Dr. Oz to Critics: I Am Not a Quack

A group of his fellow physicians thinks that TV's Dr. Oz is a money-hungry quack who has no business being on the medical faculty of Columbia. Dr. Oz himself, aka cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz, begs to differ. "I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves," he says in a statement picked up by USA Today. "We provide multiple points of view, including mine, which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts." A spokesman for Columbia, meanwhile, tells the newspaper that the university plans no action against Oz.

A Stanford doctor who was among those who signed the letter thinks Columbia's previously stated defense of "academic freedoms" in this case is ridiculous, reports the Washington Post. "Freedoms end where patient safety begins, and Oz's promotion of worthless products that might have side effects and that delay patients' seeking safe and effective therapies threatens public safety," says Henry Miller. Oz has previously come under fire for hawking diet plans and a bean extract that critics say are bogus, and for peddling bunk claims in general. (More Mehmet Oz stories.)