Quack Covid Cures: UK tea supplier sees sales of Pine Needle Tea rise by 5000%

• Leanne Brown, Star of The Real Housewives of Cheshire is one of the UK celebrities advocating the herbal remedy
• Discredited scientist, Dr. Judy Mikovits, claims the tea prevents coronavirus transmission
• Google searches for Pine Needle Tea rocket, (add global search trends data)

The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company were shocked to find that Pine Needle Tea sales had gone through the roof this year. The family run hot drink supplier said that they were now having to buy in lorry loads of the trendy tea from overseas to meet demands.

Richard Smith, partner of the company, said ‘the demand came out of nowhere and has been astounding -- we are processing over 450 Pine Needle Tea orders a day.’

Due to supply issues since the start of May we ran out of the tea thanks to the ‘news’ that it helps prevent coronavirus. We have had people phoning up in states of distress and even tears.’

The demand has been prompted by the viral claim that ‘Sumarin’, a component of Pine Needle Tea, prevents people from catching coronavirus. According to one Instagram post by 3rdEyeOpener (which promotes ‘alternative medicine’) Pine Needle Tea prevents blood clots, vascular problems and heart attacks and ‘also inhibits inappropriate replication and modification of RNA and DNA.’ This post has been issued with a ‘False Information’ warning by Instagram.

The concern is that vaccinated citizens ‘shed’ Coronavirus and infect those around them. Pine Needle Tea, people claim, naturally prevents this. Scientists and health professionals are eager to quash claims that Pine Needle Tea is the only needle you will need during Covid!’ and argue that vaccine shedding is a bogus phenomenon.

Cult Celebrities

Reality TV Star Leanne Brown, wife of Wes Brown the ex-Man United Defender, told The Sun that Brits should drink Pine Needle Tea rather than get vaccinated. She also claimed that Coronavirus is a government coverup for child trafficking in a lengthy post to her 241k Instagram followers.

Another influential conspiracy theorist promoting this ‘alternative medicine’ is Dr.Judy Mikovitis, whose recent book Plague of Corruption topped the Amazon bestseller list. In a Youtube video titled ‘Sumarin’ Dr. Mikovitis claimed that ‘”Suramin'' is the antidote to the bioweapons and transmission’ and that ‘You can obtain enough from pine needle tea (pine, spruce, cedar and fir)”. Although this video was removed by Youtube, this false claim is still circling on conspiracy and alternative health websites.

The fight against Covid conspiracies

This is not the only herbal remedy to Coronavirus that has gone viral. Other suggested treatments include alkaline foods diets and ingesting lemon drops and red onions. In response, Doctors and Health Professionals are working hard to debunk these false and potentially life-threatening claims.

One such group is Sense about Science, assisted by conspiracy theory expert Professor Peter Knight from the University of Manchester. Rather than belittling conspiracy theorists' concerns, this group advises a more understanding approach.

When debunking myths (like those around Pine Needle Tea), one spokeswoman advised that “a conversation that empowers people to think, question, complain or challenge can be much more useful than one that demolishes a ‘fact’.”