By Dr. Anthony Policastro

In the 1800’s, Chinese laborers introduced snake oil to the United States. It was an oil made from the Chinese water snake. It contained omega-3 fatty acids. These could help reduce inflammation. For that reason, some people found it to be beneficial.

However, there was another group of individuals who found it to be profitable. They created their own versions of useless oils. These oils were touted to be cure-alls for just about any illness. The most common ingredients included beef fat, mineral oil and alcohol.

They were often sold as part of a traveling stage show performance. After the performers would get a crowd together, the “snake oil” salesman would tell everyone about the great formula that could cure all their ills.

The good news is that the Pure Food and Drug Act passed in 1906 put a stop to a lot of this. A side effect of that act was that it also put a stop to those individuals selling addictive narcotics. The most well-known of the products was laudanum. It was a mixture of alcohol and opium. The Pure Food and Drug Act dropped its sales markedly.

Unfortunately, the charlatans selling products that did not work continued to function behind the scenes. Most of them would show up in small towns. They would sell their wares and then disappear, leaving the buyers with less money and no medical help.

As with all such scams, things evolved over time. They still exist today. However, they are now more sophisticated. The computer age has given these charlatans a larger audience.

A recent study done by Pew Research showed just how bad the problem still is. The study showed that 40 percent of U.S. adults (the number is 50 percent for those under 50) get their health and wellness information from social media influencers and podcasters.

Most of these individuals have no medical background. About 31 percent of them identify as “coaches.” Another 28 percent call themselves “entrepreneurs”. They do not even pretend to have a medical background. The remaining 41 percent at least claim to have a medical background. However, the specific background is often not clear.

One may wonder where people go to get this information. Of these individuals, 86 percent have an Instagram account. In addition, 62 percent have a TikTok account. And then 45 percent have a YouTube account.

The bottom line is that if you are getting your health information from Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, there is a good possibility that the individual on the other end knows as much or less about health-related issues than you do.

You can also expect that anything you are asked to pay for from these individuals probably is as effective as the snake oil salesmen in the 19th Century.

They often are opportunistic. For example, many of them already are selling things that will keep you from getting hantavirus. They will claim that they work since it is unlikely that hantavirus will become epidemic as COVID did. However, the fact that COVID was so recent is one of their selling points.

The old-time snake oil salesmen traveling from town to town are a thing of the past. The new group only has to sit at home on their computer to find what it means to find the “sucker born every minute”.