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Stephen Barrett
Born	Stephen Joel Barrett 1933 (age 90–91) New York City
Alma mater	Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1957)
Occupation(s)	Psychiatrist, author, consumer advocate, webmaster
Years active	1961–1993 (psychiatry)
Known for	Being the webmaster of Quackwatch
Spouse(s)	Judith Nevyas Barrett, M.D.
Children	3 (Daniel, Deborah, and Benjamin)
Website	www.quackwatch.org

Stephen Joel Barrett (/ˈbærɪt/; born 1933) is an American retired psychiatrist, author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), and the webmaster of Quackwatch. He runs a number of websites dealing with quackery and health fraud. He focuses on consumer protection, medical ethics, and scientific skepticism.

June 24, 2007 |access-date=July 18, 2007}}</ref> He was a practicing physician until retiring from active practice in 1993. His medical license is now listed as "Active-Retired" in good standing: "No disciplinary actions were found for this license." A longtime resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Barrett now resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

In addition to webmastering his websites, Barrett was a co-founder, vice-president and a board member of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF). He is a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). From 1987 through 1989, he taught health education at Pennsylvania State University.

Barrett was the consulting editor for the Consumer Health Library at Prometheus Books, and has been a peer-review panelist for two medical journals. He has also served on the editorial board of Medscape and the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. According to his website, he "has written more than 2,000 articles and delivered more than 300 talks at colleges, universities, medical schools, and professional meetings. His media appearances include Dateline, Today, Good Morning America, Primetime, Donahue, CNN, National Public Radio, and more than 200 other radio and television talk show interviews."

Quackwatch received the award of Best Physician-Authored Site by MD NetGuide, May 2003. In 1984, he received an FDA Commissioner's Special Citation Award for Public Service in fighting nutrition quackery. He was included in the list of outstanding skeptics of the 20th century by Skeptical Inquirer magazine. In 1986, he was awarded honorary membership in the American Dietetic Association. Barrett has been profiled in Biography Magazine (1998) and in Time (2001).

The magazine Spiked-online included Barrett in a survey of 134 persons they termed "key thinkers in science, technology and medicine." When he was asked: "What inspired you to take up science?" he replied that his appreciation of medical science:

probably began when I took a college course in medical statistics, and learned what makes the difference between scientific thought and poor reasoning. Medical school brought me in touch with the rapid and amazing strides being made in the understanding and treatment of disease. My anti-quackery activities have intensified my interest and concern in distinguishing science from pseudoscience, quackery and fraud.

Selected publications

Articles for which Barrett was an author include:

• In 1985, Barrett was the author of the "Commercial hair analysis. Science or scam?" article in the Journal of the American Medical Association that exposed commercial laboratories performing multimineral hair analysis. He concluded that "commercial use of hair analysis in this manner is unscientific, economically wasteful, and probably illegal." His report has been cited in later articles, including one which concluded that such testing was "unreliable."
• "A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch", Rosa L, Rosa E, Sarner L, Barrett SJ. (April 1, 1998). JAMA, Vol. 279, No. 13, pp 1005–1010.

His (co)authored and (co)edited books include:

• Consumer Health: A Guide to Intelligent Decisions, Barrett S, London WM, Kroger M, Hall H, Baretz R (2013). (textbook, 9th ed.) McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0078028489
• Dubious Cancer Treatment, Barrett SJ & Cassileth BR, editors (2001). Florida Division of the American Cancer Society
• Chemical Sensitivity: The Truth About Environmental Illness (Consumer Health Library), Barrett, SJ & Gots, Ronald E. (1998). Prometheus Books. ISBN 9781573921954
• The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America, Barrett SJ, Jarvis WT, eds. (1993). Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-855-4
• Health Schemes, Scams, and Frauds, Barrett SJ (1991). Consumer Reports Books, ISBN 0-89043-330-5
• Reader's Guide to Alternative Health Methods, Zwicky JF, Hafner AW, Barrett S, Jarvis WT (1993). American Medical Association, ISBN 0-89970-525-1
• The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry Is Selling America a Bill of Goods, Barrett SJ, Herbert V (1991). Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-909-7
• Vitamins and Minerals: Help or Harm?, Marshall CW (1983). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins ISBN 0-397-53060-9 (edited by Barrett, won the American Medical Writers Association award for best book of 1983 for the general public, republished by Consumer Reports Books).

Collections of articles:

• Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis, 2007, edited by Bryan Farha, University Press of America, ISBN 978-0-7618-3772-5. Three of the eighteen chapters are written by Barrett.

See also

• Barrett v. Rosenthal
• Consumer protection
• Debunker
• Evidence-based medicine
• Pseudoscience

References

1. Barrett, Stephen (December 21, 2016). "Stephen Barrett, M.D. Curriculum Vitae". Quackwatch. Retrieved February 25, 2017. Wife, Judith Nevyas Barrett, M.D., is a retired family practitioner.
2. ^ Rosen, Marjorie (October 1998). "Biography Magazine Interviews - Stephen Barrett, M.D." Biography Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
3. "Pennsylvania Department of State; Stephen Barret Medical License Status and standing". Pennsylvania Department of State; to be considered a primary resource. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
4. Wlazelek, Ann (June 13, 2007). "Allentown critic of quacks moves to 'milder winters'". The Morning Call. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
5. "Prometheus Books Spring-Summer 2007 Trade Catalog" (PDF). p. 63. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2006. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
6. ^ Barrett, Stephen (June 4, 2007). "Stephen Barrett, M.D., Biographical Sketch". Quackwatch. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
7. Williams, Elaine S (April 21, 1999). "The JAMA 1998 Editorial Peer Review Audit". Journal of the American Medical Association. 281: 1443. doi:10.1001/jama.281.15.1443. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
8. JAMA Peer Reviewers for 2003
9. "Thanks to Reviewers-2001". Annals of Internal Medicine. 135 (12): 1098–1106. December 18, 2001. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-135-12-200112180-00033. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
10. Lundberg, GD (1999). "Introducing the Editorial Board of Medscape". MedGenMed: E28. PMID 11104430.
11. "The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine". Quackwatch. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
12. Sintay and Hagan. From Farrah Fawcett to Suzanne Somers: Is Alternative Medicine Safe?. Barrett participated on Good Morning America, April 7, 2009.
13. "Pass the Envelope, Please...: Best Physician- Authored Site". MD Net Guide. May–June 2003. Archived from the original on June 25, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
14. ^ Joel R. Cooper. "Consumer Health Fraud...don't be a victim! Interview with Stephen Barrett, M.D." The Medical Reporter. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006.
15. "Ten Outstanding Skeptics of the Century". Scientifically Investigating Paranormal and Fringe Science Claims. Skeptical Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
16. Rosen, Marjorie (October 1998). "Interview with Stephen Barrett, M.D". Biography Magazine. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
17. Jaroff, Leon (April 30, 2001). "The Man Who Loves To Bust Quacks". Time. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
18. "What Inspired You? – Index of Survey responses". Spiked-Online. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
19. "What Inspired You? – Introduction". Spiked-Online. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
20. ^ Barrett, Stephen. "What Inspired You? – Survey responses – Dr Stephen Barrett". Spiked-Online. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
21. Barrett SJ (August 23, 1985). Commercial hair analysis. Science or scam? JAMA Vol. 254 No. 8.
22. Assessment of Commercial Laboratories Performing Hair Mineral Analysis, Seidel S, et al., JAMA. 2001;285:67–72.
23. Barrett SJ. "Books and book chapters". Quackwatch. Retrieved February 12, 2007.

External links

• Quackwatch.org – Stephen Barrett

• 1933 births
• American Council on Science and Health
• American health activists
• American psychiatrists
• American science writers
• American skeptics
• Critics of alternative medicine
• Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni
• Fellows of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
• La Salle Extension University alumni
• Living people
• Pennsylvania State University faculty
• Writers from New York City
• Project Steve