Last week, everybody's favorite TV snake-oil salesman, Dr. Oz, was ripped a new one by a Congressional committee over claims he's made on his TV show about "miracle in a bottle" weight-loss products. Oz's very public scolding continued in the days afterward, with many a media outlet taking shots at the cardiothoracic surgeon for his coverage of "magic" solutions fot his viewers' weight struggles.
But, none even came close to the epic takedown executed flawlessly by John Oliver on last night's episode of Last Week Tonight. In the clip, which is a full 16 minutes and 25 seconds and 100% worth watching all the way through, Oliver nails Oz for his irresponsible, completely unsubstantiated claims — in typical, hilarious, Oliver fashion.
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More than simply destroying Oz, though, Oliver's rant draws attention to the real issue at hand, of which he says Oz is "just a symptom." Oliver outlines the many problems with the FDA's (lack of) regulation of dietary supplements — and the endless efforts by lobbying groups to keep it that way. Of course, as Oliver points out, this results in a number of demonstrably dangerous supplements remaining on store shelves, causing serious side effects, and even killing consumers.
Not only can supplement manufacturers make unproven claims about the effectiveness of their products, they don't even have to prove a supplement's safety before it goes to market. Add that to recent reports that up to one in three supplements in America don't contain even trace amounts of what they claim to provide, and it gets pretty tough to side with Oz on this one.
Watch the clip above to see the good doctor get the full treatment. You might want to grab some popcorn.