Anti-vaccine chiropractors 44

The Chiropractic Board of Australia has had enough:

The Chiropractic Board of Australia cracks down to protect the public.

The Chiropractic Board of Australia is cracking down on chiropractors who step outside their primary role as healthcare practitioners and provide treatment that puts the public at risk.

To protect public safety, the Board has:

– ordered practitioners to remove all anti-vaccination material from their websites and clinics
– removed several courses from the list of approved CPD programs, and
– introduced random audits of practitioner compliance with the Board’s registration standards. [Media Release August 8 2013]

Angus Heseltine makes money in Mosman. From the safety of the non-disease-riddled Lower North Shore of Sydney, Heseltine manipulates customers, and provides anti-vaccination advice, of his own admission, at Mosman Family Chiropractic. He’s a champion. On ya, champ. Of course, he is a member of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia.

On Heseltine’s open Facebook profile he lists his profession, and place of business:

I think it’s pretty safe to say this profile represents the public,  professional statements of a chiropractor.

First up we have the SV-40 misinformation; a popular, recent anti-vaccine meme. Good to see a commenter, “Greg”, explain the obvious to Heseltine, regardless of the lack of impact the comment has on his beliefs. It was worth a try:

Tell the readers how many people developed cancer. Go on.

In June, Heseltine declared his intentions to fight the CBA’s immunisation policies. He states, bluntly, that he will continue to provide immunisation advice to his customers. Go get ’em tiger:

That enduring trait of all self-declared winners: hubris.

I’m a little gobsmacked at this next one. Not because he lies about vaccines, which he claims are killing people every day. Not because he doesn’t understand the protective value of community immunity, which shields the vulnerable, such as the deliberately unvaccinated. Not because he loves his Nirvana fallacies, claiming that because vaccines are not 100% effective, they must be useless. I’m gobsmacked at his trite callousness, in which with a wave of a hand he declares that Measles deaths don’t really matter. Shit happens, right? Heseltine obviously needs to do some research on deaths by meteor strike, as compared to deaths by vaccine preventable disease. Maybe the CBA can point him toward some internets?

No words…

This next one is an example I have seen on almost every chiropractor’s Facebook page. I haven’t included it until now. It is so common it is troubling. I would really like for someone to show this example, and all of the others – and, they are everywhere – to the ACCC, the HCCC (in NSW), the TGA, and the CBA. I would like to see this very common claim substantiated. If it cannot be substantiated, then, surely it is false advertising, making unsubstantiated health claims:

200%????? That’s almost OVER 9000!!!!!!

On his website Heseltine has this permanent offer, inducing new customers into his business:

SRSLY IT WILL ACTUALLY COST YOU MONEY IF YOU DON’T SPEND THIS MONEY

Here is what the Chiropractic Board of Australia has to say about offering discounts as inducements in advertising. Again, the Board needs to clean up this section. It is too open to abuse, as is obvious:

Guidelines for advertising of regulated health services

6.6 Use of gifts or discounts in advertising

The use of gifts or discounts in advertising is inappropriate, due to the potential for such inducements to encourage the unnecessary use of regulated health services.

If a practitioner or a person advertising a regulated health service does use a discount, gift or any other inducement to attract patients or clients to a service, the offer must be truthful, and the terms and conditions of that offer must be set out clearly in the advertisement.

Regardless of the inducements, here are the obligatory testimonials:

Chiropractic ensures 8 pound babies? You heard it here first.

This is what the Chiropractic Board of Australia has to say about the use of testimonials:

Guidelines for advertising of regulated health services

5 What is unacceptable advertising?

This section is intended to provide a clear indication of the
type of advertising of services that the boards consider to
be unacceptable. Where examples are provided, they are
intended to assist practitioners and other persons who
advertise regulated health services to comply with the
advertising provisions of the National Law. They are not
intended to be exhaustive.

To comply with s. 133 of the National Law and these
guidelines, advertising of services must not:

(d) use testimonials or purported testimonials

CBA, I do believe Heseltine has challenged you to a duel at dawn, sir! Bring your investigating pistols.