Received this response from the reporter, re her referenced C/S experts: (Apologies for length; there is no link)
> Here is the initial story I had written with more info on those experts. > > You can find more info at quackwatch.com and on the > FTC and FDA Web sites. > > Date: Friday, October 19, 2001 Section: A SECTION > Edition: METRO Page: A1 > Source: By Stephanie Erickson, Sentinel Staff Writer > Column: AMERICA: ANXIETY AT HOME > > HOWEY COUNCIL TOUTS SILVER TONIC AS ANTHRAX `CURE' > > HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS -- The magical elixir is supposed to cure all sorts of > > ailments: gonorrhea, leukemia, sleepwalking, AIDS, arthritis, > > athlete's foot--- even anthrax. > > And now, thanks to Howey-in-the-Hills Mayor Greg Bittner and the > > Town Council, colloidal silver is the officially endorsed > "simple solution" for anthrax or any other malady that might strike > > the 950 residents of the quiet Lake County village. > > Bittner, definitely not taking his cue from medical science, told a council > > meeting last week: "This is the greatest medicinal item that has ever come > > along. It wipes out virtually every virus." > > Wishful thinking. > > Federal health officials in 1999 prohibited the marketing of colloidal > > silver as a remedy for any disease because it turns human skin blue and gray > > --- permanently. And they say the fluid -- actually, tiny particles of > > silver suspended in distilled water ---doesn't cure a thing. > > Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade > > Commission were horrified to learn that any government would promote what > > they consider a scam. > > Said FDA spokeswoman Laura Bradbard, "That's absolutely amazing." > > Added senior attorney Rich Cleland of the FTC: > "There is no scientific evidence that suggests it will be effective against > > any bacteria." > > And Dr. Stephen Barrett, vice president of the National Council Against > > Health Fraud and head of a Web site called Quackwatch.com, > > all but laughed out loud when told of Bittner's endorsement. > > "Is he going to be re-elected as buffoon of the year?" Barrett said. > > But the 67-year-old mayor, who researched colloidal silver on the Internet, > > where it's described as "nature's most powerful antibiotic," predicted it > > could "sweep the country." > > Bittner brought colloidal silver to the attention of the Town Council on > > Oct. 8, just as an anthrax case in South Florida was beginning to generate > > talk of bioterrorism. Just in case, Bittner said, the town should spend $100 > > to buy a colloidal-silver "generator" that produces a gallon of the stuff > > for about a nickel. That way, he said, residents will have enough for their > > families, and "you can take care of your neighbors, too." > > Council member Joanna Gaskill was the only one to question whether there is > > medical proof that the silver solution works. > > "I just don't want a Howey medicine show," she said. > > Regardless, the latest edition of Council Talk, the town newsletter that > > arrived in mailboxes this week, told residents of the "simple solution" to > > fight anthrax and provided police Chief Curtis Robbins' number as a contact > > for more information. The chief has said a friend of his with cancer was > > helped by the stuff. > > Colloidal silver actually is nothing new. Silver was, indeed, used through > > the 1930s as a preservative, especially in milk, and it was routinely added > > to nose drops for allergies through the 1950s. > > That's when doctors began to notice that people using silver for a long > > period were turning ashen-gray or blue, a condition > called argyria. So manufacturers stopped using silver in the mixtures. > > As diseases became more resistant to antibiotics, however, some > > alternative-medicine advocates began encouraging use of colloidal silver > > and selling generators to make it. The devices use silver rods as electrodes, > > which are inserted into a container of water. When the electrodes are hooked > > to batteries or an electrical transformer, electrolysis causes tiny > > particles of silver to become suspended in the fluid. The amount of time the > > generator runs determines the strength of the silver in the mixture. > > By the mid-1990s, the FDA had begun warning colloidal-silver marketers to > > stop selling it as a medicine; last year, at least 18 Web-based marketers > > got such warnings. > > Also last year, as part of "Operation Cure.All," the FTC charged a Central > > Florida company, Palm Bay-based Aaron Co., with fraudulent marketing of the > > stuff on the Web. > > Without admitting it violated a law, the company paid fines and refunded > > money to customers. > > Still, sales of colloidal silver are rising. > > Since the Sept. 11 attacks, business is up 10 percent, said Yvonne Hengst, > > who sells it from Delaware via her Web site. > Indeed, since the terrorist acts, she herself has been drinking a half-ounce > > a day of the elixir. > > "This is something that people really need and use, especially now with the > > anthrax scare," Hengst said. "You're crazy not to." > > What does the FDA say? > > Colloidal silver can't be considered safe. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: jrowl...@nctimes.net [mailto:jrowl...@nctimes.net] > Sent: Monday, December 17, 2001 12:24 AM > To: Erickson, Stephanie > Subject: Your Howey-In-The Hills Mayor Resignation Story > > > ...Experts say it can turn human skin blue and gray, and that > > > > it's no magic potion for anthrax... > http://orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/orl-lklsilver12121201dec12.story > > Hi Stephanie, > Great story! > Can you please refer me to these experts, regarding colloidal silver? > Thanks, > jr > -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com -or- silver-digest-requ...@eskimo.com with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com>
