Acupuncture and other traditional Chinese medicine news and discussion thread

We have Dragons Den here in Canada too and Shark Tank in the U.S. I've seen a few Sharks and Dragons question entrepreneurs on ethical issues and whether they're selling snake oil regarding medical claims, most don't jump on board.

Seed ear lady should meet "Mr. Wonderful" some time.

 

3 million people watched Dragons Den on the 18th January 2024

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/ratings/top-10-ratings-thursday-18-january/5189610.article

 

Why Dragon's Den's latest episode was so damaging

While Dragon's Den viewers were still buzzing over the addition of newest honorary dragon Gary Neville, social media was also discussing the devastating impact Thursday night's show had on the disability community.

ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) is a debilitating chronic illness which causes life-changing fatigue, muscle and joint pain, brain fog and headaches to name but a few symptoms.

When a young entrepreneur popped up on Dragon's Den and claimed that a "personal healing journey" that included ear seeds had aided her recovery from ME within 12 months, most of us living with the condition rolled our eyes, as there's famously no scientific cure for the condition.

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a46456849/dragons-den-ear-seeds/

 

She didn't create the concept of ear seeds - they've been used in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for forever. So that adds yet another layer to her scamming and grifting!
1) the fake sob story
2) the fake healing claims
3) the misappropriation of TCM practices
4) the outrageous profiteering

I know we're mostly, as a ME/CFS community angry about 2 with a serving of 1 as well, and that is what most of the social media noise and complaints will focus on, but we can really hit her where it hurts by thinking about 3 and 4 as well....

Let's face it, there are still going to be a lot of people who will try these because they're a lot cheaper than pretty much every other option and people are desperate. Not just ME/CFS people, but all the other things she touches upon on her website - weight loss, anxiety, PTSD etc. All things that people get desperate for any help with.

We can let people know that if they do want to try these then a) try an actual TCM specialist first and / or b) order the exact same product she's selling at a 1000sx mark up on eBay, Amazon, Temu etc (a simple search on Google or any of these sites gives you loads of results of sets of 600 seeds for £5 and similar!).
If we can stop the boost she's getting by pointing people who do want to try it via replies and comments to the exact same but significantly cheaper versions of the product that'll soon stop her in her tracks.

According to that Mail article she made profit of £64k in her first year AND took a decent salary (£30k+)! That just illustrates the total grift she's on that she's made that much profit in year 1 from a very low base. She's had to spend nothing on product development because she's just stolen it from TCM!

 

So Giselle, if you're reading this, I mean you no harm, we mean you no harm, you are safe here even though what we say may be rather robust in its critique of your ideas & behaviour. We're frustrated & even angry with some of what you've done & said, but i recognise you may, mean well. And also recognise there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to build a business & make money, as long as its not hurting/exploiting people. This is not a hate thread.

However, you are doing harm, despite your possible good intentions along with your desire to build a business, its harmful.

 

Sigh, a well-meaning relative has sent me a link to the BBC News article about this, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-68028447

Now I have to find the right words to gently explain why, despite appreciating their intentions for sending this to me, I think the subject of the article is horseshit.

 

I've watched the section of the programme now. I've seen Dragon's Den before, although not for many years. The panel used to interrogate those pitching.They would have asked "does your product work", "what's your evidence for your claims", "who is it aimed at & would that market buy it", "what's unique about your product or service", "have you a patent for it", "can I buy this cheaper elsewhere", "why would consumers buy from you rather than your competitors"? This pitch would fail on most of these points, nevermind the ethical side. I expect there are companies designing the packaging to sell these "ear seeds" for £5.99 at this moment. They asked Giselle Boxer no hard questions. They seemed transfixed by two things - that she had got away with the massive mark-up & by her "journey", which harms us so much.

Unfortunately it's having real world cut through. So sorry @Andy. Lots of people on the receiving end of this nonsense already and a GP on Twitter had two patients asking her to prescribe "ear seeds".

 

This seems a good article to share in response.

Why Dragon's Den's latest episode was so damaging


It's caused backlash among the chronic illness community.

By Hollie-Anne BrooksPUBLISHED: 19 JANUARY 2024


https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reali...uqQe2R0xmORi-3Xw7I-uscEhbKl4hQUAsrzd9H8uRa7UU

 

Ooops. Just seen it’s also shared up thread.

Good enough to share twice!! LOL

 

This was the GP -

https://twitter.com/user/status/1748461930556043402


Correction - they didn't ask for prescriptions.

 

How does that compare on the Chalder manure scale with bullshit?

 

Not quite as bad, in theory Chalder should have the skills to be able to tell how bad her own work is.

 

BEST WEEKEND at Soul Circus festival doing ear seed treatments on everyone

Saw some amazing immediate results for back pain, knee pain, bloating, sleep, migraines and more

 

From 2019

If you’re scrolling through Instagram while waiting in line at the grocery store, you might have stumbled upon ear seeds. The photos show close-ups of ears dotted with tiny piercings assembled like constellations. It may look like the latest fashion statement—and for some, it is—but there is often more to it than meets the eye. Some people believe that these microdermal piercings have healing properties. As the old real estate mantra goes, it’s all about “location, location, location.”

I don’t want to dismiss the temporary empowerment we can feel by doing something, anything, to address illness. But ear seeds, the new kids on the acupuncture block, are little more than a security blanket for the Instagram generation.

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience/bad-science-lends-friendly-ear-ear-seeds

 

Sorry but seeing this picture and imagining people walking around with it, I'm starting to wonder whether this particular 'issue' is one that is ripe for being dealt with by 'meming' with a few pee-takes along the lines of people posting increasingly bigger/more random items sticking out of their ears along with lines about what it has 'cured'

doesn't even have to be illness I guess, you could have a picture with someone hanging a xmas bauble off their ears and saying "10 years of spending hours remembering 'which 'safe place' did I store my christmas decorations in this year?' and the toll it takes on my sanity, all solved by this new ear bauble alternative"

 

She says had a turnover of £92,000 in the first year.

 

Oh! So Ms Dragons's Den Golden Girl says that her tacky, wildly overpriced gadgets cure just about everything!

That is a Prime Hallmark of a Health Scam according to all the health scam debunking people.

 

WTF is this Acu Seeds/Giselle Boxer promotion doing on the UK Government (Gov.UK) Website ?????


https://dragonsden.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/18/dragons-den-ip-blog-series-21-episode-3/

Dragons' Den IP Blog - Series 21 Episode 3

Episode 3 got off to a kicking start with entrepreneur and ex-football player Gary Neville joining the Den

Entrepreneur and mum, Giselle Boxer, entered the Den ready to take the Dragons on. Giselle asked for £50k and help with scaling-up her business Acu Seeds, in exchange for a 10% share in the business.

Giselle told the Dragons about her inspirational story that led to starting her own business. She was diagnosed with ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) four years ago.

I went from working in a top advertising agency, with a busy social life and exercising regularly to being mostly house bound and unable to walk for more than 5 minutes without having to get back into bed. I was told by doctors that I would never recover, work again or have children.

She told them how she believes that using a combination of diet, acupuncture, Chinese herbs and ear seeds aided her recovery within a year. Soon after this she fell pregnant, and it was whilst on maternity leave that she set up her business, Acu Seeds.




*** Licensing to expand
Giselle told Deborah Meaden that she wants to grow the business as “big as it can go.”


One way Giselle could do this is by licensing her project out to wholesalers, granting them permission to use her products without infringing on her rights. A licence is an agreement between you as the IP right owner and another party. IP can be ‘licensed-out’ or ‘licensed-in’. You can ‘license-out’ to another company in return for a fee. You can ‘license-in’ if you want to use another company’s IP to develop your own business and products. The person granting the licence is usually called the licensor, and the person receiving the licence is usually called the licensee.

After the profit margins in Giselle's pitch knocked Sara Davies’ socks off, the Dragons all made offers, making her the first entrepreneur in Den history to receive six offers.

Giselle chose to go with Dragon Steven Bartlett for 12.5% of her full asking amount after being told in the past that she would “meet a man called Steven and that he was going to be really important.”