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Comment and Opinion
I watched in amazement as a spokesperson for the promoters appeared on my television and claimed that the method was 87% successful in the treatment of allergies. Not just the treatment, but the complete elimination of allergies. Often a single visit is all that is necessary. You may wonder how anyone can make money out of a system which cures chronic hay fever for ever after just one treatment. Well, it seems that each treatment only cures one "allergy family". If you keep sneezing when you get near the cat after the first treatment then you need to go back and have another "allergy family" attended to. If you keep sneezing when you get near the cat after the second treatment then ... . You get my meaning. What made things worse was that a story appeared on a once-reputable current affairs television show promoting this quackery. It was presented as a news story and an investigation, but the totality of the investigation consisted of collecting anecdotes from people who just happened to be introduced to the TV show by the quacks and the obligatory few seconds of a real doctor being too polite to stop talking about science and start talking about fraud. What I saw was an unpaid advertisement for a method to take money from people and offer nothing in return except the promise of more expense in the future. You can see some details of the television program here, and the program's explanation of how Advanced Allergy Elimination "works" here. Someone wrote to me about this: From: "brett hogan" To whom it may concern, Hello I am writing in regards to your article on Advanced Allergy Elimination (http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/aae.htm) and was wondering whether you have actually tried this personally or whether your comments were based on watching the A Current Affair program. Kind Regards, Brett ACA just alerted me to the scam. I was amazed that the show would promote such an obvious and transparent fraud.
Someone was not happy. My responses are in italics. From: "Craig Reimer" I DONT KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT RIGHT YOU HAVE TO BE SO JUDGEMENTAL ON THIS ISSUE BUT I HAVE JUST ONE QUESTION FOR YOU. DO YOU SUFFER FROM ALLERGIES? Yes. As it happens I am allergic to certain pollens, including some from grasses. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE OR SEEN A HELPLESS CHILD GO THROUGH THE UNBEARABLE ITCHING OR PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH AN ALLERGY? I THINK NOT!!! You think wrong. I grew up with someone who could have life-threatening asthma attacks at any time. I HAVE AND IT JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE MY SON. HE WAS TREATED IN FEBUARY THIS YEAR AT THE BRISBANE CLINIC HE WAS TREATED FOR 4 ALLERGEN FAMILIES ALL OF WHICH HAVE GIVEN HIM COMPLETE RELIEF. THIS IS A CHILD WHO COULDN'T PLAY ON THE GRASS BECAUSE HE WAS ALLERGIC TO SO MANY GRASS SEED POLLENS. HE WAS ALSO TREATED FOR DUSTMITES, PRIOR TO TREATMENT HIS ALLERGY LEFT HIM SNEEZING FOR 2 HOURS EVERY MORNING AND ALSO ITCHING CONSTANTLY ON THE FACE. SO TELL ME WHY IS IT THAT MY SON NOW WAKES UP AND DOESN'T SNEEZE HAS NO ITCHING AND CAN NOW BE A CHILD AND PLAY OUTSIDE ON THE GRASS LIKE EVERY OTHER CHILD CAN!!! One obvious reason is that he was doing a lot of sneezing last spring when the grass was flowering and he isn't now because it is heading into winter. My allergies settle down at this time of year also, and it doesn't take quackery to make that happen. HE CAN NOW LIVE HIS LIFE WITHOUT DANGEROUS MEDICATIONS LIKE PHERNAGAN WHICH WOULD ONLY GIVE HIM MINOR RELIEF.GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU PREACH TO PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY BELIEVE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. I WILL BE SEEKING FURTHER TREATMENT WITH AAE AND YES WILL BE PAYING THEM FOR THEIR EXCELLENT SERVICES. AND MY HEALTHFUND WILL GIVE ME A REFUND TO BOOT!!!!!!!! The only alternative treatments paid for by my health fund (Medibank Private) are chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy and remedial massage. (I know, it's outrageous that I have to pay insurance for these, but they won't give me a discount just because I will never use them.) I realise that other health funds cover a wider range of quackery, but I didn't think any of them would be silly enough to pay for this obvious fraud. Did the crooks actually put "AAE" on the invoice or did they put something like "chiropractic"? If they did the latter they were probably committing insurance fraud as well as health fraud, just as you would have been doing when submitting the claim to the fund.
Advanced Allergy Elimination eliminated? (23/5/2009) ACCC institutes proceedings against Advanced Allergy Elimination Pty Ltd and its director, Paul Keir The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings in the Fast Track list in the Federal Court, Melbourne against Advanced Allergy Elimination Pty Ltd for alleged contraventions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The action concerns alleged representations by AAE including that it can test for and accurately identify a substance to which a person is allergic and that it can eliminate and successfully treat a person's allergy. The ACCC alleges AAE cannot test for and treat a person's allergies. The ACCC alleges that in making these representations AAE has engaged in false and/or misleading conduct. The ACCC has also taken action against AAE's director, Mr Paul Keir for allegedly being involved in certain of AAE's conduct. The ACCC is seeking various orders including declarations, injunctions, corrective notices and costs. The ACCC is also seeking an order that Mr Keir attend trade practices law training. A scheduling conference is listed before Justice Finkelstein on Wednesday 24 June 2009 at 2.00 pm in the Federal Court, Melbourne. Release # NR 114/09
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Advanced Allergy Elimination is a bizarre concoction of quackeries. It combines the magical vibration bottles of Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET), the arm pushing of NAET, 
Not to be outdone, the major competing television program to A Current Affair ran their own promotion for the fraud. It was run under the heading 
