December 2004

Harvard Health Letter to remove biased promo statement

DECEMBER 22, 2004 — The Harvard Health Letter will replace a misleading and biased statement about chiropractic spinal manipulation published in a recent promotional mailing. The change comes as a direct result of intervention from chiropractic organizations, particularly the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research and its director of research, Anthony Rosner, PhD and the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

The anti-chiropractic statement was part of a "26 Health Revelations You Need to Know Now" promotional mailing and stated: "Did you know that about half the people who seek spinal manipulation from a chiropractor experience problems caused by the treatment?"

In his e-mail to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), Edward Coburn, publishing director of Harvard Health Publications, said, "The brief item that appeared in our promotional mailing, while not incorrect, provides too little context to rule out your interpretation. That was not our intent. But I understand your interpretation and I do not want to leave the possibility for confusion. I have asked that we replace this item in our future promotional mailings."

Coburn also mentioned that he had received a similar complaint from FCER's Rosner, who provided him with scientific studies on chiropractic.

Sources: American Chiropractic Association (www.amerchiro.org) and Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (www.fcer.org).

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