Without evidence of benefit, an intervention should not be presumed to be beneficial or safe.

- Rogue Medic

How to scam the police – SWAT Fuel

On FaceBook, a friend recommended SWAT Fuel (there is a discount is you recommend it). I looked at the site and asked for evidence that this is anything more than a placebo with some caffeine.

I was told to read the label. The label contains a bunch of ingredients that supplement companies will tell you work miracles, but there does not appear to be any valid evidence to support these exaggerated claims.[1]

Some anecdotalists posted their defense of the product and they were praised by the person posting as SWAT Fuel. Here is the label –
 


Image source.[2]
 

Do the B vitamins work?

If you have a vitamin deficiency illness, then these vitamins will help, otherwise you are wasting your money on placebos.

Evidence?

I asked for evidence and I received nothing. The people who criticized me for asking were praised by SWAT Fuel. My follow up comment was deleted by SWAT Fuel.
 

Is that trustworthy behavior?
 

What evidence did they provide to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) that this works at all?

They have the obligatory Quack Miranda Warning –

“These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”[3]

This is the official Stay Out Of Jail warning used by frauds to convince a jury that their claims should not be taken seriously by any intelligent individual.

This is roughly the equivalent of I represent extremely wealthy members of the Nigerian royal family who want you to help them move millions of dollars out of the country because of your reputation for integrity. You will be richly rewarded!

And there are serious looking 9mm rounds!!!11!!

That picture must mean that it works like strapping a JATO rocket to your back! 🙄

They really did write that. Click on the image to make it larger and funnier.

Does SWAT Fuel use the Quack Miranda Warning?

Of course. You don’t expect them to do anything original, like come up with something that really works, do you?

FDA Disclaimer
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

Any and all information on this page is subject to change with or without notice.[4]

Does that mean that SWAT Fuel is a scam?

They won’t show any evidence. Maybe they are keeping it a secret, because they don’t want anyone to know how good their product really is. 😳

Not good at all – unless you make money selling it.

I have asked and SWAT Fuel has not provided any reason to believe that SWAT Fuel is any more effective than caffeine.
 

$35 for an itty-bitty bottle.
 

I can buy 5-Hour Energy Drink for much less. That also appears to be a placebo with caffeine added.[5]

I can buy caffeine for much less than 5-Hour Energy Drink – I just won’t get the fancy packaging.

The only question left appears to be, would you like the Brooklyn Bridge delivered, or will you pick it up?
 

Look – someone strapping a JATO rocket to your back!

The British Medical Journal has a special on using the appearance of science to promote sport drinks.[6],[7],[8],[9],[10],[11]

SWAT Fuel appears to be carrying on that deceptive tradition.

Footnotes:

[1] SWAT Fuel
FaceBook page
Accessed 7/25/2012
FaceBook link

[2] SWAT Fuel label
Ingredients
Accessed 7/25/2012
Home page

[3] Quack Miranda Warning
PalMD
White Coat Underground
Article

[4] FDA disclaimer
SWAT Fuel
Accessed 7/25/2012
Privacy/Return Policy/FDA Disclaimer

[5] 5-hour Energy
Science-Based Medicine
Harriet Hall
June 26, 2012
Article

[6]Sports Drink Science: Seven notable things I learned recently.
Dr. John M
by John Mandrolla, MD
July 26, 2012
Article

[7] The BMJ’s Amazing Shock and Awe Assault on Sport Drink Science
Weighty Matters
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Article

[8] The evidence underpinning sports performance products: a systematic assessment.
Heneghan C, Howick J, O’Neill B, Gill PJ, Lasserson DS, Cohen D, Davis R, Ward A, Smith A, Jones G, Thompson M.
BMJ Open. 2012 Jul 18;2(4). pii: e001702. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001702. Print 2012.
PMID: 22815461 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

Free Full Text from BMJ with links to the other open access research on sports drinks mentioned

[9] Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon.
Almond CS, Shin AY, Fortescue EB, Mannix RC, Wypij D, Binstadt BA, Duncan CN, Olson DP, Salerno AE, Newburger JW, Greenes DS.
N Engl J Med. 2005 Apr 14;352(15):1550-6.
PMID: 15829535 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Free Full Text from NEJM

[10] Firefighter Pre-Hydration – Fight Fire like a Marathon Runner
Life Under the Lights
by Ckemtp
July 9, 2012
Article

[11] Hydration Tips for Operational Athletes during Hot and Prolonged Operations
by Greg Friese
July 28, 2012
Everyday EMS Tips
Article

.

Comments

  1. Yeah…. I’ll stick to coffee.

  2. Rogue, can you ask SWAT fuel if they are working on a jelly doughnut flavor? 🙂

  3. Unfortunately, we have primarily one legislator to blame for the lack of supplement reguolation. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) as described in the linked article, working closely with his son Scott Hatch, formerly of a major supplement manufacturer, now a supplement industry lobbiest, have effectively block most legislation that would provide the FDA with regulatory teeth. Apparnetly, supplements are one of Utah’s major exports.

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/utahs-senator-orrin-hatch-defender-of-the-supplement-industry/

  4. There is always one individual out there that try their best to discredit the things that honest people are attempting to achieve. SWAT Fuel works and I seen the difference in my body and workouts. Rogue medic…..figures!

    • Hi mosmitty1,

      What sort of differences have you seen in your body and workout improvements? As I am also striving to get stronger and faster (I want to run a Boston marathon qualifying time) I am looking for products and techniques that work well for others.

      Greg

      • Greg,

        Sorry it took so long to reply. The difference that I have seen in my body is that leaner look that I have been striving for sooooo long. I have tried the other products and I must say that this product has been the most effective of all that I have tried. If you are doing the Boston Marathon, please start using this product. I won’t say that you will win it but you will have more endurance throughout the run. Good luck and thank you for asking me the question.

        • Anonymous,

          The difference that I have seen in my body is that leaner look that I have been striving for sooooo long. I have tried the other products and I must say that this product has been the most effective of all that I have tried. If you are doing the Boston Marathon, please start using this product. I won’t say that you will win it but you will have more endurance throughout the run. Good luck and thank you for asking me the question.

          This is typical of placebo effects and scams.

          Nothing you have written suggests that SWAT Fuel is anything other than a scam.

          SWAT Fuel is just a scam.

          It is sad that the association with the police is used to sell this scam.

          .

    • mosmitty1,

      There is always one individual out there that try their best to discredit the things that honest people are attempting to achieve.

      There are not enough people discrediting the things that dishonest people are doing.

      I regularly criticize what the dishonest are doing.

      SWAT Fuel works and I seen the difference in my body and workouts.

      I’ve Seen It Work and Other Lies

      You are only fooling yourself.

      .

  5. Rogue Medic,

    I am a full time police officer and paramedic. I attended the ISTM this past spring and Dr. Olesnicky, founder of Swat Fuel, was one of my instructors. His lecture on fitness and team health was amazing! His care and dedication to his professions should be an example to all! Swat Fuel works! I use it as well well as my teammates. Some of the proceeds even go to good charities! Dr. Olesnicky truly cares about the officers under his care and has helped the tactical medic community a great deal! This is not the type of man to go around slinging snake oil, least of all targeting his brothern with it! You say they have no evidence that it works, I want to see your evidence that it doesn’t!!! If you disagree with a product then don’t buy it, but you need to stop letting your battleship mouth overload your rowboat ass!

    • Is there a relationship between use of exclamation points and snake oil?

      • Greg,

        Is there a relationship between use of exclamation points and snake oil?

        Usually it is the use of capital letters, but exclamation points, donations to charity, and claims that we need to try it first are typical of scams.

        It is all about discouraging criticism, because thescamsy don’t have anything that will stand up to criticism.

        .

    • TacMedicDrew,

      I am a full time police officer and paramedic. I attended the ISTM this past spring and Dr. Olesnicky, founder of Swat Fuel, was one of my instructors. His lecture on fitness and team health was amazing! His care and dedication to his professions should be an example to all!

      He may be an amazing guy, but that has absolutely nothing to do with whether SWAT Fuel works.

      Swat Fuel works!

      Then where is the evidence?

      I use it as well well as my teammates.

      That is not evidence.

      That is anecdote from someone who is biased.

      Some of the proceeds even go to good charities!

      Criminals often donate to charities to discourage criticism.

      Charitable donation will discourage some people from criticizing SWAT Fuel, because they will think – So what if it is a scam, it is for a good cause.

      Donating to charity has nothing to do with whether SWAT Fuel is a scam.

      Evidence that it works is all that matters. In the absence of evidence, SWAT Fuel is a scam.

      Dr. Olesnicky truly cares about the officers under his care and has helped the tactical medic community a great deal! This is not the type of man to go around slinging snake oil, least of all targeting his brothern with it!

      He may even like puppies, but that does not mean SWAT Fuel is still a scam.

      You say they have no evidence that it works, I want to see your evidence that it doesn’t!!!

      That is exactly the way scam artists respond.

      It would not be difficult to study SWAT Fuel to find out what it does.

      Do the high doses of some chemicals cause organ damage with prolonged use?

      We don’t know, but we are supposed to just believe.

      No.

      We are supposed to demand evidence.

      Without evidence of efficacy, we should assume that SWAT Fuel is a scam.

      Without evidence of safety, we should assume that SWAT Fuel is dangerous.

      If you disagree with a product then don’t buy it, but you need to stop letting your battleship mouth overload your rowboat ass!

      In other words –

      Don’t ruin this scam for those of us making money off of it!

      SWAT Fuel is a scam.

      .

      • Bitter orange is employed as a stimulant and appetite suppressant,
        due to its active ingredient, synephrine – a relative of amphetamine
        and related to pseudoephedrine – you know, in cold medications that
        meth-cookers use to make meth. Bitter orange supplements have
        been linked to a number of serious side effects and deaths, and
        consumer groups advocate avoiding medicinal use of the fruit.

        White willow is where aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is originally
        derived from and is the active chemical component of “white
        willow bark extract” – i.e. you’re taking aspirin in an unknown
        amount, which, depending on your biochemistry could be a bad
        thing.

        Overall, this is a combination of actual pharmaceuticals that
        amount primarily to a legal whack of speed that for a large
        number of people has the potential to cause a heart-attack.
        I forget the chemistry involved, but one large volume bitter
        orange extract based product was actually pulled from the
        market for doing just that – the combination of bitter orange
        extract and other chemicals (perhaps similar to this one)
        caused prolonged metabolic increases that overtaxed the
        heart (a muscle) and caused heart-attacks and in a few
        cases, death.

        From Dr.Oz’s page: Three Supplements Dr. Oz Would Never Take
        [http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/three-supplements-dr-oz-would-never-take]

        Bitter Orange
        Taken in the hopes that it can boost weight loss or relieve allergies,
        $21 million worth of bitter orange was sold last year. However, it can
        cause heart attack, stroke or even death. Bitter orange contains a
        stimulant similar to ephedrine, banned by the FDA in 2004 after
        2 people died and several suffered heart attacks or strokes. This
        was the first time the FDA banned an herbal supplement and
        bitter orange has many similar chemical properties.

        I’ve included the Oz reference as it was the easiest to find vs looking
        for the product that got pulled.

        Indeed, if the FDA WERE able to regulate the sainted supplement
        industry, we’d all be spared a crap load of snake-oil currently on the
        market – many of which are actually dangerous…

        • StGermain,

          Thank you for the information.

          It is interesting that this seems to be just a bunch of uppers for cops.

          Indeed, if the FDA WERE able to regulate the sainted supplement industry, we’d all be spared a crap load of snake-oil currently on the market – many of which are actually dangerous


          I agree.

  6. If you have so many questions and doubts, why don’t you call Dr. Olesnicky and speak to him. You might change your biased opinion. Have you tried any of the products yourself or just read the labels?

    • Brian,

      If you have so many questions and doubts, why don’t you call Dr. Olesnicky and speak to him.

      There would need to be some evidence to talk about.

      There is no evidence, so this is just a scam.

      You might change your biased opinion.

      My opinion is biased by the absence of valid evidence.

      Have you tried any of the products yourself or just read the labels?

      Why would I try something with out evidence of efficacy, other than as part of a well controlled trial?

      I would have to be very gullible.

      This scam depends on people being gullible.

      .

  7. My wife and I have tried it now for a few months and have experienced positive results. I was actually looking for the website to forward to a peer and found your blog. Seems like you’re trying to do the right thing by identifying products that don’t work. I know how my body reacts to what I put into it and my mind doesn’t control the way it reacts. That would be helpful when I have the stomach flu I would think…
    We like it and it serves out needs. It works for us and I don’t have anymore time to give you. How do you spend so much time on the internet. Go train.

    • Yalepride,

      I know how my body reacts to what I put into it and my mind doesn’t control the way it reacts.

      If that were the case, you would realize that this is just a bunch of overpriced caffeine.

      If this actually worked, the manufacturer would be able to easily demonstrate that it works.

      There is no valid evidence that this works any better than any other scam.

      Why are you so defensive of such an obvious scam?

      .

  8. I know the quack doctor that founded the SWAT Fuel company. He’s a complete idiot who is guilty of conflict of interest & ethics violations by promoting this product to PATIENTS. He’s a complete douche, & doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.

  9. any updates==?