BBB Warning: Consumers should be Skeptical of Unproven Addiction Treatments

Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises consumers to use caution when considering alternatives to conventional drug rehab services. Recently, BBB serving Central Indiana conducted several investigations into companies advertising an IV Treatment called NAD+ Amino-Acid Therapy. Proponents of the treatment claim the infusions of NAD+ enable patients afflicted with drug and alcohol addictions, to quit cold turkey without withdrawal symptoms. Additionally, some businesses claim that NAD+ can reset your brain and neurotransmitters to pre-addiction levels.
Emerald Neuro-Recover, a Carmel, Indiana based addiction treatment facility, and its Medical Director, John E. Humiston, M.D., claim their NAD+ treatment is “proven to be the most effective and comprehensive drug treatment program in the world.” They also claim the therapy is “safe, natural and effective” and “directly addresses the chemical changes that drugs or alcohol have caused in the brain.”
In 2018 and again in 2019, BBB challenged Emerald Neuro-Recover’s advertising and requested that the business substantiate their claims. The business provided a power-point slide authored by Dr. Humiston claiming that the research backing up their claims was conducted by Dr. William Hitt in Tijuana, Mexico. After a thorough review, BBB investigators concluded the science did not measure up: control groups were not used, no blinding, and almost all of the researchers had a financial interest in NAD+ therapy.
Furthermore, the individual identified in Emerald’s marketing as the original researcher of NAD+, Dr. William Hitt, proved to have a troubling history. In 1987, the Attorney General of Texas brought action against Hitt for falsely representing himself as a doctor despite having no scientific or medical training. Hitt captured authority’s attention while selling a snake-oil cure for HIV/AIDS to gay men in the Dallas area. Shortly after the government acted against Hitt, he relocated to Tijuana. Emerald Neuro-Recover currently has an “F” rating with the BBB.
Hitt isn’t the only person involved in NAD+ that has a questionable history. Dr. Humiston, who claims to have trained under Hitt in Tijuana, was subject to a disciplinary action against his license brought by the Medical Board of California in 2018. The order states that Dr. Humiston committed gross negligence in his care and treatment of a patient. Additionally, Dr. Humiston previously advocated for dubious treatment approaches like curing HIV through ozone therapy, addressing psychiatric conditions with anti-fungal treatments, and MMS or Miracle Mineral Solution, a dangerous snake-oil substance in which the FDA has issued a warning.
Dr. Humiston also runs an online business called CandidaMD. The company’s website represents the common fungus candida albicans as the proximate cause of a wide range of medical conditions, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and migraines. The website also markets plant-derived anti-fungal and probiotics as safe and effective cures for these conditions. In March 2019, BBB challenged CandidaMD’s advertising. The company failed to respond and currently has an “F” rating.
In July 2019, management from Emerald Neuro-Recover incorporated a company named NAD Therapy Centers of Indiana, located in Emerald’s original location in Cicero, Indiana. Like Emerald, this company made outlandish claims in their advertising. Specifically, NAD Therapy Centers claimed their “Vita C” IV Drip – essentially an infusion of Vitamin C – could “enhance the death of cancer cells.” They also claimed their NAD Therapy could repair neurotransmitters and DNA. NAD Therapy Centers of Indiana did not respond to BBB’s advertising challenge, and shortly thereafter, shut down their website and dissolved the corporation.
“Promotions claiming miraculous or immediate results should be considered with extreme caution,” said Tim Mansicalo, BBB Central Indiana President and CEO. “These remedies are often ineffective in delivering their promised results, or worse, can have potentially dangerous side effects.”
BBB offers the following tips to spot deceptive advertising and avoid “snake-oil” health products:
Check with BBB first. BBB maintains records of 5.4 million businesses and regularly conducts investigations into businesses making false advertising claims.
Remember, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If a business is claiming to cure a serious disease, disparaging established medicines or treatments, or claiming their product can treat nearly any condition, then they should have the science to back these claims. Anecdotal evidence is not enough.
Be skeptical of trendy or “new” approaches to treatment. NAD+ Infusions is not the first suspicious treatment to emerge from increasingly popular “IV Bars” or “IV Parlors.” Recently, the FTC took action against an IV Bar for making unsupported health claims.
If you have had a market interaction with any of the aforementioned companies, or believe you were induced to make a purchase due to deceptive advertising, BBB advises consumers to take the following steps:
Report your experience by filing a complaint, writing a customer review, or submitting a Scam Tracker report at bbb.org.
File a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General.
File a complaint with the FTC.
ABOUT BBB SERVING CENTRAL INDIANA: For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB serving Central Indiana, which was founded in 1916 and serves 46 counties.

* indicates a required field

A comment must be approved by our staff before it will displayed on the website.

Submit