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Home >Comments and Articles > Blackmore's
Marcus Blackmore, CEO of Blackmore's, won "Quote of the Year" in the 2003 Millenium Awards. The citation read:
An obvious contender for Quote of the Year had to be the statement by anti-vaccination liar Bronwyn Hancock that there was no scientific proof of the possibility of hurting a baby by shaking it, and that to the contrary there was actual experimental evidence that hurting a baby by shaking it was impossible. While this would seem to be a lay-down misère for quote of any period you could think of, I have to disqualify statements made by people who are obviously of very unsound mind. Mad people rant nonsense as a matter of course. A statement in a press release by a pretend journalist, Eve Hillary, that I am somehow connected with the Illuminati, that most secret of world-wide secret conspiracies, was rejected on the grounds that personal attacks on me are ineligible but it would have been disqualified under the "insane author" principle anyway.
The winner is Marcus Blackmore, head of the eponymous Blackmore's Ltd, Australia's best known purveyor of dietary supplements and alternative medicines. Mr Blackmore was responding to a government announcement that controls over the manufacture, advertising and distribution of alternative products were to be strengthened. His comment about university education (even if it were true, which it is not) just suggests that clever people can be just as gullible as the rest of us. I would remind people that the industry is being asked to do in 2004 what James Lind could do in 1747.
That would be a disaster for our industry. What the Government fails to understand is that a lot of people that take our products are well versed in these things. They are mainly women between the age of 25 and 39 and invariably they have a university education. They're intelligent people, we're not just selling this stuff to mung-bean eaters.
Theatre of the absurd (24/9/2011)
Many years ago I did some stage acting, and one of the plays we performed was Rhinocéros by Eugene Ionesco which was part of what was known as "The Theatre of the Absurd", a sort of literary equivalent to surrealist art, where what was happening was challenging to the senses and the observer's perception of reality. I thought I had fallen into another Ionesco play this week when I read that an arrangement had been made between the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (the professional body for retail pharmacists) and Blackmore's (the country's leading manufacturer of supplements and snake oil). From now on, when people have prescriptions filled for certain classes of medications the pharmacist will advise them of "complementary" Blackmore's products to counter the side effects of the medications. Blackmore's claim to have scientific evidence to back up these claims, but I'm not certain who would have done this research. (A few years ago an examination of Blackmore's annual financial reports showed that total expenditure on all research and development for the year was less than the salary of just one senior executive.)
The backlash (1/10/2011)
I mentioned last week that a deal had been struck between Blackmore's, Australia's most prominent manufacturer of snake oil, and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia which would see pharmacists recommending rubbish when customers had certain prescriptions filled. This sign appeared almost immediately in shops belonging to a very large pharmacy chain.
I could not have put it better myself.
Also, Marcus Blackmore, head of Blackmore's, promised that the scientific research showing the efficacy of the products that were to be recommended as part of the program would be published on front page of the company's web site by Friday, September 30. If the scientific papers existed it would be a simple matter to turn them into pdf files and put the links on the site. I'm sure that Blackmore's have more resources that I have to work on their web site and I could have done this in ten minutes, so it is a bit surprising that the front page of their site still looks like this, with no mention of any research papers:
Well, it would be surprising if you thought that any such science existed.
There has, however, been some research done on the four supplements that are proposed to be part of the plan. Here is what the National Prescribing Service has to say:
Evidence for using zinc supplements with antihypertensives
Routine use of zinc supplements is unnecessary for people taking blood pressure lowering medicines (or "antihypertensives"). There is evidence that long-term treatment with certain types of antihypertensives may reduce zinc levels, but it is unclear how often this causes zinc deficiency.
Limitations of evidence
Evidence for any benefit of zinc supplementation in the absence of zinc deficiency is limited.1 People taking anithypertensives should only be considered for a zinc supplement if they are deficient in zinc.
Results from the only trial investigating zinc supplementation with an antihypertensive (hydrochlorothiazide) were inconclusive.
Evidence for using Co-enzyme Q10 with statins
Evidence does not support the use of Co-enzyme Q10 to prevent myalgia (muscle pain) during treatment with a statin.
No clear evidence of benefit
No trials have shown that taking a Co-enzyme Q10 supplement with a statin prevents myalgia. Randomised controlled trials of Co-enzyme Q10 to manage statin-associated myalgia have conflicting results and do not support routine use with statin therapy.
Evidence for using magnesium supplements with PPI therapy
Magnesium deficiency or �hypomagnesaemia� has been associated with long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Case reports indicate that stopping the PPI is the best way to normalise magnesium levels. Taking a magnesium supplement with the PPI may not be enough to correct the magnesium deficiency.
Limitations of evidence
No studies have investigated the use of a magnesium supplement to prevent magnesium deficiency during PPI therapy. A magnesium supplement should only be considered if a PPI has caused a deficiency in magnesium that requires treatment. Evidence for using a supplement with a PPI to treat magnesium deficiency is based on case reports.
Probiotics with antibiotic-associated diarrhoea
There is some evidence from trials that probiotics may prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in some adults and children. But limitations with the trials mean that the true effect of probiotics is uncertain, as is the most effective product or dose.
Limitations of evidence
There is not enough evidence to determine the following about probiotics:
The saga continues (and hopefully ends) (8/10/2011)
Blackmore's finally published the research supporting their four Companion Products that pharmacists were getting ready to recommend to people filling prescriptions for certain classes of drugs. Unfortunately, the research wasn't made available to just anybody as you had to be some sort of "healthcare professional".
Fortunately, however, Blackmore's definition of "healthcare professional" was as loose as I suspected it might be, and I was accepted as a "Science researcher". You can read the supporting evidence here, although for some reason Blackmore's have put security on the document so you can't print it. I can understand why they might want to put Acrobat security on it so nobody can change it, but preventing printing? Smells like paranoia to me.
A couple of paragraphs stood out for me.
The evidence was compiled in line with the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Levels of Evidence Guidelines for listed products, and demonstrates that some prescription medicines diminish nutrients and that supplementation can improve nutritional status.
Where it says "listed products" it refers to a class of medical devices or preparations which do not have to prove efficacy, just that they don't do too much damage when taken according to directions. Put another way, for something to get a "Listed" classification it does not have to be shown to work or even provide any benefit at all. Homeopathic products are "Listed". Real medicines are usually "Registered", because that classification means that evidence has been produced that they do what the promoters say they do.
In addition, evidence was sourced using two key resources identified by the National Prescribing Service as having the highest quality of information for complementary medicines: The Natural Standard Professional Database and the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.
I'm really impressed by databases of magical snake oil preparations put together by quacks, but the important message to be taken from this paragraph is that the National Prescribing Service cited has issued a statement saying that none of the Blackmore's Companion Products actually have any benefit at all. It is standard operating procedure for pseudoscientists to refer to authorities in the almost certain knowledge that the general public will be impressed by the reference and fail to see what the authority really had to say.
Then suddenly the cake was flooded with icing when the Pharmacy Guild announced that the ridiculous proposal was not going ahead. You can read the official announcement here.
Gold Cross endorsement of Blackmores Companions range withdrawn
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and Blackmores have agreed that the Gold Cross endorsement of the Blackmores Companions range of complementary medicines will be withdrawn.
The mutual decision has been taken in view of the strong level of public concern about the proposal, based on some media reporting of the endorsement which was ill-informed and inflammatory.
The last thing the Guild would ever want to do is deplete the credibility of community pharmacists, or damage the trust in which they are held by Australians. That trust and confidence is of paramount importance to the Guild and to our Members.
The Gold Cross endorsement arrangement with Blackmores was entered in good faith, with absolutely no intention of undermining the professionalism and integrity of participating pharmacists. There is not now and never would be any direction from the Guild for pharmacists to be involved in unprofessional, unethical or clinically unsound conduct. The idea that community pharmacists would take part in commercial "upselling" without regard to their professional standards is offensive to our profession and rejected by the Guild.
However, perceptions are very important, and it is overwhelmingly clear that the public perception of this endorsement was damaging to the reputation of community pharmacy. Both the public, and sections of the broader pharmacy industry expressed strong concerns about the proposal.
The Guild has listened to these concerns and accepts – mutually with Blackmores – that the best course in all the circumstances is to withdraw the endorsement arrangement. The Guild regrets any damage done to the image of community pharmacy and will do everything possible to ensure the public maintain their trust in community pharmacists as the custodians of medicines and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
The National President of the Guild, Kos Sclavos, said: "We entered this arrangement in good faith, but we have now agreed with Blackmores that the furore that has been created is doing damage, and must be dealt with before it further damages community pharmacists and the patients they serve. The only alternative is to cancel the endorsement, and this has been done. I add my personal apologies for any distress this has caused to pharmacists."
Gold Cross, a fully owned subsidiary of the Guild, had agreed to endorse a range of Blackmores products, which meant that the range of four Companions products would have the Guild's Gold Cross on their packaging.
Additionally, an optional prompt containing clinical information for the patient to consider in relation to one product of the Companions range was to be available through the dispensary IT programs, on a pilot basis. The software pilot was not intended to commence until at least November, and will now not proceed.
Blackmores products are well-established, and marketed by one of the best known and respected names in evidence-based complementary medicine. Many doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals make recommendations for these types of products frequently.
Blackmores developed this range of four to be available exclusively through pharmacies so that consumers would always obtain the appropriate information and advice.
Contrary to some media reports, there was never any compulsion whatsoever on pharmacists to sell these products, nor was there any direct incentive to any pharmacist to sell them. At all times, community pharmacists would continue to be free – and indeed expected – to exercise their professional and clinical judgement in relation to these products.
My comments:
Oops!! (16/5/2020)
Blackmore's is one of Australia's largest manufacturers of alternative "medicine" potions. They have had to announce a recall of one of their products because it was possibly contaminated with penicillin. Think about that – snake oil contaminated with real medicine. I suppose they could say that they had just followed Fleming's example and left a window open near the vat containing the batch.
Oh, dear! (11/7/2020)
Our old friend Blackmore's, 
Australia's largest distiller of snake oil, has had another setback in their attempt to heal everyone by using natural wellness. They have a product named ArmaForce which is supposed to "have benefits for" colds and flu (never "treatment for" – that would be making a testable claim). Unfortunately it has some side effects. (What? Something natural with side effects? Tell me it isn't so.) These side effects include loss of sense of taste. You know, just like a COVID-19 infection.
Blackmore's state that this is a "practitioner only" product, meaning that it can only be sold by health practitioners like naturopaths and herbalists, unlike real medicines like paracetamol and fexofenadine which can be sold by supermarkets and those little shops at service stations to treat the headaches and sneezing from colds and flu. By pure good luck, pharmacists are included in the class of "health practitioners" and several have reported that people who have bought ArmaForce have come back worried that they might have a coronavirus infection. (Apparently no reports have been received from the customers of naturopaths and herbalists, or maybe these practitioners don't know how to pass on any complaints.)
I do, however, have to award Blackmore's several Chutzpah Points for labeling the product as "Vegan". As it's made from plants (unlike the aforementioned paracetamol and fexofenadine which are made in plants) that's probably correct, but in this case it has the added value of not having any animals used in testing. That's easy to not do if you don't actually do any testing, of course.
Fun with old friends #1 (15/1/2022)
Marcus Blackmore, main owner of Australia's biggest purveyor of snake oil had a couple of parties over the Christmas period. Mr Blackmore denies being anti-vaccine (of course) but hasn't found the time in between counting his millions to get to a doctor and actually have the shots. As it could be expected that his social circle would include people of similar quackery sentiments (plus the usual brain-dead hangers on social butterflies who worship the rich list) the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald was sort of predictable - "Party pooper COVID ruins rich-lister fun". You can click on the image to read the complete article.
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