A UK parliamentary panel this week recommended against public funding of homeopathy, as Susan Perry of MinnPost.com wrote.
“[E]xplanations for why homeopathy would work are scientifically implausible,” the panel said.
She cited one estimate that Americans spend $830 million on homeopathic products each year.
Meantime, British physician and writer Ben Goldacre wrote that the BBC had hit rock bottom by giving more than five minutes of airtime to a woman who claimed her cancer was cured by homeopathy. Here’s the clip:
For a bit of background, go to this link to see an interesting video featuring BBC health correspondent Branwen Jeffreys explaining homeopathy.
Some websites, predictably, have pulled out the following BBC comedy spoof of homeopathy.
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
Puleeeeease... this 'game changer' weight loss drug causes more nausea and vomiting than a placebo. Some game, some change. My friend Gary would spank you for using the eighth word medical reporters should never, ever use. @garyschwitzer @thackerpd
https://www.healthnewsreview.org/toolkit/just-journalists-writing-tips-case-studies/7-words-and-more-you-shouldnt-use-in-medical-news/ https://twitter.com/OttawaCitizen/status/1361426796126830597
A scary @statnews Op-Ed warns that govt attempts to rein in Pharma may cut off access to "life-changing" drugs.
It takes @garyschwitzer to let us know: the author spent 10 years as Pfizer's public-policy chief. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1360325022578053123
.@TranspariMED criticizes STAT op-ed for not disclosing pharma funding of author’s institute - similar to criticism we’ve made of STAT op-eds in the past. @transparify @ThinkTankWatch @icer_review https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2021/02/transparency-watchdog-criticizes-stats-non-disclosure-on-pro-pharma-op-ed/
Comments
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Dr. Lawrence Kindo
February 25, 2010 at 4:32 amI think we should come to terms with modern medicine earlier than damage is done. Unfortunately, we are too deep already. India, for example, is neck deep in traditional medicine while modern medicine is lagging behind. The problem is not in embracing alternative medicine but in neglecting modern medicine. Strict supervision of other systems is a problem everywhere.
Kudos to this move. More countries should join the bandwagon.
Walter Lipman
March 1, 2010 at 11:59 amScience isn’t fun. Science was hard in school. Scientists are dull conversationalists. Anything but science to cure us, please!
This is how we get ads for things like “Cancer Treatment Centers of America”, appealing to the manner in which a practitioner speaks to a patient, rather than what ability that practitioner has.
Is it any wonder that, in an America where global warming is treated as theory rather than scientific fact, we lead the world in the amount spent on nonsense such as homeopathy? The woman whose cancer either went into remission or responded to the scientific treatment she underwent claiming case upon case of documented “cures” wrought by homeopathy produced not one of these as evidence of her position. That’s how those who make their livelihood lying against science work, and there certainly is centuries of evidence to back MY position–a cursory search of graves in any large, old cemetery proves this.
Good work, Dr. Schwitzer.
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