Social media videos push dangerous turpentine 'detox' practices

"I started teaching you all about turpentine more than ten years ago," says a February 17, 2026 post on Facebook. "Do a quarter teaspoon under the tongue daily for the rest of your life...this will keep the body clean."

The text claims people should use "100% pure gum spirits turpentine."

The post includes a video in which an influencer who goes by "MrAstrotheology" says: "In the 1800s, turpentine was the number one health maintenance protocol." 

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Screenshot of a Facebook post taken March 3, 2026

The practice of ingesting turpentine was widely debunked in 2018 after actress Tiffany Haddish mentioned it in an interview with GQ magazine.

Yet posts touting supposed health benefits from "pure pine turpentine" or "pine gum spirits of turpentine" continue to spread across social media, despite experts' recommendations against it.

"There is no medical role for turpentine," said Josh Wang, toxicologist and president of the Canadian Association for Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicology (archived here).

In a February 25 email, he said the correct dose to ingest "is precisely zero."

Dangerous to ingest  

Turpentine is a naturally occurring substance, distilled from pine and fir trees.

Commercial turpentine is a byproduct of the pulp and paper industry that can be used to make resins and varnishes. It is poisonous if swallowed and can also irritate eyes or skin. 

Turpentine oil -- which is more distilled and refined to eliminate impurities -- is an ingredient used in some over-the-counter medications, such as chest rubs. But experts say it is toxic when ingested directly.

According to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as little as 15 milliliters can be fatal to a child (archived here).

"No properly trained or responsible herbalist would ever recommend or prescribe"  ingesting turpentine, medical herbalist Chanchal Cabrera told AFP (archived here).

"We do, of course, use pine essential oil in carefully crafted blends for specific applications, and products like pitch in salves, but not ever turpentine itself," she said in a February 20 email.

There is also no reliable medical evidence showing that turpentine effectively treats parasite infections. Individuals worried about such infections should seek medical care and may be prescribed anti-parasitic drugs including pyrantel pamoate, and albendazole.

Plus, the product promoted for a "cleanse" in the widely shared video is not turpentine, but "EVERGREEN C."

The clip was initially shared by influencer Isaac Chacon, who wrote in his caption: "Our 'EVERGREEN C' is Pine Needle oil, which is very similar in nature and function to turpentine."

Furthermore, the website for Diamond G Forest Products -- which sells the pure gum spirits of turpentine hawked in several posts -- cautions that they "do not offer any medicinal advice," a point they reiterated in a February 26 email to AFP.

Read more of AFP's reporting on health misinformation here.