Google is caught promoting adverts for ‘extremely dangerous’ unproven ‘cancer cure’ black salve which burns through skin and flesh
- The search engine boosted adverts for the unproven controversial remedy
- Experts warn black salve causes permanent tissue damage and doesn’t work
- It may also put people off genuine medical treatment, risking their health
Google has been accused of promoting an unproven cancer cure which can burn through people’s skin.
Adverts for black salve, an ‘extremely dangerous’ paste which is applied to the skin, appeared in the sponsored section of the search engine.
Touted as a treatment for warts, skin tags and even skin cancers, the controversial remedy works by burning through the flesh.
It can leave customers mutilated, with permanent scars and patients may potentially avoid effective medicines in favour of the treatment.
Health authorities in the US and Australia have warned people not to use the risky treatment, and the US banned its sale as a cancer cure, but it is still available online.
Kelly, who appeared on E! reality TV show botched, was left with a destroyed nose after she used black salve to try and cure a basal cell skin cancer. After doctors failed to transfer skin from her forehead for the repair (left), she had to have reconstructive plastic surgery
One advert promoted by Google showed black salve on sale for £13, and the company selling it claimed it could cure haemorrhoids and cancer.
It claimed the product was a ‘natural antiseptic’, The Times reported.
Another, selling the black salve for £30, claimed the paste has ‘been long known’ to remove skin problems such as skin tags, warts, boils and moles.
The active ingredient in black salve is a plant called bloodroot, which has a corrosive effect on human tissue, meaning it burns it away.
While patients may want warts and boils burned off, the product will also eat through healthy skin and cause permanent damage.
‘Black salve is extremely dangerous,’ Cancer Research UK’s Martin Ledwick told The Times.
‘There’s no evidence that it helps to treat cancer and we urge people not to use this unsafe substance.’
But companies selling black salve or people promoting its use may not always be truthful about its damaging effects.
An article posted by the American Academy of Dermatology in 2016 claimed as many as 74 per cent of people were unaware of potential side effects.
And, in a survey of users in Utah, the majority of people who used it did so after it was recommended by a family member or friend, not an expert.
Dr Mark Eliason, a dermatologist, said: ‘There is a misperception that black salve “draws the cancer out” when, in fact, it just indiscriminately damages anything it touches.
‘One of the reasons black salve treatment is so dangerous is that many users have no idea how harmful it can be.’
Google said the offending adverts would be taken down.
It said in a statement: ‘Because we want ads people see on Google to be useful and relevant, we have policies that exclude ads for supplements with dangerous ingredients. If we find sites breaking this rule, we take appropriate action.’