October 2007

Chiropractic 'victims' group issues postage stamps

Group to use stamps to warn public of chiropractic 'risks'

The anti‑chiropractic organization, Victims of Chiropractic Abuse (VOCA) has designed and released two stamps they say are geared to "commemorating and promoting its efforts to educate the public to the potentially severe health risks of chiropractic treatment."

Like the chiropractic postage stamp released by the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) earlier this year, the stamps are valid first class postage.

"The stamp will promote awareness of the health hazards of chiropractic neck manipulation to the many people who will send, receive, or see the stamp," said Janet Levy, president of VOCA. "Each stamp is like a mini billboard boosting our efforts to shine light on the dangerous practice of chiropractic neck manipulation."

Levy founded the organization after suffering a stroke which she felt was caused by a chiropractic treatment. VOCA, and several similar organizations that have sprung up in the past year, have engaged in an aggressive campaign to link chiropractic to strokes. Anti‑chiropractic ads have been placed on billboards and municipal buses, in newspapers and on websites.

In addition, the groups are active in lobbying for "chiropractic reform" legislation, including the recently passed Connecticut law which makes chiropractic malpractice records public information.

One of the VOCA stamps shows the organization's logo while the other has a photo of Linda Solsbury, whose paralysis was blamed on chiropractic manipulation. According to VOCA, Solsbury died last year during an operation to relieve some of the effects of her injuries.

"This stamp honoring Linda will help our efforts to promote awareness of the health hazards of chiropractic neck manipulation to the many people who will send, receive, or see the stamp," Levy noted. "Linda was a true hero who worked diligently to warn the public that chiropractic is not without risks and she was a comfort to many other victims through her extensive email communications."

The headline of its press release, "VOCA Unveils Chiropractic Malpractice Postage Stamp Approved by US Postal Service," gave the misleading impression that the stamps were official US Postage designs. This is not true, since the US Postal Service does not review customized "PC Postage" stamp designs. Instead, it has authorized four private companies to print bar‑coded stamps that look like, and can be used as, US postage stamps.

The World Chiropractic Alliance issued its first chiropractic stamp in this manner and made it clear that the stamp was not an official US commemorative design. Several years ago, the WCA spearheaded a profession‑wide campaign to get an official US postage stamp to honor chiropractic, but the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee rejected the application.

In the first month of sales, chiropractors purchased more than 11,000 chiropractic postage stamps and the WCA recently placed its fourth order to keep up with demand. Despite the fact that the chiropractic stamps are significantly more expensive than the regular US Postal Service‑ (USPS‑) issued stamps, doctors have embraced them as a great public relations tool. The retail price of customized stamps when purchased through a PC postage vendor is $18.99 per 20‑stamp sheet. The WCA charges $19.99 to cover its costs. Plus, discounts are given on orders of more than 10 sheets.

The WCA's profit from the sale of the stamps is used to finance its lobbying, public relations and legal efforts on behalf of the chiropractic profession. A major effort is directed towards countering the misinformation about chiropractic and stroke.

The WCA‑issued chiropractic postal stamp is in the 41‑cent denomination for one‑ounce first class letters and available in sheets of 20 stamps each, for as low as $17.99 per sheet (in orders of more than 25 sheets). For orders of 11‑25 sheets, the price is $18.99 per sheet; for 1‑10 sheets, the price is $19.99 per sheet. There is a flat postage and shipping charge of $5 per order. Stamps can be mailed to US addresses only and doctors are asked to allow 3‑4 weeks for delivery. Organizations interested in buying stamps in bulk (orders of 100 sheets or more) for resale should e‑mail the World Chiropractic Alliance at stamps@worldchiropracticalliance.org .

Credit card orders may be placed through the WCA's secure ordering system at www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/stamp . Or, doctors may send a check or money order made payable to: Chiropractic Postage Stamps, World Chiropractic Alliance, 2950 N. Dobson Rd. Suite 3, Chandler, AZ 85224.