Is Dr Oz a charlatan?
A group of ten prominent American doctors certainly think so. Last week, they sent a letter to Colombia University, where Dr Mehmet Oz serves as the vice chairman and professor of surgery, calling for his resignation because, they claim, he is a “charlatan” who promotes “quack treatments”.
But the popular host of “The Dr Oz Show” is fighting fire with fire. In a special episode of his programme, due to air in the States this week, Oz directly addresses his attackers and accuses them of trying to bully him into silence.
Looking directly into the camera, Oz says: “This month, we celebrate my 1000th show. I know I've irritated some potential allies in our quest to make America healthy.
“No matter our disagreements, freedom of speech is the most fundamental right we have as Americans. And these 10 doctors are trying to silence that right.
“So I vow to you right here and right now: we will not be silenced, we will not give in.”
Dr Oz first came to public attention as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey show. He has been hosting his own show for the past five years.
In a statement published in USAToday, the Harvard-educated Oz said: “I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves. We provide multiple points of view, including mine, which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts.”
Last year, Dr Oz stood before a US Senate panel that accused him of endorsing products on his show that were not medically sound. At that time, he admitted that some of the products he endorsed “don't have the scientific muster to present as fact.”
The controversy escalated when the company behind the “miracle” diet supplement in question agreed to pay out $3.5-million because of false advertising.
In their letter to Columbia, the doctors wrote: “He has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.
“Thus, Dr Oz is guilty of either outrageous conflicts of interest or flawed judgments about what constitutes appropriate medical treatments, or both.”
The doctors are particularly incensed about what they perceive to be Dr Oz’s opposition to genetically modified foods, which may just be what the fight is really about.
According to CNN Money and The New York Times, some of the doctors against Oz have strong ties to the GM foods industry.
Dr Oz, for his part, insists he isn’t against genetically modified foods, but wants them properly labelled so that consumers know exactly what they are eating.
“I do not claim that GMO foods are dangerous, but believe that they should be labeled like they are in most countries around the world,” he said in a statement on Friday.