News headlines from Europe about skeptical activism, mythbusting, science related policy decisions, consumer protection, frauds, health scams, alternative medicine, bad scientific practices, pseudoscience etc.
ESC is returning in 2026!
Planning has started for the European Skeptics Congress for 2026. Dates and venue will be announced in October.
Last Tour the France showed the revival of the nose strips. Important cyclists like Jonas Vinegaard (who finished second), Jonathan Milan (green jersey), Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert were regularly seen with a plaster on their nose. The Dane Mattias Skjelmose even showed off a special design every day.
There is nothing new to this. Nearly thirty years ago some sportsmen also used such strips, including Tour winner Jan Ulrich, but also tennis icon Andre Agassi.
But now there is really a revival. They are used by tennis champion Carlos Alcaraz, skier Sofia Goggia and a lot of footballers. “It’s for my health. I have a slight cold and can breathe better this way,” Alcaraz recently said.
They were originally invented to try to help snorers, but the opinion of medical experts is very clear: “Nasal strips can slightly widen the internal nasal valve, allowing slightly more air to enter, especially in people whose nasal valve is naturally narrower. This can certainly provide some comfort during light exertion, but there’s no evidence that it also makes a difference in athletic performance or maximum oxygen uptake capacity.”
In fact, no one denies that they are at best a placebo and probably just a fashion. The Belgian cyclist and former hour record holder Victor Campenaerts, described as a “long-time nose-strip aficionado”, may be responsible for its renewed popularity, since he frequently and enthusiastically spoke about them in his daily Tour vlogs on Instagram.
Good news – for once – and it comes from Romania, because there something is being done about nonsense on radio and television. The Romanian National Audiovisual Council (CNA) has imposed a new rule for all radio and television programs that “advocate behaviour inspired by astrology, horoscopes, or numerology.” These programs must now be preceded by the warning: “The information in this program has no scientific basis.”
Since the fall of the communist regime – when such prediction practices were banned – astrology has flourished in Romania on broadcasters, especially on commercial television. Everyone knows Neti Sandu, an astrologer who has been giving a daily forecast on the largest commercial television station for over twenty years. This broadcast is followed by millions of Romanians.
The rules are also being tightened for other matters. Radio and television stations have been required for some time to broadcast various announcements between programs. The CNA has recently significantly expanded the number of such recommendations.
From now on, broadcasters will also be required to broadcast messages about vaccination: “Vaccination prevents the development of serious diseases. Vaccination is essential for your child’s health.” But also: “Dietary supplements are not curative and cannot replace treatments prescribed by a doctor.”
The previous news item briefly touched on apricot kernels. Rumours circulate that they help prevent cancer.
Apricot kernels contain amygdalin, also known as laetrile. Cancer cells are said to die after ingestion, while healthy cells are said to remain unharmed. In the 1970s, supplements containing amygdalin were available as a cancer treatment. This has since been clearly demonstrated to be untrue. On the contrary, amygdalin is dangerous. It is converted in the body into highly toxic cyanide.
Eating even two or three apricot kernels can have serious consequences. Even one kernel is poisonous for young children. Simply swallowing a kernel isn’t a problem, but chewing or crushing the kernels is.
The Belgian Ministry of Public Health has been warning about the high toxic content of apricot kernels since 2016. Since then, most packaging has been removed from health food stores and supermarkets. However, you can still buy the kernels online.
Apricot kernel powder is still used in confectionery, such as imitation marzipan, but it is first heated to high temperatures, which eliminates the toxic effect.
A BBC investigation in Britain has caused a stir about a young woman who died of cancer in 2024 after refusing chemotherapy.
She was estimated to have an 80% chance of being cured by chemotherapy, but under pressure from her mother, 23-year-old Paloma Shemirani chose not to undergo it and instead chose to follow the Gerson therapy. This involves drinking the juice of 9 kilograms of fruit daily, taking various supplements, and undergoing colon cleansing with coffee or castor oil.
When Paloma Shemirani was hospitalized, her mother, Kate, began pressuring her to refuse chemotherapy. An alternative practitioner Kate knew recommended the Gerson diet. She died seven months later.
Kate Shemirani has blamed the British National Health Service for her daughter’s death. She is a former nurse who has been spreading dubious ideas on her website for years. As The Natural Nurse, she sells all kinds of quack remedies, such as apricot kernels, for health problems. Subscribers to her website pay £70 a year. Even more expensive is the twelve-week health program she offers.
During the COVID pandemic, she campaigned against vaccinations, which she claimed were part of a conspiracy to kill people. In 2021, she was struck off her nursing license for spreading misinformation about the pandemic. Several social media companies also blocked her profiles for spreading misinformation.
Pamela’s brothers exposed the scandal. According to them, their mother was obsessed with conspiracy theories and forced them on her children. One of the brothers says she once decided to turn off the Wi-Fi because it was considered dangerous, even though he himself clearly stated that he needed the internet for his studies. “That only fed the joy that she had for using her irrational system of beliefs to control(() me.”
Several health institutions warn about the dangers of the Gerson diet. There is no evidence for its effectiveness and it can dangerously weaken a patient.
In a blog by the UK Health Security Agency it is reported that in 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases in England, the highest number of cases recorded annually since 2012. Most of these cases were in unvaccinated children under the age of 10. The agency further reports that more than 1 in 10 eligible children under the age of 5 have not had the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine or are only partially vaccinated, indicating a decline in vaccination rate over the last 15 years. ‘Vaccinations remain the best defence against infection, so it is very important that children attend their routine vaccination appointments and catch up on any they may have missed.’
The current UK Labour government faces significant concerns about the rising percentage of the population diagnosed with disabilities, leading to an increased number of individuals registered as unable to work. This surge places a substantial strain on benefit costs, hampering government efforts to reduce borrowing and stimulate economic growth. In response, the government plans to introduce more stringent criteria for disability diagnosis and to increase support for rehabilitation programs to help more people return to work . Meanwhile, these concerns have been echoed for many years now by some medical professionals worried about over-diagnosis and the growing tendency to medicalise everyday life problems, especially in the field of psychiatry. This discourse is reflected in the publication this year of least three books in the UK, addressing these concerns:
• No More Normal: Mental Health in an Age of Over-Diagnosis by Alistair Santhouse.
• Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Distress and Neurodiversity. by Sami Timimi.
• The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health and Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far by Suzanne O’Sullivan.
A national patient survey conducted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) on the experiences of 1,500 fertility-treatment patients in the UK has found that three quarters of patients are being offered unnecessary add-on treatments that ‘are not proven to increase the change of having a baby’. In fact, this has been happening for several years now and in 2016 was the subject of both a Panorama undercover investigation on BBC 1 television and a paper published in the online journal BMJ Open.
A 2.5 day conference bringing together an international group of experts representing different constituencies to discuss what should be done about the growing problem of research fraud.
‘Fostering Accountability for the Integrity of Research Studies’ (FAIRS) Oxford, 7-9th April, 2025. For programme and other details see: https://www.sjcfairsmeeting.com/ (switch off VPN if it fails to load). The website has the programme and a link to the booking form; registration including meals is £180, or for online attendance, £20. There are some in-person places reserved for students etc at a cheaper rate.
From UK’s Sense About Science: ‘This year’s Evidence Week in Parliament brought together more MPs, Peers, researchers and voters than ever before to discuss how evidence is used and scrutinised at Westminster. Evidence Week empowers parliamentarians to ask the right questions of policy evidence – what works, what doesn’t and what vital information is missing. It is important that legislators recognise how much the public value evidence, and what better way to do this than to have members of the public open Evidence Week? …. Evidence Week welcomed more researchers than ever before into Parliament to deliver quick-fire policy briefings on a variety of topics including AI, health, climate change and pollution. Over two days, researchers from top UK institutions shared their latest findings with the offices of over 80 MPs and 14 Peers, creating over 300 new conversations and connections – engaging 45% more parliamentarians than the previous year! Hundreds of supporters submit questions for Committee Chairs, and hundreds more people watched our Reverse Committee hearing broadcast from Parliament, where committee chairs respond to members of the public on topics ranging from paternity leave and restorative justice to child poverty and transport spending. View the meeting.’
20th European Skeptics Congress in Lyon (France) 31 May to 2 June 2024
This year, the vibrant city of Lyon, France, will host the long-awaited 20th European Skeptics Congress, organised by the dedicated local committee of AFIS from 31 May to 2 June. We expect around 200 curious minds from across Europe to engage in stimulating round tables, insightful conferences, and thought-provoking debates.
