Alternative Medicine Remains Popular, Legal, and Ineffective (or Worse)

Disturbing news about alternative medicine has been in the air lately. Just the other day, and a few years too late, the Food and Drug Administration issued a stern warning about ear candling -- the practice of using lit cone-shaped candles to supposedly draw earwax and impurities or toxins out of the ear canal, marketed for conditions ranging from hearing loss to cancer. Alas, the FDA says that ear candling is not only ineffective but can cause "serious injuries."