Deceptive Health Websites Are All Too Plentiful

The Boston Globe reported this month on the sentencing of a former US Airways Express pilot, Stephen Sharp, "for selling a powdered drink mix over the Internet that he claimed was '100 percent' effective in helping drug-using truck drivers, pilots, and train engineers pass federally mandated drug tests." Mindful of ongoing debate by Gilles Frydman and others about indicators of health website credibility, I searched for other sites selling similar products (there is no shortage) and looked on sites like Craigslist where people post questions about how to pass drug test and how to detoxify. stephensharp explains all, from the name ("No one would type in 'Your'RE or Youre in the clear', I tested it") to the product's purpose (it "was nothing more than a diuretic to help flush your body") to the promotional text ("it did mention unfair drug testing and various drug cutoff limits"). The explanation went on to talk about the random drug testing in the airline world and how in 2003 he started Wholesale Organic Herbs - Gourmet Spices For Top Chefs and Organic Herbs And Cooking Spices.