Quackwatch Mission Statement

Quackwatch, Inc., which was a member of Consumer Federation of America from 1973 through 2003, is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. Founded by Dr. Stephen Barrett in 1969 as the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, it was incorporated in 1970. In 1997, it assumed its current name and began developing a worldwide network of volunteers and expert advisors. Our activities include:

Investigating questionable claims
Answering inquiries about products and services
Advising quackery victims
Distributing reliable publications
Debunking pseudoscientific claims
Reporting illegal marketing
Assisting or generating consumer-protection lawsuits
Improving the quality of health information on the Internet
Attacking misleading advertising on the Internet

Web Sites

The Quackwatch Web site was launched in December 1996. Our other sites are:

Acupuncture Watch (started 2/05): The skeptical guide to acupuncture history, theories, and practices
Autism Watch (7/04): Your scientific guide to autism
Cancer Treatment Watch (8/05): Your guide to sensible cancer treatment
Casewatch (7/04): Your guide to health fraud- and quackery-related legal matters
Chelation Watch (7/04): A skeptical view of chelation therapy
Chirobase (10/98): Your skeptical guide to chiropractic history, theories, and practices
Credential Watch (2/05): Your guide to health-related education and training
Dental Watch (6/02): Your guide to intelligent dental care
Device Watch (7/04): Your guide to questionable medical devices
Diet Scam Watch (11/04): Your guide to weight-control schemes and ripoffs
Homeowatch (11/01): Your skeptical guide to homeopathic history, theories, and practices
Infomercial Watch (7/04): A critical view of the health infomercial marketplace
Internet Health Pilot (1/02): Your gateway to reliable health information
Mental Health Watch (7/04): Your guide to the mental help marketplace
MLM Watch (1/99): The skeptical guide to multilevel marketing
Naturowatch (6/03): The skeptical guide to naturopathic history, theories, and practices
NCCAM Watch (11/05): An antidote to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Nutriwatch (3/00): Your guide to sensible nutrition
Pharmwatch (8/05): Your guide to the drug marketplace and lower costs

Dr. Barrett maintains these sites with help from many volunteers.

Service Providers

Members of our medical advisory board review articles upon request.
Our web-page design was developed by Marty Mapes of Boulder Information Services.
Dr. Barrett's son Daniel Barrett, a software engineer, provides general technical support.
Our Internet Service Provider is 10types, which provides outstanding equipment, service, and technical support.
Programming of the WebGlimpse search engine is maintained by Adam Baratz.
OnlyMyEmail provides SPAM protection.
We also use the excellent services of SEVENtwentyfour, Inc., whose LinkWalker spider reports broken hyperlinks once a week.

Sources of Income

The total cost of operating all of Quackwatch's sites is approximately $7,000 per year. Quackwatch, Inc., has no salaried employees. It operates with minimal expense, funded mainly by small individual donations, commissions from sales on other sites to which we refer, and profits from the sale of publications. If its income falls below what is needed for the research, the rest comes out of Dr. Barrett's pocket. Except for the sales commissions, neither Quackwatch nor Dr. Barrett have any financial tie to any commercial or industrial organization.

There are two convenient ways to donate online. Either takes only a few seconds:

Amazon.com's "Honor System," enables visitors to make donations of from $1 to $50 to support sites they like. If you are already registered with Amazon Books, your name may appear in the box below
PayPal enables donations of any amount and charges a much lower commission, so if you are signed up with PayPal, we prefer that you use their service. You can also use a credit card to donate through PayPal even though you are not signed up.

Payment by check or money order can also be sent directly to:

Quackwatch
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
11312 U.S. 15-501 North
Chapel Hill, NC 27517.

Either way, these donations will support research, writing, and legal actions that can protect many people from being misled.

This page was revised on July 10, 2007.