Quackery

Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion[1] of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, qualification or credentials they do not possess; a charlatan or snake oil salesman".[2] The term quack is a clipped form of the archaic term quacksalver, from Dutch: kwakzalver a "hawker of salve".[3] In the Middle Ages the term quack meant "shouting". The quacksalvers sold their wares at markets by shouting to gain attention.[4]

This article is part of a series on
Alternative medicine
General information Alternative medicine History Terminology Alternative veterinary medicine Quackery (health fraud) Rise of modern medicine Pseudoscience Antiscience Skepticism Scientific Therapeutic nihilism
Fringe medicine and science Acupressure Acupuncture Alkaline diet Anthroposophic medicine Apitherapy Applied kinesiology Aromatherapy Association for Research and Enlightenment Auriculotherapy Bates method Black salve Bodywork Bone-setting Bowen technique Breathwork Camel urine Fake COVID-19 treatments Cancer treatments Charcoal cleanse Chelation therapy Chiropractic Chiropractic treatment techniques Vertebral subluxation Christian Science Chromotherapy Colon cleansing Coffee enema Colorpuncture Colloidal silver Conversion therapy Craniosacral therapy Crystal healing Cupping therapy Dental amalgam controversy Detoxification Foot detox Dry needling Ear candling Energy medicine Correactology Esoteric energy Therapeutic touch Estrogen dominance Fabunan Antiviral Injection Facilitated communication Feldenkrais Method Functional medicine Hair analysis Herbal medicine Holistic dentistry Hologram bracelet Homeopathy Bach flower remedies Biological terrain assessment Hydrotherapy Hypnotherapy Iridology Ionized jewelry Jilly Juice Lightning Process Lymphotherapy Medical intuitive Mesmerism Magnet therapy Manual therapy Megavitamin therapy Mind–body interventions MMS Myofascial release NAET Naturopathy Oil pulling Orgone Orthomolecular medicine Orthopathy Osteomyology Osteopathy Ozone therapy Parapsychology Phrenology Postural Integration Psychic surgery Psychodermatology Quantum healing Radionics Rapid prompting method RBOP Reiki Reflexology Rolfing Scientific racism ThetaHealing Thought Field Therapy Urophagia Vaginal steaming Vision therapy Vitalism Vegetotherapy Young blood transfusion Zero balancing
Conspiracy theories Big Pharma conspiracy theories HIV/AIDS denialism OPV AIDS hypothesis Anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic Vaccines and autism MMR vaccine and autism Water fluoridation controversy COVID-19 misinformation
Classifications Alternative medical systems Mind–body intervention Biologically based therapy Manipulative methods Energy therapy
Traditional medicine African Muti Southern Africa Ayurveda Dosha MVAH Balneotherapy Brazilian Bush medicine Cambodian Chinese Blood stasis Chinese herbology Dit da Gua sha Gill plate trade Meridian Moxibustion Pressure point Qi San Jiao Tui na Zang-fu Chumash Curandero Faith healing Hilot Iranian Jamu Kayakalpa Kambo Japanese Korean Mien Shiang Mongolian Prophetic medicine Shamanism Shiatsu Siddha Sri Lankan Thai massage Tibetan Unani Vietnamese
Diagnoses Adrenal fatigue Aerotoxic syndrome Candida hypersensitivity Chronic Lyme disease Electromagnetic hypersensitivity Heavy legs Leaky gut syndrome Multiple chemical sensitivity Wilson's temperature syndrome
v t e

Common elements of general quackery include questionable diagnoses using questionable diagnostic tests, as well as untested or refuted treatments, especially for serious diseases such as cancer. Quackery is often described as "health fraud" with the salient characteristic of aggressive promotion.[1]