'Miracle' energy pendants carry cancer risk, health officials say

A pendant said to release energy that can soothe neck pain and headaches, make the body more supple and even fight infection and cancer could in fact be a health risk, the Health Department warned yesterday.

The department said the Scalar Energy Pendant could cause skin inflammation and even cancer with prolonged use.

The radiation dose from a single pendant was found to reach 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the annual skin dose limit recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, the department said.

The warning followed the seizure of 2,835 of the pendants by customs officers. Remaining products in the market will be recalled.

The pendant - on sale at eCosway's 32 stores in Hong Kong - is said to be effective in easing muscular pains and tiredness. Various overseas websites described it as being made from natural minerals that are fused and structurally bonded together at a molecular level to release an energy that enhances the body's biofield. It is supposed to reduce inflammation, destroy viruses and bacteria, and even help fight cancer cells.

But Samuel Lo Chun-lap, professor of applied biology and chemical technology at Polytechnic University, said it was just too good to be true. 'I have never heard of anything with such miraculous performance.'