Matthias Rath (born 1955) is a doctor,
businessman, and vitamin salesman.
He earned his medical degree in Germany.
Rath claims that a program of
nutritional supplements
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
(which he calls "cellular medicine"), including formulations that he sells, can treat or cure
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
,
cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...
, cancer, and HIV/AIDS.
These claims are not supported by any reliable
medical research
Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...
.
Rath runs the Dr. Rath Health Foundation, has been closely associated with Health Now, Inc.,
and founded the Dr. Rath Research Institute.
The ''
Sunday Times (Johannesburg)'' has described Rath as an "international campaigner for the use of natural remedies" whose "theories on the treatment of cancer have been rejected by health authorities all over the world." On HIV/AIDS, Rath has disparaged the pharmaceutical industry and denounced
antiretroviral
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multipl ...
medication as toxic and dangerous, while claiming that his vitamin pills could reverse the course of AIDS. As a result, Rath has been accused of "potentially endangering thousands of lives" in South Africa, a country with a
massive AIDS epidemic where Rath was active in the mid-2000s.
[Fall of the vitamin doctor: Matthias Rath drops libel action](_blank)
by Sarah Boseley. ''The Guardian'', UK, 12 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008 The head of
Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...
said of Rath, "This guy is killing people by luring them with unrecognised treatment without any scientific evidence"; Rath attempted to sue him.
Rath's claims and methods have been widely criticised by medical organisations, AIDS-activist groups, and the United Nations, among others.
[The Denialists: The dangerous attacks on the consensus about H.I.V. and AIDS](_blank)
by Michael Specter. Published in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2007.[U.N. slams AIDS 'dissident' for attack on drugs](_blank)
, by Stephanie Nebehay. Published by Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
on 12 May 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2008 Former South African President
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...
and former Minister of Health
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
Mantombazana "Manto" Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang (née Mali; 9 October 1940 – 16 December 2009) was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and served as Minister of Health from 1999 to 2008 under Preside ...
have also been criticised by the medical and AIDS-activist community for their perceived support for Rath's claims.
According to doctors with
Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...
,
the
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...
(a South African AIDS-activist group)
[South Africa: TAC prevails over Rath. PlusNews Global, 13 June 2008.](_blank)
. Retrieved 15 June 2008. and a former Rath colleague,
unauthorised
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
s run by Rath and his associates, using vitamins as therapy for HIV, resulted in deaths of some participants. In 2008, the
Cape High Court found the trials unlawful, banned Rath and his foundation from conducting unauthorised clinical trials and from advertising their products, and instructed the South African Health Department to fully investigate Rath's vitamin trials.
In 2008, Rath expanded his advertising to Russia, a country where the incidence of HIV/AIDS had been increasing.
Background
Born in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany, Rath studied at the
Hamburg University
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...
Medical School in Germany.
[Natural health in Africa. African Decisions magazine. Issue 3/2004. Pages 26–28.] After graduating, he began researching
arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of Artery, arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis ...
at the University Clinic of Hamburg. Later, during 1989 and 1990, he was a researcher at the Berlin Heart Centre.
He subsequently joined two-time Nobel Prize laureate
Linus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...
at his research institute in California.
Ultimately, Rath had a falling-out with the Linus Pauling Institute; after a series of
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
s and countersuits, Rath was ordered in 1994 to pay the Institute $75,000 and was assigned several patents.
[A global business built on vitamins – and the claim to kill all disease](_blank)
by Sarah Bosely. Published in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008. Rath subsequently developed his own branded nutrient products, set up the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and Dr. Rath Research Institute, and funds nutrition research with patent development in what he calls "Cellular Medicine".
Rath has offices in California, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa (
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
). His foundation also advertises its products in Spain, France, and Russia.
According to Eversheds, Rath's solicitor, the Dr. Rath Health Foundation is "a not-for-profit body which conducts research into science-based natural therapies", but the foundation is estimated to have earned "millions" through nutritional supplement sales.
['Matthias Rath: Denouncer of modern medicine.'](_blank)
S. Boseley, ''The Guardian'', 12 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
According to Rath, international events of the last century have been driven by pharmaceutical and oil companies. He claims that these interests started and exploited
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In court filings, Rath and his lawyers write that the pharmaceutical industry then started
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa as part of a global conspiracy to "conquer and control the entire African continent." They specifically mention former
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
officials and the German chemical company
IG Farben
Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG (), commonly known as IG Farben (German for 'IG Dyestuffs'), was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies—BASF, ...
as playing a central role in the alleged conspiracy. They also compare Rath's adversaries in court to Hitler's stormtroopers.
Rath suggests that the pharmaceutical industry continues to control international politics today, allowing 9/11 to occur and starting the Iraq War to divert attention from what he considers the failures of drug companies.
On his website, Rath states that United States President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and Vice President
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
, at the behest of what Rath calls the "pharmaceutical cartel", were planning a nuclear war in advance of the 4 November 2008 elections in the United States. Rath has made similar claims in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and other major newspapers around the world in the form of large advertisements reportedly designed to resemble newspaper editorials.
Awards
In 2001, the
American Preventive Medical Association
The Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA), formerly known as the American Association for Health Freedom, is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting alternative medicine and is associated with the libertarian health freedom m ...
and the National Foundation for Alternative Medicine, both
health freedom advocacy groups, gave Rath the Bulwark of Liberty Award.
Controversies
Rath's theories, claims, and research, particularly his efforts to persuade South Africans to use his vitamin supplements to treat HIV/AIDS, have been controversial.
Illegal AIDS trials in South Africa
In 2005, according to
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
, Rath's foundation distributed tens of thousands of pamphlets in poor black
South African townships, such as
Khayelitsha
Khayelitsha () is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to be the largest , claiming that
HIV medication was "poison" and urging HIV-positive people to instead use vitamins such as those Rath sells to treat HIV/AIDS.
[SOUTH AFRICA: South African Activists Take On AIDS 'Dissident'](_blank)
, by Gordon Bell. Published by Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
on 19 April 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2008. People with "advanced AIDS" were then recruited by the Rath Foundation and its surrogates for what the Rath Foundation called "a clinical pilot study in HIVpositive patients"
[ A. Thom, K. Bodibe, Sunday Times (Johannesburg), 4 September 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2008.] Personnel of the South Africa National Civic Organisation (Sanco) administered the programme in Khayelitsha as "agents for the Rath foundation."
Patients were recruited for the study with offers of money or food
and instructed to stop taking conventional HIV/AIDS medications.
Luthando Nogcinisa, a local Communist Party official, said that Rath agents recruited known HIV-positive individuals, "often with a pack of groceries, and they encourage the person not to take the antiretrovirals, but to rather take the vitamins".
Mike Waters, Democratic Alliance health spokesperson, states that Rath gave patients "food parcels to convince them to give up their antiretrovirals and take his vitamin C supplements instead."
Rath Foundation employees reportedly infiltrated HIV/AIDS clinics in Khayelitsha and paid clinic staff to provide them with names of patients.
[No drugs, just take vitamins: the dangerous advice to cure HIV](_blank)
by Chris McGreal. Published in ''The Guardian'' on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008. ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described a case in which a pregnant woman newly diagnosed with HIV was visited at home by Rath Health Foundation employees and convinced to stop taking her antiretroviral medication in favour of Rath's vitamins; she died three months later.
[Matthias Rath: The human cost](_blank)
by Charlotte Rowles, Michael Tait, and Joe McAllister. Published 12 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008. The Rath Foundation disputed that patients were asked to stop taking effective antiviral medication. Rath's lawyers also claimed that the trial was actually a "community nutrition programme" to which Rath contributed vitamins.
Five trial participants stated in
affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
s that they were stripped to their underwear, photographed, and forced to have their blood drawn. They were told to take pills containing what were said to be high doses of vitamins, including Rath's ''VitaCell''. Demetre Labadarios, who leads the Human Nutrition programme at
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
, questioned the safety of administering high doses of supplements to already sick patients.
During and immediately following the vitamin trials, "many people died,"
[Manto's muti policy](_blank)
A. Thom, South Africa Independent Online, 20 August 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008. deaths Rath's adversaries attributed to lack of effective medication. Sanco-Rath clinic workers reportedly instructed patients to return to the clinic in the event of medical emergency, rather than going to hospital.
The
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...
(TAC) and the South African Medical Association (SAMA) took the Rath Foundation to court to prevent further unauthorised trials and stop the foundation's claims that vitamins could treat or cure HIV/AIDS. Rath's lawyer said that he had never claimed his vitamin products were a cure for HIV/AIDS, adding that Rath's only involvement in the affair was the donation of vitamins to the South African National Civics Organisation. TAC and SAMA prevailed in court over Rath and the Medicines Control Council on unauthorised trials and advertising of Rath's nutrients as a replacement therapy for HIV.
In September 2008 Rath was ordered to pay court costs in an unsuccessful libel action against ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (UK) after the paper reported on his foundation's unauthorised drug trials in South Africa.
Efficacy and marketing claims
SKAK
In 2004 the Swiss Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer (SKAK), an independent group that evaluates
alternative medical treatments
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
, examined Rath's vitamin preparations and marketing claims.
[Report from the Swiss Study Group on Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer](_blank)
stating that there is no evidence that Rath's treatments are effective. Retrieved 21 September 2006. SKAK reported that it "found no proof that the vitamin preparations of Dr. Matthias Rath have any effect on human cancer" and "advise
against their use in cancer prevention and treatment while recommending a diet rich in fruit and vegetables."
SKAK's report specifically criticised Rath for:
*Making sweeping, unsubstantiated claims of efficacy. Rath has claimed that his vitamin treatments can cure all forms of cancer, as well as most
infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
s, including AIDS.
[Rath, M.: Cellular health Series – Cancer. 2/2001, MR Publishing, Sta. Clara, CA 95054]
*Citing anecdotal reports of success that could not be confirmed. In the case of one patient allegedly "cured" by Rath's methods, SKAK found that "it is not even certain from a medical perspective if cancer was present."
*Using a self-developed test of efficacy rather than widely accepted and verified tests and endpoints.
SKAK's conclusion regarding Rath's vitamin formulations was:
A cancer-curing effect has not been documented for any of these substances. Nor is there any proof that the preparations sold by Matthias Rath, some with high dosages, are useful in cancer prevention—leave alone curing cancer. Rath still owes proof regarding the correctness of his claims. Proof of effect cannot be provided by analogy with in vitro, animal or cell experiments. Because there is no proof for effect nor for the harmlessness of the preparations, SKAK advises against their use.
Harvard multivitamin study
Rath claimed that a
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...
study published in the ''
New England Journal of Medicine
''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one.
Hist ...
'' validated claims that multivitamin supplementation slows the progression of HIV to AIDS. The study's authors released a statement condemning Rath's "irresponsible and misleading statements, as in our view they deliberately misinterpret findings from our studies to advocate against the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy."
[Statement from the authors of the Harvard School of Public Health study](_blank)
stating that Rath has misused their study results. Retrieved 20 September 2006. The authors felt that Rath had misused their results to argue that multivitamins should be used ''in place of'' antiretroviral medication. They affirmed the central role of
antiretroviral medication
Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do n ...
in treating AIDS and indicated that multivitamins should be at most a ''supplementary'' treatment.
Use of published medical literature
A 1998 ''
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
'' article examined some of Rath's and Health Now's claims in support of Rath's multivitamin supplement blend.
[ – article als]
available online
in its entirety. The authors found that Rath listed 40 citations to support his product but that only eight of them were of actual clinical trials. After examining these clinical trials, the authors concluded that despite Rath's claims to the contrary, "no general clinical benefit of vitamins C and E and carotene can be proved from the works cited by Health Now."
Claims of WHO and UN support
Rath's advertising material has suggested that his nutritional supplements are superior to antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and implied that his claims were endorsed by the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
,
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
, and
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an e ...
. These agencies issued a joint statement condemning Rath's advertisements as "wrong and misleading".
Criticism
Credentials
The
Democratic Alliance (DA), an official opposition party in South Africa, said Rath was representing himself as a medical doctor in his literature distributed in South Africa, and claimed that this was against the law since he was not registered as a doctor in South Africa. The DA filed complaints with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and the police. The Health Professions Council said it could not discipline Rath since its jurisdiction is restricted to registered doctors.
A lawyer representing Rath responded to the complaints by stating that the title 'Dr.' referred in Rath's case to "a PHD doctorate he had obtained and his position as a researcher, not a medical doctor."
Other sources, however, describe Rath as a "qualified doctor"
and state that he "obtained his basic medical degree in 1985, after studying in Munster and Hamburg" and "became a researcher first at the University Clinic in Hamburg and then, during 1989 and 1990, at the Berlin Heart Centre....In 2003, the regional court in Berlin banned Rath from calling himself in his adverts 'the renowned doctor' and/or 'the renowned scientist', after a court case in which medical and scientific witnesses said he was neither. In the same year, Rath's theories and micronutrients were disavowed by the respected and influential Swiss Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer."
South African Council of Churches
To address the "confusion" created by Rath's advertising campaign, the
South African Council of Churches
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included Desmond Tutu, Beyers Naudé an ...
issued a statement that Rath's activities in South Africa "can only be interpreted as misguided strategies to promote Rath's own brand of nutritional supplements." The Council affirmed the importance of both antiretroviral medication and good nutrition for people with HIV, and pointed out that multivitamins are distributed by
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
services and need not be obtained from Rath's organisation.
Legal cases
Rath has been involved in a number of legal cases.
*In 2000, the Court of Almelo in the Netherlands ordered Rath to stop making unfounded, false, and defamatory statements about the Dutch pharmaceutical company
Numico
Nutricia is a Danone brand that specialises in therapeutic food and infant formula, including medical nutrition for babies with specific needs.
The former company, N.V. Nutricia., was established in The Netherlands by brothers Jan and Martinus v ...
.
["Quackery quashed, but Rath's legacy lives" Donaldson A and Huisman B, The Times, SA, 14 June 2008](_blank)
. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
*In 2002, the British
Advertising Standards Authority found that advertisements by Rath contained a series of
misleading and false claims and ordered the claims removed.
*In 2002, the United States
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
notified Rath that he was promoting his vitamin supplements in a manner that violated the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (abbreviated as FFDCA, FDCA, or FD&C) is a set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of f ...
, by making claims of efficacy without undergoing the appropriate scientific and regulatory review.
*In 2005, the Advertising Standards Association of South Africa (ASASA) issued three separate rulings against Rath, finding that he had made false and misleading claims regarding the effectiveness of his supplements and describing his advertisements as "reckless in the extreme".
[Matthias Rath's ads 'reckless in the extreme'](_blank)
, by Elvira van Noort. Published in the ''Mail & Guardian
The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cultu ...
'' on 30 August 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2008. Rath continued the advertisements, leading the ASASA to rule that, "in light of the gravity of
ath'sbreaches", he was required to submit all further advertising to the ASASA for prior approval.
*In 2006, the
High Court of South Africa
The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical ...
found that Rath had defamed the
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...
(TAC), an AIDS nonprofit organisation, by publicly making false and misleading statements about the TAC. Rath was ordered to cease his defamatory remarks "to ensure that the TAC's continued participation in the debate is not hamstrung by defamatory and unfounded allegations."
*In 2006, the 22 July issue of the ''
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
'' (BMJ) reported that Rath had gone on trial in Hamburg "for fraud" in relation to the death of Dominik Feld. The BMJ subsequently retracted its report "on legal advice" and apologised to Rath, stating that the BMJ accepted that "the allegations we published were without foundation." A subsequent
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
claim by Rath was settled by the ''BMJ'' for £100,000.
*In 2006, Rath was prosecuted in Germany for distributing vitamins over the internet without a pharmaceutical licence, and for claiming on his website that the vitamins could cure cancer. Rath settled the case with a EUR33,000 fine, paid to an organisation helping disabled children, and amended the website. The judge noted that the case had not given an impression of "charlatanry", but rather of excessively aggressive marketing.
*In 2007, the
German Federal Constitutional Court
The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...
issued a ruling in favour of Rath, finding that the prohibition of the brochure and poster "Stop the pharmacartel" and "Stop the
codex
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
-plans of the pharmacartel" by judgements of courts in Berlin in 2000/2001 was unjustified as it violated Rath's fundamental rights, e.g. the right of free speech.
*In 2008, the
Cape Town High Court issued an interdict barring Rath from advertising his products as a treatment for AIDS, and stating that the clinical trials he has been running in black townships are illegal. The ruling also found that "Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her department had a duty to investigate Rath's activities."
*In 2008 Rath sued
Ben Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre (born 20 May 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. He is the first Bennett Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford ...
and ''The Guardian'' for libel in three articles describing Rath's activities in South Africa. In September 2008, Rath dropped his suit and was ordered to pay costs, an interim amount of about £220,000.
Goldacre has expressed interest in writing a "meticulously referenced" work on Rath, and South African
AIDS denialism
HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while oth ...
in general, based on material that had been excised from his column during the litigation.
'Matthias Rath drops his million pound legal case against me and the Guardian'
badscience.net. Published 12 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008 A chapter about Rath in Goldacre's ''Bad Science'' that was omitted from the first edition due to the litigation was reinstated in the paperback edition in early 2009, made available on his website, and licensed for free distributionbr>
See also
*List of ineffective cancer treatments
This is a non-exhaustive list of alternative treatments that have been promoted to treat or prevent cancer in humans but which lack scientific and medical evidence of effectiveness. In many cases, there is scientific evidence that the alleged tr ...
References
External links
Profile at Dr. Rath Research Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Matthias
1955 births
University of Hamburg alumni
HIV/AIDS denialists
Living people
German nutritionists
Physicians from Stuttgart
Patent medicine businesspeople
Creative Commons-licensed authors
Alternative cancer treatment advocates
Orthomolecular medicine advocates
Pseudoscientific diet advocates
Businesspeople from Stuttgart