The Charity Commission has issued a warning to quack medical charities as it bans a group which claimed to treat cancer with juice drinks.
Gerson Support Group, registered as a charity since 1997, promoted its own “nutritional therapy” for patients with life-threatening illnesses. This included an organic vegetarian diet, nutritional supplements and enemas. Freshly made juices were also advocated as part of the programme to help “restore your health”.
However, its charitable status has now been revoked after the Charity Commission said it must provide “objective scientific evidence” to support its medical claims.
The decision comes after the regulator tightened up its rules for charities offering complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies.
In 2018, a review by the Charity Commission concluded that to satisfy the “public benefit” requirement and qualify for charitable status, organisations must provide evidence that the therapy being offered is capable of delivering the claimed benefits.
Warning to other CAM charities
This is the first time that a CAM charity has been removed from the register following the review.
The Charity Commission said it is investigating a number of other similar cases and has warned CAM charities “to consider the public benefit requirement and ensure that their own activities deliver clear public benefit”.
Helen Earner, director of regulatory services, said: “I welcome the decision by the trustees of Gerson Support Group to wind it up, having recognised our concerns regarding its claims to cure people from life-threatening diseases.
“Charitable status is a special status that comes with clear expectations and responsibilities. The law is clear that all organisations which wish to hold that status must demonstrate public benefit.
“It is right that, following the commission’s intervention, the organisation has been removed from the register of charities.”
A Royal mention for banned charity
The Prince of Wales mentioned Gerson Support Group in a 2004 speech on complementary therapies and cancer care.
He said: “I know of one patient who turned to Gerson Therapy having been told that she was suffering from terminal cancer, and would not survive another course of chemotherapy. Happily, seven years later she is alive and well. So it is therefore vital that, rather than dismissing such experiences, we should further investigate the beneficial nature of these treatments.”
Representatives for the Prince of Wales declined to comment.
Tough new criteria
The Charity Commission began its investigation into Gerson Support Group in September 2019, questioning its trustees and reviewing its nutritional therapy programme.
The organisation agreed that its claims about treating cancer and its symptoms would not now meet the regulator’s tougher new registration criteria.
A Charity Commission spokesperson declined to say how many CAM charities it was investigating.
Some cases being investigated could be resolved through dialogue with trustees rather than organisations losing their charitable status, it said.
It conceded that organisations promoting therapies offering comfort and relief, rather than cures for illnesses, “may be able to rely on more subjective evidence, including patient testimonials, to demonstrate a tangible public benefit”.
