And don’t get me wrong — “modern” medicine certainly offers up its share of snake oil cures as well. But while there are ailments and maladies where mainstream medicine doesn’t yet have adequate science to know the causes, let alone the cure, there are indeed things that we do know. As a person who has had a few friends pass away from the dreaded AIDS virus, I’m not only offended but outraged that someone can call it a “hoax” and then turn around an offer his “natural cure” for the disease (for the low, low price of $999), not to mention his “cures” for cancer, diabetes, etc.

As far as I can tell, the government isn’t prosecuting Trudeau for speaking freely — they are prosecuting him for fraud. Free speech and fraud are two different things. Trudeau’s free speech rights on such matters end when his speech harms or fleeces his customers, and it appears that there is plenty of evidence that he has done this. It’s not that his free speech rights are being trampled (no one from the government has banished him from publishing books such as “Natural Cures”), he is simply not being allowed to sell products (like “coral calcium”) using false claims and lies.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Trudeau

“The consumer protection website Quackwatch analyzed a transcript of the infomercial used to sell the book and said the claims were fraudulent and misleading.[11] Other doctors have expressed serious concerns that the book’s instructions, such as stopping all medication and refusing vaccinations, are not only misleading but harmful. Some of the claims in the book are disputed, such as the claim for a “natural cure” for diabetes that was researched at the University of Calgary. The University insists that “there have been no human studies conducted at the University of Calgary in the past 20 years on herbal remedies for diabetes.”[10]

The New York State Consumer Protection Board issued a 2005 warning that the book contains no actual cures, merely “page after page after page of pure speculation.”[12] The Board also stated that consumers have complained that the book is merely an advertisement for Trudeau’s website and newsletter, at a cost of $71 per month. The book also contains a dustcover endorsement from former FDA commissioner Herbert Ley, who died several years before the book was published. A spokesperson for the Board stated that “The hypocrisy surrounding this book and its advertisements is galling because people with real illnesses are being misled…This book and its marketing machine are a cynical attempt by Mr. Trudeau to cash in on his legal troubles with the federal government.”[12] Another posting by the Board stated that Trudeau was selling the information provided by those who order the book to junk mailers, telemarketers and other direct marketers. Trudeau’s website lacks a privacy policy, and thus customers are not made aware of Trudeau’s use of their information. Customers have also reported being charged $71 per month without their consent for Trudeau’s newsletter, as well as problems with refunds, and only being able to access Trudeau’s company for a refund through a long-distance call rather than the toll-free line used to purchase products.[13]”

More Natural “Cures” Revealed

“In May 2006, Trudeau self-published More Natural “Cures” Revealed: Previously Censored Brand Name Products That Cure Disease. This book responded to complaints that its earlier version did not actually contain any cures but pointed consumers to his subscription website. In More Natural “Cures” Revealed, Trudeau says that workers at the FDA and FTC want to censor him and, figuratively, burn his books. In his review of the book for LiveScience.com science writer Christopher Wanjek described this as “a fascinating cross between a health book, fictitious novel, and a paranoid, hate-filled rant along the lines of ‘Mein Kampf.’”[14]

I like all things vegan, but I can really do without such science-denying quackery. Please get a clue!