexual enhancement," as well as outlets for unprescribed medicines of unknown quality. For those in the practice of any medicine, to allege quackery is to level a serious objection to a particular form of practice. Most developed countries have a governmental agency, such as the (EBP) movement in mental health emphasises the consensus in psychology that psychological practice should rely on empirical research. There are also "anti-quackery" web sites that consumers can access to help evaluate particular claims as well. REASONS QUACKERY PERSISTS There are several reasons quackery continues to be a part of healthcare:
NOTABLE HISTORICAL PERSONS ACCUSED OF QUACKERY
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