FDA 'Public Beware' Warning (1956)
Background
On April 4, 1956, the Food and Drug Administration took an unprecedented step: it issued a formal public warning against the Hoxsey cancer treatment. This was the first time in the agency's history that it had publicly denounced a specific cancer treatment as worthless.
The warning poster, titled "PUBLIC BEWARE!", was eventually displayed in 46,000 post offices across the United States in 1957, reaching millions of Americans. The FDA described this as necessary to protect the public from what it called "the most prevalent cancer quackery in the country."
The Warning Poster
Full Warning Text
PUBLIC BEWARE!
Historical Context
The FDA warning came at a pivotal moment in the Hoxsey controversy:
- 1949 — Hoxsey had won his libel case against the AMA
- 1953 — The Fitzgerald Report accused organized medicine of conspiracy
- 1954 — Ten independent physicians declared Hoxsey's treatment "superior"
- 1956 — The FDA launched this unprecedented public campaign
- 1957 — Hoxsey sued to stop distribution of the poster (and lost)
- 1960 — All Hoxsey clinics in the U.S. were shut down
Why This Mattered
The FDA's decision to single out Hoxsey for public denunciation was remarkable for several reasons:
Unprecedented Action
Massive Distribution
Contradicted Evidence
Hoxsey's Response
Hoxsey challenged the poster in federal court (Hoxsey Cancer Clinic v. Folsom, 1957), seeking an injunction to stop the FDA from distributing the warning. The court ruled against him, finding that the government had the right to disseminate health warnings to the public.
Despite the FDA campaign, patients continued seeking Hoxsey's treatment. At its peak, the Dallas clinic was the largest private cancer center in the world.