Posted on 02/24/2003 7:34:38 PM PST by HAL9000
The state attorney general's office has located a company marketing bogus bioterrorism products in Arkansas and nationwide as treatments for smallpox and anthrax exposure.The Ohio-based company, named Silver, Nature's Original Anti-Biotic, was discovered in an investigation after a Greene County man contacted the attorney general to verify if a colloidal silver product being offered by the company was an effective treatment for exposure to biological agents, a spokesman for the office said.
The man's inquiry prompted the investigation. Attorney General Mike Beebe issued a warning Thursday to consumers about products being advertised as protective measures or cures. The products are mainly advertised online or through e-mail. "The first line of defense is to stop people from being injured. The best way to do that on the front end is to educate them," Beebe said, adding that a similar business scam surfaced after Sept. 11, 2001, and again during the anthrax attacks that occurred soon after.
Beebe said in a news release that the products may include mail sterilizers, biohazard test kits, gas masks and protective suits, homeopathic remedies and dietary supplements. Zinc mineral water, thyme and oregano oil are also being claimed by companies as treatments for contamination by biological agents, he said.
The Ohio company touted ingesting colloidal silver, microscopic particles of sliver suspended in water, as an effective measure to protect against biological agents.
In a statement on the company's Web site, it claims that a former U.S. government microbiologist found that colloidal sliver has proven "affective [sic] against multiple disease-causing pathogenic microorganisms, including anthrax, diphtheria, influenza... whooping cough." The site displays the word "bioterrorism" capitalized in bold, red letters and the names "Saddam" and "Osama" crossed out.
The company offers three products including a pre-assembled colloidal silver kit for $34.99, silver rods for $14.99 and a do-it-yourself kit for about $35.
The Greene County man, whose name was not released, said in an e-mail to the attorney general that the company also advertised a pill for $50 that "strengthens the body's enzymes" to combat the effects of smallpox or anthrax. "I am not aware of any overthe-counter product, at this time, that protects against both viruses and bacteria such as smallpox and anthrax," said Dr. William Mason, a lung specialist and medical leader for the state's Bioterrorism Preparedness Team.
Mason was among 46 state Health Department workers recently vaccinated against smallpox as part of the nation's antibioterrorism plan. Voluntary vaccinations for hospital teams are to begin today.
Web page operator Ed Magedson, an editor for an online service called The Rip Off Report, which posts the names of companies it believes engage in bad business practices, said thousands of companies market products that capitalize on the public's fear of terrorism and disaster. "There are so many, some are shut down then they [reopen] under other names," said Magedson, whose site is updated from offices in Florida and Pennsylvania. "They don't care about anything except making a buck."
Beebe also said the Ohio company is among a legion of enterprises -- Web-based, both large-scale and in-home -- that seek to gain a profit from U.S. anxiety over terrorist attacks. "Scores of companies, many with dubious reputations, are turning the nation's fears of bioterrorism to their advantage, selling unproven products that claim to detect, treat or prevent deadly anthrax, smallpox and other biological or chemical health hazards, Beebe said.
He said his office will assist Ohio authorities, and it will contact the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration about the company and any others marketing phony products in Arkansas.
Both state and federal charges could be brought against the companies because they falsely market products nationwide, Beebe said. He also said the FTC has warned Web site operators to remove the false ads from their sites.
Beebe would not provide the name of the company owner, because he said his office has yet to contact the company. A message left at the company's answering service was not returned.
Beebe said his office is unsure how many states the company has advertised in or how many Arkansas residents have seen its ads, but he said the number could be great because the products are offered over the Internet.
" I would suspect that they are not too concerned to limit [business] to a couple of states, "Beebe said.
Online sales of bogus products also create other problems for authorities.
Web-based companies are hard to track because many use sophisticated equipment to cloak their locations, and selling on the Internet allows them to operate virtually anywhere in the world, Beebe said. Because of that," even when you find the companies, it's difficult to pursue civil cases against them, " he said.
Guess where I heard about silver first?
Yup, right here at FR!
Tried it for many things before we made our own generator and I tell you it is just as good as going out and buying that duct tape, so what not try? GNC sells it cheap, many places do.
The government is not telling us the truth anyway. Check out this post on the Army bio-bible:
If it is so bogus, then why does our biggest hospital and one of the most reknown for a burn unit in the country, Cook County Hospital, still have their own generators (huge) for colloidal silver. think about it.
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