Duon H. Miller
Duon H. Miller | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1894 United States |
| Died | 1969 Coral Gables, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, anti-vaccination activist |
| Known for | Founder of Duon, Inc.; opposition to polio vaccine |
Duon H. Miller (approximately 1894–1969) was an American entrepreneur best known for establishing the cosmetics company Duon, Inc. He gained notoriety for his extensive opposition to the polio vaccine, which he viewed as a dangerous response to a disease he considered nonexistent.
Early life
Born around 1894, Donald H. Miller attended the University of Nebraska, financing his education through work. According to his second spouse, he left after one year to enlist in the military during World War I. Subsequently, he adopted the first name "Duon."
Business dealings
Miller launched Duon, Inc. in a garage located in Dayton, Ohio. The enterprise expanded into a well-known cosmetics producer, with its leading product being "Vita-fluff" shampoo, marketed as the pioneering cream shampoo. Miller presented himself as a "research chemist" and promoted certain items as medical remedies. These assertions resulted in a 1943 Federal Trade Commission agreement that barred him from claiming his products could treat medical conditions and required renaming his subsidiary Northern Research Industries, which was not an actual research facility. In 1945, the FTC confiscated a shipment of Vita-fluff due to deceptive claims about curing dandruff. Another FTC case in 1952 addressed restrictive trade practices involving Miller. According to his second wife’s statement to the Dayton Daily News, he had portrayed himself as a medical doctor or claimed partial medical education at Northwestern University without earning an MD degree.
Polio and polio vaccine activism
By the early 1950s, Miller had moved to Coral Gables, Florida and initiated campaigns opposing soft drinks, sugar consumption, and bleached flour. In 1953, he distributed flyers in Key West schools falsely alleging that gamma globulin treatments for polio could cause inherited racial traits from donors to appear in children.[1] His group, Polio Prevention, Inc., sent mailings to parents in Minnesota accusing healthcare professionals of exploiting polio for financial gain and linking soft drink consumption to polio cases.[2]
Polio Prevention, Inc. also published pamphlets claiming that sugar metabolism depletes calcium levels and causes polio—framing the disease as a result of calcium deficiency induced by sugar.[1]
In March 1954, Miller faced mail fraud charges related to sending defamatory materials opposing the polio vaccine.[3][4] His mailings featured alarming slogans such as "'Fake' Polio Vaccine May Kill Your Child!" and cautions about "thousands of little white coffins" linked to Salk’s vaccine.[5][6] Convicted in 1955, he received a $1000 fine.[7] After breaching probation by continuing his anti-polio vaccine activities through other means, he was ordered to stop participating in polio prevention efforts.[1][8]
Despite these legal challenges, Miller continued promoting opposition to sugar, pasteurization, and white flour via widespread newspaper communications.[1]
Death
In 1969, Miller passed away at his residence located in Coral Gables.
References
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