Illustration by Paola Bilancieri.
Who would have thought that the humble lentil flour (revalenta arabica) would, in the mid-19th century, be advertised as a food of extraordinary restorative power for invalids and sold at many times its cost for this purpose? And this is not even the first documented example of quackery in historical records. Pietro Longhi’s painting The Charlatan (1757) is an even earlier example, showing a man in the act of promoting his suspicious wares.
The term quack is a shortened version of the old term quacksalver, derived from the Dutch: kwakzalver, a “hawker of salve,” somebody who boasted about his salves, also known as ointments. In the Middle Ages, the term quack meant “shouting,” since quacksalvers sold their products at markets by shouting like circus barkers.
Quackery is often described as “health fraud,” and one of its main characteristics is aggressive promotion. Stephen Barrett, the founder of Quackwatch, a website aimed at debunking health-related frauds, myths, and pseudoscientific claims, defines quackery as “the promotion of unsubstantiated methods that lack a scientifically plausible rationale.”
The danger of quackery is that it might cause people to avoid treatments that are likely to help, in favor of ineffective and even harmful treatments.
Enter R.F. Kennedy Jr., the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, some of whose medical ideas could be considered part of the long tradition of quackery in America. In 1984, Kennedy pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of heroin in South Dakota, and was sentenced to two years of probation and community service. To satisfy conditions of his probation, he worked as a volunteer for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), claiming that this ended his 14 years of heroin use.
Later, he defended the environment, advocating for the repeal of legislation that he considered endangered its preservation. In 1987, he founded the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law. He and the clinic received several awards for their legal work to clean the environment, and were a model for similar environmental law clinics in other parts of the country.
For many years, he carried out significant work for the defense of indigenous people’s rights. He represented CONFENIAE, a confederation of Indian peoples, to limit oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon and defended Amazonian tribes’ right to benefit from resource extraction. He also was a vocal critic of Texaco’s record of polluting the Ecuadorian Amazon.
For a long time, Kennedy claimed that vaccines cause autism. However, several studies conducted in many countries have concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism. His distrust of vaccines ignores that 14 diseases were nearly eliminated by vaccines, saving millions of people’s lives and improving their quality of life. Although in recent times Kennedy denied that he is anti-vaccines, his record proves otherwise.
Under his tenure, the Health and Human Services Department cut billions of dollars to state health agencies, thus hindering their work and research on childhood immunization. Kennedy also has promoted the use of cod liver oil, a steroid and an antibiotic as treatment for measles. They are not scientifically approved therapies and –rather than curing them– could make children even sicker.
An easy explanation (though easy explanations are not always right) is that the Secretary’s lack of medical training impedes his capacity to analyze medical and scientific data correctly. Although it is true that vaccines can have some adverse side effects, the quantity of those negative results pales in comparison to their positive benefits.
R. F. Kennedy Jr.’s behavior puts the public at considerable risk. That is why his nomination was strongly criticized. In December 2024, more than 75 Nobel Laureates requested that the US Senate oppose Kennedy’s nomination, stating that he “would put the public’s health in jeopardy.”
On January 9, 2025, over 17,000 doctors, members of the Committee to Protect Health Care, signed an open letter urging the Senate to oppose Kennedy’s nomination. In spite of the warnings, he now has the most important health position in the US government.
On April 9, there were massive cuts to programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Georges Benjamin, MD, president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), issued a statement that said concerns raised during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings have been realized.
These considerations are pertinent, as measles cases are now over 700 and have extended from Texas to other states and caused at least two children’s deaths. Those deaths and sickness could have been avoided if the children had been vaccinated.
Although cuts to health care and research continue unabated, there is still time to change direction, follow expert medical advice and take measures to truly improve people’s health.
