Support HealthWatcher.net

If you would like to support our efforts to combat quackery, health and diet fraud we make it easy for you to donate to the cause.

Click here to make a donation

Quackery Watch Hot-Links

Consumer Sentinel Complaints

Petrolia Magnetic busted by Health Canada

HealthWatcher is proud to announce that Petrolia Magnetic's supply of Silver Water has been destroyed by Health Canada. They are prohibited from importing or marketing any of this product. Our original complaint on August 21, 2000 was acted upon swiftly by the staff at Health Canada in Scarborough. We commend the efforts made to keep these chemical mixtures out of the hands of charlatans and purveyors of quackery. All Canadians should be wary of anyone promising to cure illnesses with any product, especially colloidal products.

Silver Water
Miracle or Menace?

ALTERNATIVE HEALTH PRODUCTS ARE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AND CANADIANS STILL DON'T HAVE REGULATIONS IN PLACE TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR OVER A YEAR FOR THE OFFICE OF NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS TO DELIVER ANY PROGRAM AT ALL. WE ARE STILL WAITING.

CONSULTATION SESSIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE BEEN LARGELY FILLED WITH RIGHT-WING EXTREMIST, LIBERTARIAN, AND FUNDAMENTALIST KOOKS WHO SEE ANY GOVERNMENTAL REGULATION OF THE NATURAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRY AS AN INFRINGEMENT OF THEIR RIGHTS.

THIS COMPLAINT CONCERNS COLLOIDAL SILVER WATER MARKETED ON A CTV TELEVISION STATION

Questionable Advertisement

Television advertisement for a group of products called Silver Water
CKCO-TV, Channel 13, Kitchener at about 8:16 p.m. on August 21, 2000.

The company is:
Petrolia Magnetic Health Care Ltd.
4492 Progress Drive, P.O. Box 809, 
Petrolia, Ontario, Canada. N0N 1R0 
PH: (519) 882-1922     FAX: (519) 882-4369 
1-877-882-1922

PMH site and their claims:

www.internet-kent.com/Healthyou/PetroliaMagnetic.htm#Silver

"Colloidal Silver is nothing new, it's something old (ancient) that has over the years been pushed aside by man's new inventions. Silver is the highest form of natural antibiotic that has been used for thousands of years without any ever recorded side effect or without question.

Colloidal Silver is the only natural antibiotic known that kills all types of viruses, fungus and bacteria. And it is the only antibiotic known to be perfectly harmless to all parts of the body, without killing the friendly bacteria.

While the kidneys and liver are harmed by other antibiotics, Colloidal Silver promotes healing by killing the parasites. Within a short time it clears them out of the body, via the lymphatic and eliminatory systems.

Colloidal Silver actually promotes healing with less scar tissue, ---where other antibiotics leave scar tissue. This miracle old remedy appears to protect the body's natural enzymes and stimulate new growth of damaged tissues. It is totally non-toxic to humans and animals, tasteless and odorless etc.

Colloidal Silver can be used orally, rectally, vaginally, and topically wherever needed.

Burn victims have been reported to heal in half the time without pain and scars by using the Silver Water and Silver Gel now available. We have so many more great things to say about this miracle water and the results are outstanding. We ship these products all over Canada and USA. This is the only silver water that I know of that is made in harmony with our earth's atmosphere, and this is the reason why it works so well. It reaches our cellular level in the body and the healing is incredibly fast. There is no accumulation in the body whatsoever which allows you to drink the desire needed for the situation that arises."

Basis of Complaint

There are so many errors on Petrolia Magnetic Health (PMH) web site that it might be considered fraudulent. They make health claims for something that is not registered with Health Canada. It is not a food. It is potentially toxic.

This is quite an amazing company that has been busy marketing unproved remedies around the country for years. They have close ties with health quacks who go around to various hotels and meeting halls around the Province to see patients and sell them all sorts of useless and potentially dangerous treatments and products. Representatives who are associated with PMH have appeared on radio shows in Sarnia and London to promote their products.

One of their associates has actually admitted that they "treated" clients who came to them with a particular disease. In my opinion, that treatment was similar to what a regulated health professional would perform. That person appeared on a radio show with several patients, in an attempt that I felt was clearly aimed to recruit new customers and clients for PMH products. Many of them had incurable diseases like MS, cancer, lupus, and diabetes. As far as I know, none of the employees or promoters who are associated with PMH hold any professional license. In other words, these people are pretending that their products, devices and methods can alleviate disease.

I am very upset that CKCO would be air unproved and potentially dangerous remedies on their station.

PMH markets what they call Silver Water, which according to their own web site is colloidal silver. It doesn't give the concentration anywhere on their web site.

Colloidal silver is toxic and can cause argyria, a permanent discolouration of the skin that can last a lifetime.

I think if you check with Health Canada, I don't think that they have been given the go ahead to market this stuff. The company does not compute when searching the Health Canada Drug Product Database:

http://search.hc-sc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/query?mss=dpd/english/active/simple

Neither the name of the product, or the company appears in the HPB database.

The only "silver" products that are listed in that database that are ingestible are "homeopathic" remedies that may contain a molecule or two of silver.

We were able to contact the company and they told us, "This molecular clustered silver water is 3 ppm sustained in deionized drinking water with a healing frequency. It is homeopathic and very beneficial for everything."

That's really very interesting, because we don't see this registered even as a homeopathic product with Health Canada. Plus, their own site doesn't say it's homeopathic.

Health Canada Regulations doesn't even list silver as a mineral nutrient - .pdf file I think they get around the regulations because silver isn't listed in section D.02 anywhere. Here is what this section does say: No person shall shall, on the label of or in any advertisement for a food, make any claim concerning concerning the action or effects of a mineral nutrient contained in that food, except to the effect that the mineral nutrient: a. is a factor in the maintenance of good health; and
b. is generally recognized as an aid in maintaining the functions of the body necessary to the maintenance of good health and normal growth and development I somehow fail to see how "silver", colloidal, homeopathic or otherwise can make any health claims.
Here is a search of the entire Health Canada site for "colloidal silver"

Here is a .pdf file from Health Canada that contains warnings. I suggest that your advertising people read this in its entirety. Guess what, it's dated 1979. That's right, the only thing that's on the Health Canada site is over 20 years old, and it's in .pdf format. In other words you have to download the .pdf and then print it out.

www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ehp/ehd/catalogue/bch_pubs/dwgsup_doc/silver.pdf

You will note that there have been deaths reported from ingesting silver, and permanent disfigurement. I don't think that any CKCO viewers would want that. There were no disclaimers in the advertisement, by the station or the network.

How do they make it?

How do the folks at Petrolia Magnetic Health make this colloidal silver water?

Where do they get their water from?

Who bottles it?

Who inspects the bottling operation?

In fact Health Canada has not approved any silver ion releasing devices to disinfect swimming pools or spas. Why would they approve of a silver ion releasing method for bottled water?:

Health Canada advises the public about unregistered silver ion releasing devices for pools and hot tubs - Advisory - March 31, 2000 www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/archives/warnings/2000/2000_30e.htm

OTTAWA - Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is advising the public about the potential health hazards of using silver ion releasing devices to sanitize pools and hot tubs. These products claim to reduce or eliminate the need for chlorine or bromine for sanitizing pool or hot tub water. However, there are no silver ion releasing devices currently registered under the Pest Control Products Act for this purpose, and they cannot legally take the place of sanitizing products which contain chlorine or bromine.

So, if Health Canada won't approve devices to make make silver ions for swimming pools, why would they approve a device to make silver ions in water to potentially disfigure or injure people who drink the water?

Colloidal Silver is not listed in Health Canada's Therapeutic Compliance Guide on line either.

It's not listed with the Office of Natural Health Products. But then again there's nothing useful on their website. What are they waiting for?

Helpful links about colloidal silver and more

Healthwatcher.net site discusses one of Petrolia Magnetic Health promotions in the last year:

The Wayne Rowland Show

www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Rowland-Wayne/complaint000626rowland.html

Health Care Reality Check's links to colloidal silver:

www.hcrc.org/faqs/silver.html

Rosemary Jacobs web site about argyeria:

http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/rose6.html

US Federal Regulations on colloidal silver products: Sec. 310.548 Drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts offered over-the-counter (OTC) for the treatment and/or prevention of disease.

(a) Colloidal silver ingredients and silver salts have been marketed in over-the-counter (OTC) drug products for the treatment and prevention of numerous disease conditions. There are serious and complicating aspects to many of the diseases these silver ingredients purport to treat or prevent. Further, there is a lack of adequate data to establish general recognition of the safety and effectiveness of colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts for OTC use in the treatment or prevention of any disease. These ingredients and salts include, but are not limited to, silver proteins, mild silver protein, strong silver protein, silver, silver ion, silver chloride, silver cyanide, silver iodide, silver oxide, and silver phosphate.

(b) Any OTC drug product containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts that is labeled, represented, or promoted for the treatment and/or prevention of any disease is regarded as a new drug within the meaning of section 201(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) for which an approved application or abbreviated application under section 505 of the act and part 314 of this chapter is required for marketing. In the absence of an approved new drug application or abbreviated new drug application, such product is also misbranded under section 502 of the act.

(c) Clinical investigations designed to obtain evidence that any drug product containing colloidal silver or silver salts labeled, represented, or promoted for any OTC drug use is safe and effective for the purpose intended must comply with the requirements and procedures governing the use of investigational new drugs as set forth in part 312 of this chapter.

(d) After September 16, 1999, any such OTC drug product containing colloidal silver or silver salts initially introduced or initially delivered for introduction into interstate commerce that is not in compliance with this section is subject to regulatory action. [64 FR 44658, Aug. 17, 1999]

Colloidal Silver Not Approved for Treating Animals

According to a recent CVM Update, FDA has received reports that products containing colloidal silver are being promoted for use in treatment of mastitis and other serious disease conditions of dairy cattle. It has been determined that the use of such products constitutes a serious public health concern because of the possibility of residues in milk and meat. Based on this information, products containing colloidal silver are not approved for use on dairy cattle nor can they be prescribed for use on dairy cattle.

Dean Elliott, Director, Division of Dairy Industry, 29 Admin. Bldg., 3125 Conner Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650, PH (904) 487-1450, FAX 922-9444

FDA doesn't approve of colloidal silver for animals either

SO WHY DO WE NOT HAVE SIMILAR REGULATIONS IN CANADA TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS THAT ARE SOLD AS MEDICINE ON TELEVISION AND ON THE INTERNET?

WE REQUEST THAT CKCO SEND A COPY OF THE VIDEO TAPE AND AND A TRANSCRIPT TO HEALTH CANADA, THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL, AND THE COMPETITION BUREAU.
WE REQUEST THAT CKCO PLACE A DISCLAIMER ABOUT THE SILVER WATER IN PRIME TIME IN THE SAME PLACE THAT THE ORIGINAL ADVERTISEMENT RAN.
WE REQUEST THAT CKCO PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY RAN THE ADVERTISEMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND ALSO, HOW MANY TIMES THE SAME OR SIMILAR ADVERTISEMENTS HAVE BEEN AIRED.
WE CALL FOR AN IMMEDIATE EMBARGO BY HEALTH CANADA OF SILVER WATER PRODUCTS
HEALTH CANADA AND THE COMPETITION BUREAU SHOULD LOOK INTO ALL OF THE PRODUCTS THAT ARE MARKETED BY PETROLIA MAGNETIC HEALTH LTD., AND THEIR METHODS OF MARKETING PRODUCTS