page_title: Radioactive quackery
hierarchical_section_title: Radioactive quackery
caption_attribution_description: English: Advertising of Borjomi water
context_page_description: Radioactive quackery is quackery that improperly promotes radioactivity as a therapy for illnesses. Unlike radiotherapy, which is the scientifically sound use of radiation for the destruction of cells, quackery involving radioactive substances pseudoscientifically promotes radiation as healthful and healing for cells and tissues. It was most popular during the early 20th century, after the discovery in 1896 of radioactive decay. The practice has widely declined, but is still actively practiced by some.
context_section_description: Radioactive quackery is quackery that improperly promotes radioactivity as a therapy for illnesses. Unlike  radiotherapy, which is the scientifically sound use of radiation for the destruction of cells (usually cancer cells), quackery involving radioactive substances pseudoscientifically promotes radiation as healthful and healing for cells and tissues. It was most popular during the early 20th century, after the discovery in 1896 of radioactive decay. The practice has widely declined, but is still actively practiced by some.
caption: A Borjomi mineral water ad from 1929, advertising the water as "radioactive". The water is still popular today, but said property is no longer emphasized.
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