Thomas Cowan (alternative medicine practitioner)

Alternative medicine practitioner

Thomas Samuel Cowan is an American practitioner of alternative medicine, author, conspiracy theorist and former medical doctor. He relinquished his medical license in 2020.[1]

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Alternative medicine

General information

* Alternative medicine
* History
* Terminology
* Alternative veterinary medicine
* Quackery (health fraud)
* Rise of modern medicine
* Pseudoscience
* Antiscience
* Skepticism
* Scientific
* Therapeutic nihilism

Fringe medicine and science

* Acupressure
* Acupuncture
* Alkaline diet
* Anthroposophic medicine
* Apitherapy
* Applied kinesiology
* Aromatherapy
* Association for Research and Enlightenment
* Auriculotherapy
* Bates method
* Biological terrain assessment
* Black salve
* Bodywork
* Bone-setting
* Bowen technique
* Breathwork
* Fake COVID-19 treatments
* Camel urine
* Cancer treatments
* Charcoal cleanse
* Chiropractic
* Chiropractic treatment techniques
* Vertebral subluxation
* Christian Science
* Chromotherapy
* Colloidal silver
* Colon cleansing
* Coffee enema
* Colorpuncture
* Conversion therapy
* Craniosacral therapy
* Crystal healing
* Cupping therapy
* Dental amalgam controversy
* Detoxification
* Foot detox
* Dry needling
* Ear candling
* Energy medicine
* Correactology
* Esoteric energy
* Reiki
* Therapeutic touch
* Estrogen dominance
* Fabunan Antiviral Injection
* Facilitated communication
* FasciaBlaster
* Feldenkrais method
* Functional medicine
* Hair analysis
* Holistic dentistry
* Hologram bracelet
* Homeopathy
* Bach flower remedies
* Hydrotherapy
* Hypnotherapy
* Ionized jewelry
* Iridology
* Jilly Juice
* Lightning Process
* Lymphotherapy
* Magnet therapy
* Manual therapy
* Manual lymphatic drainage
* Medical intuitive
* Megavitamin therapy
* Mesmerism
* Mind–body interventions
* MMS
* Myofascial release
* NAET
* Naturopathy
* Oil pulling
* Orgone
* Orthomolecular medicine
* Orthopathy
* Osteomyology
* Osteopathy
* Ozone therapy
* Parapsychology
* Phrenology
* Postural Integration
* Psychic surgery
* Psychodermatology
* Quantum healing
* Radionics
* Rapid prompting method
* Reflexology
* RBOP
* Rolfing
* Scientific racism
* ThetaHealing
* Thomsonianism
* Thought Field Therapy
* Urophagia
* Vaginal steaming
* Vegetotherapy
* Vision therapy
* Vitalism
* Young blood transfusion
* Zero balancing

Controversies

* Big Pharma conspiracy theories
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* OPV AIDS hypothesis
* Anti-vaccinationism
* Vaccine misinformation
* Vaccines and autism
* MMR vaccine and autism
* in chiropractic
* Water fluoridation controversy
* COVID-19 misinformation
* Turbo cancer

Classifications

* Alternative medical systems
* Mind–body intervention
* Biologically based therapy
* Manipulative methods
* Energy therapy

Traditional medicine

* African
* Muti
* Southern Africa
* Ayurveda
* Dosha
* MVAH
* Balneotherapy
* Brazilian
* Bush medicine
* Cambodian
* Chinese
* Blood stasis
* Chinese herbology
* Dit da
* Gua sha
* Gill plate trade
* Long gu
* Meridian
* Moxibustion
* Pressure point
* Qi
* San Jiao
* Tui na
* Zang-fu
* Chumash
* Curandero
* Faith healing
* Herbal medicine
* Hilot
* Iranian
* Jamu
* Kayakalpa
* Kambo
* Japanese
* Korean
* Maya
* Mien Shiang
* Mongolian
* Naftalan oil
* Prophetic medicine
* Shamanism
* Shiatsu
* Siddha
* Sri Lankan
* Thai massage
* Tibetan
* Unani
* Vietnamese

Alternative diagnoses

* Adrenal fatigue
* Aerotoxic syndrome
* Candida hypersensitivity
* Chronic Lyme disease
* Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
* Heavy legs
* Leaky gut syndrome
* Multiple chemical sensitivity
* Vertebral subluxation
* Wilson's temperature syndrome

* v
* t
* e

## Career

[edit]

Cowan earned his medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 1984.[1] He ran an alternative medicine practice until July 2020 in San Francisco, California. Cowan was disciplined and put on probation by the Medical Board of California in 2017 after he prescribed medication for breast cancer without informing the patient that it had not been approved by medical authorities, and without reviewing her medical file.[2] The probation period was due to end in 2022, but he renounced his medical license in December 2020, to become an unregulated "health coach". He left California and continues selling supplements through a website.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Cowan is a member of the board of directors of the Weston A. Price Foundation. He served as vice president of the Physicians Association for Anthroposophical Medicine.[9]

## Conspiracy theories

[edit]

Cowan has argued against the widely accepted scientific view that pathogens cause a variety of diseases.[10] He promoted conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming 5G wireless communications are responsible for making people sick.[3][5][11][12][7]

A video of Cowan's claims about COVID and 5G communication, made at an anti-vaccination conference which also featured Andrew Wakefield, quickly gained a widespread audience when it was promoted by multiple Facebook accounts. It was viewed at least 650,000 times on Youtube before being taken down and was also popular on Instagram, where Keri Hilson promoted it to her 2.3 million fans before deleting the post. Experts invited to comment on the video said it repeats several misconceptions common to many anti-vaccination influencers.[4][13][14][15][16][17]

The World Health Organization, along with numerous health authorities, established that COVID-19 is not transmitted by any kind of electronic communications and has spread in many regions where new 5G wireless equipment has not been installed.[18][19]

## Personal life

[edit]

Cowan is married, with three children, one stepson and six grandchildren. He lives in upstate New York.[20]

## Publications

[edit]

The health advice Cowan dispenses through his books is often based in pseudo-scientific theories, such as denying viruses cause disease. Two of them promote anti-vaccination pseudo-scientific theories.[3][21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Licensing details for Thomas Cowan (License G 86923)". Medical Board of California. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
2. ^ "Accusation Against Thomas Samuel Cowan, M.D." "Patient P-1, who resided in Los Angeles, California, contacted [Dr. Cowan] by telephone on or about September 19, 2013 seeking alternative treatment for metastatic breast cancer.... Without seeing P-1 in person and without conducting a physical examination, [Cowan] recommended that P-1 consult with a local oncologist and, in conjunction with any treatment prescribed by the oncologist, obtain and use GcMAF, an experimental, unlicensed, non-FDA approved drug, available only outside the United States. Respondent did not advise P-1 that the FDA had not approved GcMAF and that there were no formal safety or efficacy studies regarding the use of GcMAF in humans and obtain informed consent from her before or in conjunction with recommending the treatment.... In February 2015, P-1 learned that GcMAF from ImmunoBiotech, where Respondent had directed her to obtain the product, was potentially unsafe."
3. ^ a b c Feder Ostrov, Barbara (5 February 2021). "Conspiracy theory doctor surrenders medical license". Calmatters. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
4. ^ a b Nicholson, Katie; Ho, Jason; Yates, Jason (23 March 2020). "Viral video claiming 5G caused pandemic easily debunked". CBC News. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
5. ^ a b Berman, Annie (15 November 2021). "Dozens of Alaska doctors are asking the State Medical Board to investigate physicians spreading COVID-19 misinformation". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
6. ^ Knight, Victoria (20 September 2021). "Will Doctors Who Are Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation Ever Face Penalty?". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
7. ^ a b Edgar, Chelsea (2 December 2021). "Inside Chelsea Green, the publishing house peddling Covid-19 misinformation and other conspiracies". Monterey County Now. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
8. ^ Teller, Sara (6 January 2022). "Many Doctors Spreading COVID Misinformation Continue to Practice". Legal Reader. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
9. ^ "Board of Directors". Weston A. Price Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
10. ^ "Thomas Cowan, MD". Wise Traditions. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
11. ^ D'Ambrosio, Amanda (18 August 2021). "No Physicians Disciplined for COVID Falsehoods". MedpageToday. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
12. ^ Grimes, David Robert (26 April 2021). "COVID Has Created a Perfect Storm for Fringe Science". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
13. ^ Wynne, Kelly (19 March 2020). "YouTube Video Suggests 5G Internet Causes Coronavirus and People Are Falling for It". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
14. ^ Temperton, James (6 April 2020). "How the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory tore through the internet". Wired. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
15. ^ Yates, Jeff; Nicholson, Katie (23 March 202). "Non, cette vidéo ne prouve pas que la COVID-19 est causée par la 5G". Radio-Canada Nouvelles (in French). Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
16. ^ Tijani, Mayowa (7 April 2020). "Experts dismiss claims that 5G wireless technology created the novel coronavirus". AFP Fact check. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
17. ^ Alaphilippe, Alexandre (14 April 2020). "COVID-19 and 5G: A case study of platforms' content moderation of conspiracy theories". EU Disinfo Lab. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
18. ^ "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Mythbusters". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
19. ^ "False claim: Coronavirus is a hoax and part of a wider 5G and human microchipping conspiracy". Reuters. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
20. ^ Cowan, Tom. "My Bio". Dr. Tom Cowan. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
21. ^ Fouquet, Helene; Turner, Giles (8 December 2020). "Anti-Vaxxer Books Top Search Results at Amazon, Barnes & Noble". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* 2

National|

* Germany
* United States
* 2
* Czech Republic
* Norway
* 2

People|

* DDB

Other|

* IdRef

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