I think it's beyond stupid. Most people know exactly what neurotoxin induced vertigo feels like -- did the author ever drink any alcohol? The whole world is spinning, you get sick even when lying perfectly still. It's not motion that causes the sickness, it's your brain detecting messed up responses from the vestibular system.
Also, why else would this reflex exist? Throwing up is very, very costly in terms of calories, and for much of our evolutionary history, food was scarce. Such an extreme measure could only have evolved when the alternative was even worse.
In the case of alcohol the spinning is mostly due to differences in the density of the liquid inside the cilia of your inner ear cells when alcohol gets in and out of them, specially in the second case (some hours after drinking). It's really an alcohol-specific effect. Some other toxins might induce vertigo through other mechanisms though.
Also, why else would this reflex exist? Throwing up is very, very costly in terms of calories, and for much of our evolutionary history, food was scarce. Such an extreme measure could only have evolved when the alternative was even worse.