VeriChip Kept Quiet On Cancer Link... Yet Were Pretty Vocal On Fake FDA Approvals
from the well,-look-at-that dept
The Associated Press has a story that got plenty of attention this weekend, pointing out that a series of studies which found that VeriChip's RFID products induced malignant tumors in animals. This information was not made public as the company continued to hype the devices for implant into humans. The article notes that the devices were approved by the FDA... but leaves out a rather revealing bit of history. VeriChip and its parent company Applied Digital have done an amazing job generating publicity for the company, but often in very questionable ways. It might help to go through some of the history.
Back in 2002, prior to getting FDA approval, there was the too good to be true story of an entire family that just couldn't wait to get themselves chipped. The whole thing sounded sketchy from the beginning, and many suspected that the entire thing was merely created by VeriChip to get publicity. Soon afterwards, VeriChip announced that the FDA had said that implantable RFID chips were not regulated medical devices, and therefore could be used for chipping humans. Note that the announcement came from VeriChip. That's because the FDA did not say what VeriChip claimed it said. VeriChip had asked the FDA to declare the chips unregulated devices, and the FDA simply requested more information. VeriChip, in turn, took that request for more info and claimed that the devices were unregulated, leading to a rather unhappy FDA.
A few months later, the FDA finally gave conditional support for the device, saying that VeriChip could be used, as long as it was not advertised as a "medical device." VeriChip, of course, once again put out a press barrage claiming that it had FDA approval. And, not surprisingly, it kept advertising the chips as medical devices, leading the FDA to warn the company to knock it off. Then, the company went south of the border, and started focusing on convincing people in Mexico to get chipped for the safety of the children. See? Down in Mexico, you don't have to worry about the pesky American FDA. Two years later, we were a bit surprised that the FDA finally did approve the device for medical purposes -- but would you really want a company like that sticking stuff in your body?
Oh yeah, if that wasn't enough, the company had borrowed a bunch of money from IBM, and when IBM tried to collect, Applied Digital sued. Yes, they sued the company who gave them money when they were unable to pay back the loan. This latest article on the cancer link plays up the fact that former FDA head Tommy Thompson later joined the board of VeriChip, but leaves out his own reluctance to have a VeriChip RFID installed in his own body. Anyone else feel safe having this company stick RFID chips under your skin?
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Huh? by Sanguine Dream on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 10:25am
Oh yeah, if that wasn't enough, the company had borrowed a bunch of money from IBM, and when IBM tried to collect, Applied Digital sued.
While this is not copyright/trademark/patent related this is true proof that the legal system needs help. How the hell do you sue your lender for taking the collateral that you put up for the loan you accepted from them? Does this mean that if I put my business (let's say a sports bar) up as collateral for a loan to setup second sports bar and I fail to pay I can sue my lenders for trying to take my first bar? Oh let me guess I'm not a big corporation which means I can't buy the laws I want so I can't right?
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Tangent: Verichip and AdWords by W.B. McNamara on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 10:29am
When you search on Google for verichip, one of the AdWords placements is for Prophecy News Watch -- "Bible Prophecy News Headlines, Breaking Current Events & Prophecy." I first noticed this a couple of years ago, and it appears to be a successful enough placement that PNW is keeping it up.
An interesting spin on the whole AdWords/trademark thing...
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Basic Epidemiology by dorpus on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 10:51am
- The study found a statistical association, not a causative one. "Induced" is the wrong word.
- If pets with chip implants live longer because their owners care more about them, then they will have elevated cancer rates.
But no, sites like this one will get carried away with "poisoning the children" rhetoric -- just like the urban legend about cell phones causing cancer, started when a former executive of Motorola happened to die of a brain tumor in the 1990s.
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by Matt Bennett on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 11:11am
Not saying this company isn't shaddy, but I also smnell bull-shit on the cancer associations.
Firstly, these types of studies are NOTORIOUSLY error-prone, and historically have a huge bias to find "statistical associations" Red M&M dye, silicon breast-implants, anyone?
It's gotten to the point where I will discount someone just for quoting one of these studies, unless it's one of the really, rigorous, been fairly well proved one, like the smoking studies. But both the sample sizes and the associations have to be very large for me to pay attention
Secondly, I can't think of a plausible cause. The RFID is surrounded in plastic. It doesn't emit a radio signal until actively scanned, and that's a much lower dose than the scanning radio signal or just ambient signals. Maybe they were scanning the tags 20 times a day? Even then, seems unlikely.
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by Overcast on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 11:14am
No one's going to stick a chip in me period.
But, It's just what I expect from a company like this.
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Re: by dorpus on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 11:15am
It's funny how this site is always repeating the cliche of "correlation does not imply causation", but swallowed this one hook and sinker.
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cancer link not really the point by Avatar28 on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 11:20am
I think the cancer link is just incidental. The story is really more about the behavior of this company and the fact that they apparently can't be trusted rather than the caner link, per se.
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Re: Re: by Matt Bennett on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 11:20am
Just so.
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Re: cancer link not really the point by Matt Bennett on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 11:26am
yeah, except it's not a good example of the company's behavior. ANY company is going to do their best not to mention such a study. You might find that's legitimate since most of these studies are bogus, or you might simply realize no company is going to point out bad publicity even if it's true, but NO company would mention such a thing just the same.
Yes, the company is shady. No, this does not further that accusation, at all.
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Bigget POS on Nasdaq by Market Maker on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 12:11pm
Bar None
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Re: Huh? by Joe on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 12:13pm
How the hell do you sue your lender for taking the collateral that you put up for the loan you accepted from them??
Well, they WON, which can only mean IBM did SOMETHING WRONG.
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corrupt by Machinator on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 12:29pm
How exactly are silicone breast implants safe? They switched to saline and are considerably safer.
If the fact that the head of the FDA who chaired when they approved VeriChip then joined VeriChip's board doesn't raise red flags, back to school for you.
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Re: corrupt by Matt Bennett on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 12:51pm
That's just the thing. The original studies saying that Silicon implants caused cancer were extremely shaky. There is no evidence the saline ones are worse or better. People like you bought it hook line and sinker. It didn't help that a ton of people's (lawyers, mostly) eyes lit up with dollar signs at the possibility of class-action suits. That was a crime, frankly it's the new highway robbery.
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This company is amazing... by PRMan on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 12:54pm
VeriChip is amazing. They can make my skin crawl without even implanting a chip in it!
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by Anonymous Coward on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 1:34pm
How exactly are silicone breast implants safe? They switched to saline and are considerably safer.
They still use silicone, they look better.
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RFID Chips don't emit RF on their own by B on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 1:55pm
It only reacts to being scanned by an RF device. If the labs testing these chips in animals were putting the animals in cages and subjecting them to constant RF energy then it would be safe to assume their bodies are going to have a reaction localized in the region of the implant. The amount of times a person would be scanned in a lifetime could not add up to more than a week at the most. That is given if the chip is used in medical emergencies only. That exposure increases once they chip technology eveolves and everyone starts using them like credit cards it still would not compare to continuous RF exposure. Cell site field technicians see more RF in one day than anyone would care to imagine but there are no studies popping up about these techs. The intensity of the RF exposure in the animal tests were probably off the charts too. If you ask me, poeple are just afraid of the implications of any emerging technology. My advice is buy the stock when it reaches the 52 week low then sit back and watch as this industry booms over the next ten years.
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Re: Re: Huh? by milrtime83 on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 2:34pm
You could say the RIAA is "winning" most of the cases where people decide to settle.....that doesn't necessarily mean the defendants in those cases did anything wrong.
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Is anyone thinking here by Anon on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 2:56pm
First if they put a chip under your skin its going to cause some type of reaction. Cancer or a simple irritation. THe other problem is we dont know HOW much this thing is going to get scanned or how its going react to ambient energy fields. Sure they will tell you its al well and good but they're trying to get you to impant yourself as a business...
Also sillicone is great for lubing up machinery, probably not something you want to implant in a large volume in your chest, regardless of what a study says is safe. Asbestos is safe as long as you dont crunch it up and inhale it!
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Regarding breast implants by Anonymous Coward on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 3:03pm
they use both Saline and Silicone. for many years they stopped using Silicone and only Saline. Just recently did they start using Silcone again, after FDA approval and only special DRs, that are further trained, are able to install Silcone. While most any medical DR can install Saline.
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Re: Is anyone thinking here by dorpus on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 4:18pm
Millions of people have had metal implants for joint replacements, pacemakers, etc.; no cancer risk has been observed.
Vegetable juice is also great for lubing up machinery, so does that mean it should not go into your body either?
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Re: Red M&M dye by Jaffa on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 4:31pm
Check this link ( http://www.news-medical.net/?id=29570 ) "Suspicions about a link between food colourings and additives and hyperactivity have been established as a fact by British researchers." We are finding more evidence that mucking about with our bodies, including what we eat and add is risky. There is in science the "cautionary principle", which all reports on this VeriChip suggest has been subverted to commercial interest. We do need to move forward, there are apparent good reasons to speed up approvals, particularly where those can improve life, but we need ALL the information to ensure decisions are really in the best interests of "all of the people". not just commercial interests. It appears VeriChip may have lied by omission here.
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Re: by Anonymous Coward on Sep 10th, 2007 @ 8:48pm
get another job
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verichip by Nancy Harper on Oct 2nd, 2007 @ 6:48am
Doesn't anyone get somewhat suspicious when our own government wants to "track" people, similiar to what Hitler did in the concentration camps? Lots of stuff causes cancer that the government has already approved that the american people are presently stuffing themselves with in our foods and with immunizations. The fact is, the government is encroaching more and more on our rights until one day everyone will be under its thumb without even realizing it.
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Prove I'm a Liar: by Keith Richard Radford Jr by Keith Richard Radford Jr. on Dec 1st, 2007 @ 12:20pm
Prove I'm a liar!
In 1992 I was implanted with a microchip by the California Department of Corrections. Prove I'm a liar!
Just like the Angel of Death* HaloScan, IBM, Avid, Veri Chip and other company's use subcutaneous human tracking device, audio servalence systems and other venues against American people for fun and profit. Prove I'm a liar!
Since the Nuremberg trials the Nuremberg code of universal medical ethics have moved into California's Silicon Valley which is being protected by our own governments representatives. Prove I'm a liar
The national fraud squad has opened an investigation into the affair. The four are suspected of abuse, aggravated assault, causing death through negligence, fraud, forgery, breach of statutory duty, and disruption of legal proceedings. Prove I'm a liar!
*Dr. Josef Mengele was a German SS officer and a physician in the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He gained notoriety chiefly for being one of the SS physicians who supervised the selection of arriving transports of prisoners, determining who was to be killed and who was to become a forced labourer, and for performing human experiments on camp inmates, amongst whom Mengele was known as the Angel of Death.
Since 1987, Nancy Pelosi has represented California's Eighth District in the House of Representatives wile being on the board of Veri Chip.
As California's senior Senator, Dianne Feinstein has built her reputation on condoning torture, working with both Democrats and Republicans to find solutions to the problems facing California and the Nation court who have chosen to ignore human and civil right.
You Worthless Tech Trollops have been instrumental in working toward a North American Union. When will America wake up to the fact that our government knows human nature. Using sex offenders to justify their actions when what they are doing is universally wrong, is underhanded at least and fundamentally treasonous by using devices that are unsafe. Hiding the finding of company's product and placing humans at risk seems to be of no consequence to those that take them to court on habeas corpus writs.
I was told by my attorney that my case was demurer which means the state says so what.
So what if you are diabetic and need to enroll in Adult Swim at your YMCA because of injuries for exercise.
So what if you are disabled and we made you move.
So what if you live a good honest life.
So what if when we made you move you were going to school to learn a trade and we disrupted your life during your finals and you could not finish your training.
So what if you and your wife who by the way has never done anything to anyone is waking in the middle of the night crying because you stand to be homeless for fear that no one will rent to you.
We lived in an apartment in Burbank CA when someone decided to place flyer's at our home about my 23 year old sex offense and get us kicked out of our home. So what.
Reminds me of the Quote by Pastor Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
We have one week to come up with a bunch of money to fight for rights for all Americans who are losing because they are better than sex offenders till their family member loses their trunks when diving into the community pool.
Sorry America we have no money. We are poor. Week to week surviving on what we have which is less each day.
When these laws get done with us, they will not be satisfied.
Prove I'm a liar!
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