Disgraced and in jail but myth goes on
WITH the man who made millions selling GcMaf disgraced and in jail, you would think lessons might be learned.
After a trial in which David Noakes admitted misleading desperately ill people with his non-scientific approach to promoting an unlicensed cure-all, it should be clear that the authorities were right to ignore all the abuse that has been unfairly heaped upon them.
Not just because he lived high on the proceeds, spending hundreds of thousands on private planes, pleasure trips and expensive cars.
Nor even because a patient twice almost died of toxic shock after taking the ‘harmless’ substance.
The doubts should come because the 65-year-old has condemned himself. He pleaded guilty to the charges, knowing that he faced months in jail.
Under oath he admitted being out of his depth with no medical qualifications. And his own lawyer said this was a man who enjoyed the limelight and the money too much and lied to vulnerable customers across the world.
Yes, he may have started with good motives. And one day let us hope the science behind GcMaf is proven and a licensed version helps millions.
But that day has not arrived, and he knew it was wrong to sell a product made with his own blood that had not been properly tested.
The danger of such a cavalier approach to health is all too clear. Many of Noakes’ patients complained of negative side-effects. To which his uncaring response was ‘No one died’.
The sad truth is that, if Noakes truly believed in GcMaf and the theories behind it, he has done the cause immense harm.
Of course, none of this will wash with his true believers. Nothing can shake their faith in GcMaf and its Dr Frankenstein.
Disciples of Noakes blame the media, the courts, ‘Big Pharma’ and its corrupt regulators. Anyone but him.
They turn for solace to conspiracy theorists who care little for patient wellbeing and are all too willing to ignore the basic truth that an unlicensed and untested product that claims to cure everything from cancer to multiple sclerosis is dangerous.
Sadly, caught up with such axe-grinders, are decent people desperately searching for anything that might help them in their hour of need.
They will continue to fall prey to the next charlatan.