This lady does seem to me to have the highest credentials despite the "anti-alt posting" paid
lackeys here on this newsgroup.
whas.com.aupanscandal.phpOpen ↗
The PAN Scandal, It's time for a Vitamin Debate on National Television From Dr Sandra Cabot
Since the Pan Labs scandal has grabbed the headlines I have watched as the Complementary Health Care
industry has been used as the scapegoat for corporate greed and dishonesty.
I would like to have my say as a medical doctor who has been researching and using nutritional
medicine for thirty years. I have had my share of criticism as the author of the best selling book
"The Liver Cleansing Diet" but I always believed that healthy debate and disagreement was good for
stimulating lateral thought and forging public opinion. However I must say that the way in which the
whole ideology of the complementary health care industry has been targeted in the wake of the Pan
debacle is simply not cricket!
Experts in the field of nutritional medicine have not been given a say, or really even "a look in"
to the defamatory game. The headlines and editorial have been monopolized by business people, stuffy
Professors of conventional medicine, politicians and consumer watchdogs.
I watched Dr Ian Brighthope who is president of the Complementary Health Care Council and Professor
Alistair MacLennan giving their opinions on National morning television and thought to myself "wow
this is unfair!" Dr Ian Brighthope was interviewed first and was very nice, as he tried to defend
the value of nutritional medicine and supplements. Unfortunately he was interviewed first and did
not realise that his opponent had saved all his venom for the last say. Professor MacLennan contends
that alternative medicine has the potential to cause serious harm. MacLennan said that the Pan
affair "has given an opportunity for people to say - we're not really having to debate how much
snake is in the snake oil, or whether there is goanna contaminating the snake oil. We are really
having to debate - should you be on snake oil at all? ; and is this snake oil doing you any good,
or, more of a worry, is this snake oil doing you harm?"
I think MacLennan's comments are ridiculously irrelevant, as what does snake oil have to do with the
sub-standard manufacture of an anti-histamine drug. Well it seems that fanatics will take any
opportunity to get on their hobby horse. MacLennan is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and
has probably not been challenged with trying to help chronically ill people who have been
disappointed with drug orientated medicine. Perhaps he should keep his know all opinion to the parts
of the anatomy in which he is an expert.
John Dwyer's attempts to discredit my Liver Cleansing Diet Book unwittingly helped make my book
very famous.
Of course there would be no show without Professor John Dwyer who has consistently rubbished
complementary medicine for many years, and has called the practice of nutritional medicine anti-
science, dangerous and misleading. John Dwyer's attempts to discredit my Liver Cleansing Diet Book
unwittingly helped make my book very famous. He would usually wait till I was overseas to start the
anti-Dr Cabot campaign and when I called for a debate, he was no where to be seen.
Now I was surprised when Bob Carr had his say. Carr thinks the Pan affair has given opportunity to
assess "some of the exploitation of gullible people" that took place under the guise of alternative
therapy and complementary medicine, suggesting some therapies were not much better than those sold
by the medicine-man hucksters of the 19th century". He inferred that we have more snake oil sales
men now, than we did in the medieval ages! Well Bob have you been challenged with thousands of
unwell people who have found that conventional drugs made them sicker? Where is your experience and
scientific background that enable you to be an expert on the ethical and scientific standards of
Complementary Medicine?
The Australian Consumer Association was represented in the scandal by Mr. Martyn Goddard. Mr.
Goddard must have a lot of experience in clinical medicine as he seems to believe that he must
protect the people from the charlatans and sales men who are trying to sell them unproven remedies
that are akin to snake oil.
Wow we have so much snake oil around these days perhaps we should do a clinical trial on it - it
just may have the healthy essential fatty acids to boost your brain power. Goddard states that
complementary medicines should not be released onto the market unless they have undergone the same
rigorous scientific scrutiny that is applied to new drugs to prove that they are safe and
effective. Well it would have been good if clinical trials and tests had detected the toxicity of
the cholesterol lowering drug called Lipobay before its release into a market of unsuspecting
guinea pigs. Lipobay was subject to a world-wide withdrawal (except for Japan), because it caused a
spate of serious muscle diseases that resulted in death in a significant number of people who were
taking it.
And then there is the drug called Rezeulin that was released onto the market several years ago, as a
new treatment for diabetics. Pity that it caused acute liver breakdown and death in so many people,
that adverts were posted in all American newspapers to tell consumers to stop taking it immediately.
Yes it would be nice if drug companies had tests and trials that were infallible that could be used
for drugs and nutritional supplements.
And then you must remember the HRT scandal that achieved media notoriety in July 2002 and created a
bomb shell in conventional medicine. This was because the American Women's Health Initiative (WHI)
Study found that the advice doctors and drug companies had been giving women for 20 years about HRT
was no longer strictly correct. In contrast to what women had been promised, conventional HRT did
not protect them from cardiovascular disease, and indeed increased the risk of heart attacks,
strokes and blood clots. Yes it was a surprise to see how quickly over 20 years of clinical research
by drug companies could be turned on its head. The legal fraternity is now cautioning doctors to get
their patients to sign consent forms, which detail the dangers of HRT before they can receive a
prescription. It seems that nothing is perfectly safe to take any more!
So now we have a "squeaky clean" pharmaceutical and medical industry calling the supporters of
nutritional medicine snake oil salesmen - well it's hardly cricket! I think its time for a decent
match of rugby league football where the brave opponents can have a good fight. It's time for a real
rough game - cricket is just too nice!
Now who should be on the opposing teams?
1. Professors and medical doctors who do not approve of the use of supplements
2. Medical doctors and professors who have been using nutritional medicine for years Yes it could be
the fossils versus the snakes - it would be heated, passionate, and venomous and it would be fun
- we know Australians are a sporting nation, so let the public decide.
Facts to discuss The Pan debacle arose because of the substandard manufacturing of a "Travacalm"
drug (anti-histamine) and not a nutritional supplement.
Why was the substandard manufacturing of an anti-histamine drug used as weapon against the whole
ideology of nutritional & herbal medicine?
People die regularly because of side effects from drugs and rarely (if ever) from nutritional &
herbal supplements.
Contrary to what the opponents say about the validity of nutritional and herbal medicine, there is
a huge volume & data base of clinical research into the efficacy of these substances.
Corporate greed and dishonesty should not be able to use complementary medicine as a scapegoat
for its sins.
Many small businesses may become bankrupt because the whole CHC industry has been tarred with the
same brush as Pan labs - there are many good Australian manufacturers of nutritional supplements
that cannot be compared to Pan. Why should the small players (retailers & distributors) be made to
pay for the corruption and greed of a minority? Where is corporate justice here? -
Company and individuals that commit offences such as insider trading, insolvency trading,
embezzlement etc, are now being scrutinized - well so should pill manufacturers that put peoples
lives at risk.
Medicine that is based wholly upon the use of "proven" pharmaceutical drugs does not treat the
causes of disease- it is focused on treating the symptoms The Australian public wants nutritional
medicine - they have proven this by spending 3 to 4 times as much money on supplements, than they
do on drugs - obviously this is because they are not fully satisfied with conventional and/or drug
orientated medicine.
Why are more and more doctors doing courses in complementary and nutritional medicine? The courses
offered by the Australian College of Nutritional & Environmental medicine are extremely popular
with doctors who are interested in learning how to prescribe nutritional supplements.
Important Announcement Dr Sandra Cabot's Health Formulations including the LivatoneT range, are NOT
manufactured by PAN Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Our products are made by a TGA approved laboratory in Australia and our manufacturing facility
operates to and maintains the highest standards.
We are happy to reassure you that our products are of the highest quality.
Dr Sandra Cabot April 28, 2003