ENAR II: Son Of ENAR

Here is the footage of the ENAR on A Current Affair:

And another fine bit of shill work from Channel Nine:

Here's some footage of the SCENAR healing a guys burns. The SCENAR is the ENARs big brother or retarded cousin, something like that. It's a pretty amazing device, not only did it heal the burns it also managed to replace a scar and a tattoo to the burned area.

To quote Kevin 'Bloody' Wilson: Wank, wank, money in the bank.

Security Guard In Double Blind Study

Right, dozens of LASERs but not one motion sensor? Do not use over the counter pain relievers as part of your home security system. If burglars persist, please see you doctor.

Beaten To The Punch

Just in case last weeks ENAR device wasn't scamtastic enough Channel Nine's program A Current Affair has followed up with some more gold standard quackery. This time it's a magic drink that will solve all your blood pressure woes.

The product is called Dr Red and is a cordial made from many ingredients including Rosselle, a species of hibiscus. The usual claims were made regarding the existence of supporting evidence and trials. The evidence is pretty thin though. After reading the information presented about the trials I was only able to conclude that this punch doesn't kill mice. Hardly a breakthrough.

I assume that Channel Nine will push any product if given enough cash. It would certainly explain all the product placement and infomercial style of the segment. Or perhaps they just don't do too much research into their stories. Either way it is worrying that so much bunk is being broadcast.

You can see the segment on the ACA website. My favourite part is a close shot of the bottle where we can read on the label:

Antioxidant Enriched
Evidence Based
Rosella Concentrate

Still, at just $53.00 for a 750ml bottle it's a bargain. Regular cordial is only $3.00 but that has a fruit base which is easier to get in the bottle than an evidence base.

Beverages are also available to aid your immune system and your prostate. It looks like this company has solved mankind's health dilemmas single handed. We should all thank the nutraceuticals industry for allowing us to pay prescription prices for everyday grocery items.

In contrast, as I'm writing this Channel Ten news is running a story about Chinese herbs. The segment is about a study being conducted to see if particular herbs lower blood sugar. Unlike A Current Affair they don't mention a brand name and vague unsupported claims to try and sell units. Maybe they could teach Channel Nine the difference between science and shite.

Now I'm off to have a nice glass of evidence based milk.

Smokes And Mirrors

Yay for the government. I've never been able to understand why tobacco is treated differently to other recreational drugs. I'm not saying that everything should be legal but I do think that all drugs should be held to the same standards.

My current tobacco induced confusion is as follows:

In 2005 changes were made to the labels on packs of cigarettes to remove the amounts of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide contained in each cigarette. It was considered misleading because people would accosiate lower levels of those components with the cigarette being less harmful which, of course, they aren't. Descriptions such as 'light' and 'mild' are also no longer allowed.

It's annoying when customers come in and ask for Tarco 8s or Lungy Extreme Mild when these types of labels have been off the shelves for a long time. Just tell me the brand and the colour of the packet, okay dickhead. And no, I don't know what your wife smokes.

The real confusion, however, was triggered by some information received from the government this week regarding new fines for breaches of tobacco laws. One in particular stood out.

34—Information as to tar, nicotine etc content of cigarettes
(1) A person who sells cigarettes by retail must, on demand by a customer who is considering purchasing cigarettes, provide the customer with information as to the quantity of tar and carbon monoxide that will be produced, and the quantity of nicotine that will be released, in the normal course of smoking each cigarette.
Expiation fee: $315. Maximum penalty: $5 000.

(2) The information must be provided in writing in a form approved by the Minister.
Expiation fee: $105. Maximum penalty: $750.

Riiiiiiiight. So the labeling requirements are changed to remove this information from packs and it is now an offence to not provide this information to the customer. The Fuck?

Oh and it must be costly to collect all these new fines. Price of a tobacco licence last year was $12.90. This year $200.00, that's a 1450% increase. No wonder people think the government are cunts.