No, the American Lung Association did not develop products that cure heart disease, lung disease, COPD, or asthma

Context

Several videos are circulating on Facebook and TikTok that are racking up over ten thousand views. These videos claim that products called NoseRocket and LumiLung, developed by Dr. Barbara O’Neill or the American Lung Association, can cure lung disease, COPD, and asthma, among other lung conditions. 

However, this is false, and the video is a deep fake.

In fact

The videos are digitally manipulated and artificially fabricated using deep fake technology to impersonate known medical misinformation spreader and naturopath Barbara O’Neill. The creator has used videos of O'Neill available online to use her voice and likeness to narrate the videos to make them more believable. We found the original video based on raising children on YouTube that was used as a template for this manipulation.

Left: A screenshot from the original video on raising children. Right: The viral deep fake. (Source: Facebook/YouTube/Screenshots/Annotated by Logically Facts) 

In comparison to the original image taken from her YouTube video on Raising Children (left), which is high-definition and detailed with no distortion whatsoever, her face in the videos circulating online (right) is AI-generated. Not only is there a soft glow surrounding her entire head, but also a lack of definition on her forehead, hair, and neck, together with distortion to her eyes and lips while speaking – all hallmarks of AI-generated imagery. 

The audio is also monotonous as the editing appears to generate speech based on her previous video content, making the tone unnatural.

The videos falsely show her marketing a newly produced product. In some videos, she is edited to claim to have developed it herself; in others, she says the American Lung Association developed it. She says that this product cleanses the lungs and eliminates nicotine addiction and goes on to state that symptoms like chest tightness and coughing are relieved after a single use, and heart disease, stroke, lung disease, COPD, asthma, and flu-like respiratory ailments are cured after three months

These are all false statements, as she has never mentioned these products in her videos, and the American Lung Association has no products under those names. Furthermore, the products being offered are natural/herbal inhalation devices which is not like any treatment being offered for such diseases. 

The American Lung Association offers guidelines for COPD treatment, depending on the patient’s needs and severity of symptoms. Treatments include quitting smoking, lung volume reduction surgery, and noninvasive ventilation, among others. As for asthma, inhalers are recommended to relieve the symptoms and can be used for preemptive care. Heart disease has a plethora of treatments, depending on the type and severity a patient experiences. Treatments may include surgery, lifestyle changes, and medication to alleviate the symptoms.

Logically Facts contacted the American Lung Association for comment on the matter and will update this fact-check if we receive a response.

One of the videos also states that over 90 percent of COPD patients have tried the product and have returned to a healthy lifestyle without their diseases, which is false, and there are no scientific records of this. There are no known cures for heart disease, lung disease, COPD, or asthma. 

The verdict

All of the videos are false, digitally and artificially fabricated. Barbara O’Neill and the American Lung Association have no association or products under those names, respectively, and there is no cure for heart disease, lung disease, COPD, or asthma. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.