NHS boss: Gwyneth’s quackers!
Health chief warns Paltrow remedies may be bad for you
GWYNETH Paltrow was last night accused by the head of the NHS of promoting ‘dodgy’ health fads that put the public at risk.
Sir Simon Stevens singled out the Hollywood star and her firm Goop for popularising ‘dubious’ remedies such as ‘psychic vampire repellent’.
Speaking at Oxford University, the NHS England chief executive took aim at ‘quacks, charlatans and cranks’ who exploit health concerns.
He said social media makes it easier than ever for unproven ‘too-good-tobe-true’ remedies to be sold and misinformation about vaccines spread. This fake news has been put ‘on steroids’ by the ‘wellness’ industry, he warned. And he singled out motherof-two Miss Paltrow, 47, as a prime example. Sir Simon, speaking in An Oxford Conversation at the Sheldonian Theatre, said: ‘Fresh from controversies over jade eggs and unusually scented candles, Goop has just popped up with a new TV series, in which Gwyneth Paltrow and her team
‘Like snake oil salesmen’
test vampire facials and back a “bodyworker” who claims to cure both acute psychological trauma and side-effects by simply moving his hands two inches above a customer’s body.
‘Gwyneth Paltrow’s brand peddles “psychic vampire repellent” – 27 US dollars – says “chemical sunscreen is a bad idea”, and promotes colonic irrigation and DIY coffee enema machines – despite them carrying considerable risks to health and NHS advice clearly stating there is “no scientific evidence to suggest there are any health benefits associated with colonic irrigation”.
‘While fake news used to travel by word of mouth – and later the Caxton press – we all know that lies and misinformation can now be round the world at the touch of a button, before the truth has reached for its socks, never mind got its boots on.
‘Myths and misinformation have been put on steroids by the availability of misleading claims online. While the term “fake news” makes most people think of politics, people’s natural concern for their health, and particularly about that of their loved ones, makes this particularly fertile ground for quacks, charlatans and cranks.’
Sir Simon’s comments come after he launched an attack on the homeopathy industry in October for peddling deadly anti-vaccine myths.
Last night Sir Simon said Russian social media bots – fake accounts run by algorithms – and anti-vaxx lies have undermined public faith in life-saving vaccines.
The NHS chief highlighted the steep rise in cases of mumps, from around 1,000 in 2018 to about 5,000 last year, as an example of the impact of misinformation. The Daily Mail is campaigning to improve uptake of childhood immunisations, which are falling after years of anti-vaxx myths and public apathy.
Sir Simon compared the ‘wellness’ experts who spread fake vaccine news to the first snake oil salesmen in the 19th century, who ‘ claimed rattlesnakes offered miracle health cures’. He said: ‘A century later, anti-vaxx lies have spawned health burdens being borne by children and parents in 2020. And now we have dubious “wellness” products and dodgy procedures available on the web.’
A Goop spokesman said: ‘Goop takes efficacy and product claims very seriously. We are transparent when we cover emerging topics that may be unsupported by science or may be in early stages of review.’ He added that Goop applauds the NHS’s work and ‘takes cues from the UK standard.
‘For example, in the case of chemical sunscreens the NHS cited in its speech, the US bans only 11 personal care ingredients while over 1,000 are banned in the UK. It’s for that reason we recommend non-toxic sunscreens.’