Scientology Detox Debate

A Scientology detox program that has been providing its services free to those involved in the 9/11 rescue effort now wants to open their doors to everyone else - and charge a hefty fee, of course. There is no medical evidence that the program does any good to anyone except, perhaps, Scientology itself.

According to the New York Post:

The daily regimen involves drinking niacin, which reacts to chemicals in fat, running on a treadmill and then hitting the steam room for up to four hours. These activities release toxins stored in fat cells for years, says Dr. David Root, who has administered the program for more than 20 years.

Last week, however, toxicology experts said there was no scientific evidence that toxins can be dislodged from your body by any means. "It sounds great and they mean well, but it just doesn't work," claimed University of Georgia professor Cham Dallas, who has studied toxins in humans for more than 20 years and is a leading expert in bioterrorism. "This is just hocus-pocus," said Dr. Bob Hoffman of the New York City Poison Control Center. "For some people, sitting in a hot environment can be very dangerous."

FDNY deputy chief medical examiner Dr. David Prezant says his main concern is that many rescue workers are going off their medication without consulting their doctors before they start the program. One retired firefighter, eager to start the program, passed out in a Queens Barnes & Noble after suffering an asthma attack. "They wanted me off my meds for 30 days before I started," said Robert McGuire, 37. "Two weeks into it I was by myself [in a store], my inhaler was in the car and I thought I was going to die. was taken to the emergency room — it was really scary," he added. "I don't like being on so much medication, but I really can't live without it."

Perhaps the provision of free services to firefighters, police, and emergency personnel was always a means for getting free publicity for their program. Now they can advertise themselves as having cared for 9/11 emergency workers, if they want, and it might even get unsuspecting people to come in and try them out. The Scientologists might as well sacrifice small goats and wave pig livers over people’s heads for all the good their program does, though.

Read More:

• What is Scientology?
• Scientology News
• Scientology: Critiques
• Scientology: Spoofs & Books
• Scientology vs. the Internet
• Scientology: Court Cases
• Scientology: L. Ron Hubbard