Trust alone

“As advertised!”

Conflicting interests may result in misleading claims about the effects of interventions. Someone with an interest in getting people to use an intervention, such as making money, may overstate benefits and ignore possible harmful effects.

People urging others to use an intervention may just want to help. But they also may have other reasons, for example to make money. This can lead them to exaggerate how good the intervention is and to ignore how harmful it may be.

Similarly, people urging others not to use an intervention may have different reasons for doing this, for example their moral beliefs.

BEWARE of claims about the effects of treatments that are made by people who make money from selling the intervention or who have other, possibly conflicting, interests.

REMEMBER: Think about whether someone making a claim about the effects of an intervention may have a vested interest in its use. If they do, be careful not to be fooled by their claim.