Top 10 Faked Medical Scares
#10: 5G Conspiracies
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Since the use of cell phones became widespread, there has been no shortage of conspiracy theories about what dangers they may cause – that they produce harmful radiation capable of giving you cancer, for instance. These fears persist today, with many people touting the same old lines in protests against the rollout of 5G, the next level of mobile network. Cell companies have criticized the protestors as just trying to frighten people, and officials have repeatedly insisted that there is absolutely no evidence that 5G is dangerous. And in early 2020, conspiracy theories that 5G is to blame for the global pandemic even gained ground – despite this making absolutely no sense.
#9: Dangers of Power Lines
There are some undeniable dangers surrounding power lines – you definitely don’t want to touch one, for example, because they’re carrying potentially fatal amounts of electricity. But in the 1970s, a theory emerged that power lines were to blame for childhood leukemia. Studies were published stating that children living within 600 meters of power lines had a greater risk of developing leukemia. It took a long time for this to be debunked, however; it wasn’t until an Oxford University study was published in 2014 that it was thoroughly proven that there was absolutely no connection between power lines and cancer.
#8: Cancer-Causing Shampoo
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Back in the days when an email chain was the best way to distribute fake information, a rumor that the chemical sodium lauryl sulfate, a common ingredient in shampoo, might be causing cancer, gained traction. That’s because SLS is also found in more powerful cleaners, which makes people think it’s not something they should be putting on their hair. SLS is in all sorts of topical beauty products, including toothpaste, bubble bath, and face masks, and even in some food products – marshmallows, for instance. Rest assured, there is no evidence that SLS will cause you harm in small quantities; in larger quantities it will irritate your skin, but it still won’t give you a terminal disease.
#7: Office Printers Cause Lung Damage
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We’ve been working alongside printers for decades, and most people probably have one in their home – but is your printer secretly killing you? An Australian study published in 2007 seemed to think so, and deduced that HP office printers release “ultra-fine particles”, or UFPs, of toner and ink into the air. They said that this was as dangerous as inhaling second-hand smoke. While it’s true that UFPs are listed as pollutants, there’s no evidence to prove that printers of all varieties, including 3D, produce anywhere near enough UFPs to be considered dangerous. Scientists do agree that more research should be conducted, but this particular study was widely criticized for its inaccuracy.
#6: Corn Syrup Causes Obesity
The US is grappling with an obesity epidemic, and many researchers are still trying to understand the cause. One easy thing to blame is high fructose corn syrup, used throughout food manufacturing instead of regular sugar because it’s cheaper. HFCS isn’t exactly good for you, just like consuming too much of anything has its dangers, but a theory that emerged in 2004 suggested that HFCS causes obesity because people consuming it can’t tell when they’re full. This is not true; of all the health problems corn syrup is proven to cause, like liver disease or diabetes, it’s not going to trick you into thinking you have an empty stomach. Your best bet is to cut down on sweet foods of all types.
#5: Lipstick Contains Dangerous Levels of Lead
In 2003, an environmental group published an exhaustive investigation of lipsticks on sale in the US, and found that many leading brands contain lead. Consuming lead is something you should avoid at all costs, so how did this slip under the radar of the FDA? Well, because lipstick isn’t food, so the trace amounts of lead some lipsticks contain in the dyes they use aren’t deemed to be dangerous. Unless you’re actually eating and swallowing large quantities of lipstick, which you shouldn’t be doing anyway, you’re not at risk of lead poisoning. The FDA and other bodies have thoroughly investigated, and all ruled that lipstick lead levels are not a cause for concern.
#4: Using Tampons to Get Drunk
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In 2009 and a few times since, rumors have circulated that teens have been soaking tampons in vodka and inserting them to try and get drunk. This news story is as bizarre as it is false; there have been almost no reported cases of anybody using vodka-covered tampons as a way to consume alcohol on the down-low. Just to be safe, many doctors were interviewed about what effect this would have, and the verdict is unanimous: it’s dangerous and won’t even get you that drunk; the average tampon can only hold 1.5 ounces of vodka at most, the equivalent of one shot. You’d be much better off drinking it normally.
#3: Aspartame Controversy
A convincing email hoax was to blame for another unfounded conspiracy, this time that aspartame, an important ingredient in some artificial sweeteners, could cause conditions like multiple sclerosis, lupus, depression, and even blindness. This email was written by “Nancy Markle”, a made-up woman, and circulated in 1998, one of many incidents surrounding aspartame and whether it’s safe. The FDA and other scientific bodies, including the European Food Safety Authority, have repeatedly found that aspartame is safe. But to this day it remains a source of rumors due to its prevalence in sugar alternatives and diet sodas, for instance.
#2: Fluoride Lowers IQ
For years, fluoride has been put into the water supply in many countries to try and prevent tooth decay, and for just as long it’s been a source of concern. One popular conspiracy stated that if a pregnant person consumes fluoride, it may lower the IQ of their child. One study carried out in Canada found that for every 1mg of additional fluoride a mother consumes, their child’s IQ drops slightly, but researchers stress that this does not prove cause and effect and the results are not conclusive. The study didn’t take into account other factors that could affect a child’s IQ score and ignored the fact that this “correlation” was only observed in boys.
#1: Vaccines Cause Autism
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The rate of autism diagnoses has risen in recent years, but this is simply because we’re getting better at understanding it. It’s not, as many would have you believe, because of the MMR vaccine, designed to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella. But this story has stuck due to a 1998 study written by Andrew Wakefield, who has since had his medical license revoked. He argued that the MMR vaccine causes autism, which has given rise to the anti-vaxxer movement; there is absolutely no evidence to support this, however. Then in 2015, a rumor broke out that anti-vaxxer parents were holding “measles parties” to infect their kids to develop immunity, rather than get their kids vaccinated. But this, too, was fake news.
