DEAL OR NO Deal presenter Noel Edmonds has gotten himself involved in a Twitter row over claims he made that a “simple box” could help slow ageing and tackle cancer.
In a tweet sent out this morning, Edmonds – a well-known Channel 4 presenter – claimed that a small electronic box could help tackle cancer and ageing, as well as reduce pain and lift depression and stress.
His claims immediately raised the ire of Twitter users, and Edmonds received numerous replies from people accusing him of promoting pseudoscience.
One user, going by the name Vaun Earl – who wrote on his Twitter bio that his is suffering from kidney cancer - strongly criticised Edmonds, saying that he would “much rather consult my oncologist with 15 years experience than Mr Edmonds” and calling the presenter a “f**king idiot”.
Edmonds responded by suggesting that the man’s illness could be caused by his negative attitude.
This drew further criticism from the Twitter crowd and Edmonds came under fire from a number of tweeters.
The box
The Guardian reports that the box in question, made by the Swiss Bionics Solutions, works by sending electrical signals to copper coils which in turn produce small, varying magnetic fields.
The CEO of the company that makes the box told the Guardian that the company makes no medical claims at all for the device and that for it to claim that it could help fight cancer, cure depression or slow down ageing would be illegal.
In a statement to the BBC, the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK said that the company had broken no rules as they had no knowledge of or control over the tweet sent out by Edmonds.
However, an endorsement of a similar product, the EMPpad, by Edmonds is “urgently” being investigated by the Authority.
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