What alternative health practitioners might not tell you

Homeopathic pharmacy ordered to stop making unsubstantiated vaccine claims

British Advertising Standards Authority [ASA] Adjudication on Ainsworths (London) Ltd 27 July 2011: Ainsworths was told by the ASA to ensure in future that no marketing communications referred to serious medical conditions, that no medicinal claims should be made for unlicensed homeopathic products, and that medicinal claims for licensed homeopathic products should not include indications other than those allowed by the MHRA marketing authorisation. Casewatch (27th July 2011)

The Homeopaths and the Advertising Standards Authority

“Legal challenges are being considered in response to the ASA taking on homeopaths.…Assuming that the homeopaths legal threats amount to nothing, and given that the ASA has taken a position of the evidence, adjudications should come quickly thereafter. Homeopaths will be told that they have broken the CAP code and they must comply. This will also mean that they have explicitly broken their own Codes of Ethics that they have signed up to putting bodies like the Society of Homeopaths in extremely awkward positions…It is then likely to get messy. Continual non-compliance will pressure the ASA to refer advertisers to the Office of Fair Trading [OFT] who have powers to initiate criminal proceedings against homeopaths who may have broken Trading Standards legislation. How many have the balls, or stupidity, to face up to this remains to be seen. Much will depend on the OFT’s appetite to prosecute – and this may be the one glimmer of hope for homeopaths. We are in this position because regulators and enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards and the MHRA, have turned a blind eye to this sector of commerce, allowing exemptions and exceptions to practices that would be crushed in any other industry. The ASA are entering waters that others have explicitly avoided wading in. If the credibility of the ASA is to remain, then they need to ensure the statutory authorities who can enforce compliance through criminal sanctions are prepared, on board, and ready to take quick action.” The Quackometer blogspot (1st April 2011)

Oscillococcinum

"Oscillococcinum, also known by its shortened and more familiar name Oscillo, is a homeopathic cold remedy. Its maker, Boiron USA, has been advertising it on TV pretty aggressively lately…According to their website, Oscillo is a 200C dilution of “Anas barbariae hepatis et cordis extractum”, duck liver and heart…Boiron calls this a “therapeutically active micro-dose“. It’s not. It is a non-dose. Boiron is being consciously deceptive, either when they call it a micro-dose of anything, or when they label it 200C meaning that it contains no active ingredients. The two are mutually exclusive. It can’t be both a micro-dose and a non-dose. Like most homeopathic products on the market, Oscillo’s “inactive ingredients” (in fact its only ingredients) are sucrose (85%) and lactose (15%), from which the small sugar pills are made. The “dilution” of pure water is said to be infused into these sugar pills; the principles of homeopathy dictating that the water retains a “spiritual imprint” or “essence” of whatever was once dissolved in it. Homeopaths call this “water memory”. However, here’s the real kicker: The sugar pills are dry. Whatever water they are alleged to have been infused with — with its claimed cargo of spiritual essence — has evaporated out. Not even the pseudoscience of homeopathy puts forth any postulate that there is any such thing as sugar memory. Thus, not even the faith-based “active ingredient” of homeopathy, this so called spiritual essence, is present in Boiron’s product. The sugar pills contain no water. The water contained no molecules of duck. Molecules of duck have no plausible history of treating colds or any other illness…If you’ve purchased Oscillococcum and feel that you were victimized by deceptive marketing, get your money back.” Brian Dunning, Skeptic Blog (3rd March 2011)

The Homeopaths’ Response to the CBC Marketplace Programme

"This week, the Canadian consumer affairs programme Marketplace devoted its episode to looking at the claims, practices and regulation of homeopathy. It is a pretty damning account and the homeopaths are up in arms about it, as we shall see. This prime time programme is likely to do the homeopathy trade a lot of harm in Canada. And the main reason is that it did a good job of exposing the central ludicrousness of the nature of the treatment – the huge dilutions…Now of course, this ‘response’ was prepared before the homeopaths had actually seen the programme…” The Quackometer blogspot (16th January 2011)

NOTE: The entire CBC Marketplace 'Cure or Con?' programme can be viewed online here: Part 1 and Part 2.

FDA Warns Homeopathic Product Is Not Just Water

“The one thing that is more absurd than homeopathy is the regulation of homeopathic products (at least in the US). Because of timely political pressure, homeopathic products were essentially grandfathered in to FDA approval. They do not require any testing for safety and effectiveness…The labeling requirements are almost Orwellian. They need to list ingredients – even the ones that are not actually in the preparation because they have been diluted past the point where there is likely to be a single molecule left. They must list the indications – despite the fact that there aren’t any. There isn’t a single proven indication for any homeopathic remedy. So homeopaths essentially have to make up multiple fictions to put on the label of homeopathic products – in the name of consumer information…Clearly the regulations are broken…The optimal solution would be for the laws to catch up to the science (they are about a century and a half behind) and remove homeopathic remedies from automatic FDA approval. In fact, they should be banned as fraudulent, in my opinion. At the very least they should be labeled appropriately, with a clear statement that they do not work and do not contain any actual medicine or active ingredients; they are nothing but placebos. If there is actual active ingredient in a preparation – then it should be regulated like any other drug.” Steven Novella, MD, NeuroLogica blogspot (27th October 2010)

Evidence Check: Bryce Wylde’s 21 Favourite Papers

“A few weeks ago, I wrote an article critical of Bryce Wylde’s appearance on Canada AM where he indicated that homeopathic treatments were of benefit for cuts, bruises, burns, and bug bites. Mr. Wylde responded in the comments section of that post where he provided a list of his “favourite scientific documents” for my review….None of the 21 provided citations had any direct relevance to the topic of first aid (the topic on Canada AM). Most of the studies’ conclusions were not representative of the literature, had inadequate statistical analysis/power, and/or had significant methodological flaws. Even the most remote positive results were reported enthusiastically by the authors, whereas negative results were downplayed or said to call for “further research” — despite reviews demonstrating negative overall results that are more pronounced with improved study quality. This pattern is not necessarily due to devious attempts at misrepresenting data; rather this can arise from unintentional investigator biases, hence the value of peer review and independent replication… A review of this literature in broader scientific context demonstrates that the efficacy of homeopathy does not match that of available therapeutic interventions and it does not appear to be effective beyond the placebo effect. Positive effects are generally found in studies of poor quality that suffer from multiple methodological and analytical issues and these effects do not persist in higher quality studies. No evidence has been provided, nor does any appear to exist, to suggest that homeopathy is an appropriate or necessary intervention for either first-line or co- treatment among self-limiting, acute, or chronic conditions. Mr. Wylde’s list of citations reinforces, rather than addresses, concerns about homeopathy.” Kim Herbert, Skeptic North (23rd August 2010)

David Colquhoun: These misleading beliefs are curing no one's ills

“What on Earth is going on? The Government appears to think nothing is wrong with giving you fake medicine at the taxpayers' expense. They said it is fine for doctors to give you pills that contain nothing whatsoever and charge them to the NHS. Homeopathy really is that simple…It is possible and desirable to have an honest discussion of the propriety of giving a patient a placebo when there is nothing better that can be done. The ludicrous situation at present is that doctors are not supposed to give placebos honestly, but are allowed to give them dishonestly by refereeing you to a homeopath. Despite being asked many times to refer alternative medicines to NICE for evaluation, the Department of Health has failed to do so. Could it be because they know that most will fail? There is no excuse for failing to submit all medicines to the same criteria of efficacy and safety.” Professor David Colquhoun, The Independent (3rd August 2010)

Secret email reveals more homeopathic killing in Kenya

“Homeopaths have become simply deceptive in their advocacy of malaria treatment. The latest email from the Abha Light Foundation shows that they want to carry on their lethal practices without alerting the world…[published secret email correspondence]…whilst it is impossible to engage in the most serious concerns about what they do, whilst they disregard all aspects of medical ethics and ignore the science and evidence, and whilst they wallow in child-like conspiracy theories, I see no option but to use the law to prosecute them and stop them. Deportations and criminal records are the only way forward. I hope the Kenyan authorities wake up to what is going on soon.” The Quackometer (25th July 2010)

Dr James Le Fanu on homeopathy: wrong, but instructively so

“I’m sorry to go on about homeopathy, I really am. But my colleague Dr James Le Fanu has written defending it in these pages, and I thought his arguments were instructive, so I’m going – very quickly – to look at them here. He has three main planks to his argument, and they are all very familiar to homeopathy-watchers…it is an odd fact about homeopathy that its defenders engage in these sort of smokescreen arguments. If homeopathy works, it should be possible to show that by doing research. Instead, anecdotes and insinuations of conspiracy are thrown around. It doesn’t matter what the NHS drugs budget is, or what Peter Hain thinks – these are all irrelevant to the debate about homeopathy. It either works or it doesn’t. The evidence suggests, rather forcefully, that it doesn’t.” Tom Chivers, The Telegraph (6th July 2010)

Homeopathy: witch hunting or waste of money

“The missing link is what placebo actually means: caring effects. We can get good caring effects when we spend time listening, when we follow people up carefully and consistently, when we take longer appointments, when we explain properly and usefully what the problems are and what might help. There is evidence for this: we know that using such ‘caring effects’ makes people better, faster, and for longer.

Using a ‘placebo tablet’ isn’t necessary to get ‘caring effects’. There is no need to mislead or to confound people with promises about tablets that aren’t based in evidence. The problem is that the NHS is geared (still) towards easily measured targets and outcomes. It is not geared to help the vocationally motivated doctors and nurses who want to ‘care’. Ethical, placebo-like ‘caring effects’ are there for the taking, but the real question is how best to do this in an NHS that finds it easy to overlook the importance of them.” Margaret McCartney MD, blogpost (5th July 2010)

Death by Homeopathy

“Essentially those who wish to make money by practicing medicine without proper training have managed to soften the laws so that they are able to practice medicine without proper training. The usual defenders of consumers against rapacious industry are so beguiled by the touchy-feely rhetoric of promoters, that they have been entirely asleep at the switch. The results are predictable. The latest case to come to media attention comes from down under – Penelope Dingle from Perth Australia, according to local news reports, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003. Her doctors gave her a good chance of survival with standard therapy – surgery to remove the cancer, and chemotherapy to mop up any loose cells and reduce the risk of recurrence. It is not a pleasant prospect, but with modern care it’s not too bad, and it buys in many cases a greatly improved quality and duration of life. Penelope Dingle, however, chose to refuse all science-based treatment and opted instead for a regimen of diet and homeopathic treatment…The evidence is in the published literature – systematic reviews of systematic reviews show that homeopathy does not work for any indication. When anyone with the slightest objectivity and scientific knowledge examines homeopathy they can only conclude that not only does it not work – it cannot work. It is IBAR (a variation of FUBAR) – implausible beyond all reason. Therefore prescribing homeopathy is incompetent and/or unethical.” Steven Novella, Neurologica Blog (10th June 2010)

Are There Any Homeopathic Hospitals in the UK?

“It is a myth that there are homeopathic hospitals in the UK. What we have are the tiny, vestigial remnants of Victorian Quackery in a few small clinics…The homeopaths are right about one thing: the amount of money being spent on these tiny facilities is not large within the grand scheme of things. But the millions that is spent on indulging the homeopathic fantasies of these few doctors is still money that could be spent on treatments that have an evidence base, that are based in science and not magic, that could provide effective treatments and even save lives. But what is really wrong about these facilities is that they allow a double standard to exist and fester in an environment where it is important to hold all treatments to the highest levels of scrutiny. Homeopathy cannot demonstrate any cost-effectiveness, it poses serious ethical issues that remain unaddressed by its practitioners and it gives an imprimatur to the non-medically qualified homeopathic quacks who use the same reasoning to inflict their murderous delusions on people with AIDS or malaria in developing regions, such as in Africa or India. If the NHS cannot recognise the blatant nonsense it funds, it does not bode well for the same people fending off the far more sophisticated drug companies when hard decisions need to be made.” The Quackometer (11th March 2010)

Guerrilla tactics against Boots and the homeopathic menace

“…when people see homeopathy being sold by a trusted provider like Boots they assume it is a proven treatment. They assume that Boots will have vetted the products they sell and will only stock those that are known to be effective. They're wrong of course, the only correct assumption to make is that Boots values profits more highly than integrity. My goal with this project is to get Boots to rethink its decision to stock homeopathy products." Wikinut Health (13th February 2010)

The workings of a BSc in homeopathy

“Excellent Freedom of Information work from Prof David Colquhoun of University College London, who has obtained the course materials of the now-defunct BSc in homeopathy that was for a short while offered by the University of Central Lancashire, and is reviewing them on his blog... After years of wrangling, 13kg of paper fell through Prof Colquhoun’s letterbox on Christmas Eve. The lecture notes and their relationship with the Society of Homeopath’s code of conduct are, in places, staggering. Even considering that this is a course built entirely on quackery it’s surprising to see so much internal contradiction and spurious claims of evidence and health benefits….The whole field is messy, vague, inaccurate and entirely dependent on the goodwill or ignorance of patients for any positive results. At best it’s a harmless placebo, at worst it’s a despicable, cynical, potentially deadly confidence trick played on the sick. The University of Central Lancashire is, as Prof Colquhoun says, to be commended for grasping the nettle and scrapping their ill-advised course but one has to wonder what on earth they were thinking offering it in the first place.” Ian Douglas, The Telegraph (8th January 2010)

Boots the Alternative Chemist

Published correspondence that took place between Boots The Chemist and a homeopathy skeptic. Zeno’s blog (1st January 2010)

When homeopaths attack medicine and physics

Article by David Gorski, Science Based Medicine (1st November 2009)

Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?

“We are often accused of tilting at windmills; and hey, what's wrong with offering placebos for the worried well with self-limiting conditions? Well firstly, it is considered unethical for modern medical practitioners to sink to this kind of deception that denies the patient his or her autonomy. Secondly, by opening the door to irrational medicine alongside evidence-based medicine, we are poisoning the minds of the public. Finally, if we don't put a brake on the increasing self-confidence of the homeopathic establishment, they will cease to limit their attention to self-limiting or nonspecific maladies. Already, an investigative journalist for Newsnight has exposed the willingness of homeopathic chemists to offer homeopathic prophylactics for malaria. On World AIDS Day, the Society of Homeopaths in London hosted a conference on the treatment and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome by using water with a remarkable memory.” Michael Baum, MD, ChM, FRCS, FRCR (hon) and Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCPEd, The American Journal of Medicine (November 2009)

Trituration Proving of the Light of Saturn

"Six people took milk sugar that had been exposed to a telescope focused on Saturn. They ground and scraped the milk sugar in a process that diluted it 1:100 three times in succession, to make a 3C remedy (one part of Saturn-exposed sugar to 1,000,000 parts of unexposed sugar). Two of the participants weren't even blinded as to what they were testing, and there were no controls." Critique by Harriet Hall, MD (James randi Educational Foundation (26th October 2009)

Who's afraid of a homeopath's woo?

Advertising works, but only on people who aren't scientifically educated. So why not allow it? Article by Adam Rutherford, The Guardian (23rd October 2009)

Society of Homeopaths exploit death of child for their own gain

Gimpy's Blog (2nd October 2009)

Homeopaths Are Anti-Vaccine

"Homeopaths are dangerous quacks. They promote treatments which not only cannot possibly work based upon the laws of physics and chemistry, the clinical data shows that they in fact do not work. But in order to promote their snake oil they are telling the public that the H1N1 flu is not that bad (which is false) and they are fearmongering about the upcoming vaccine, which is safe and effective. The degree to which the public actually listens to the absurd claims of homeopaths is directly proportional to a resulting increase in suffering and death from treatable diseases." Steven Novella MD, Neurologica Blog (1st October 2009)

Protecting future 'Baby Glorias' from Homeopathic Beliefs

"A nine month old baby died unnecessarily in the most horrific way because of her parent's belief in the superiority and power of homeopathic sugar pills. Gloria suffered from severe eczema where the sores became severely infected. She constantly cried in pain and her skin became broken and oozing with fluid. She became malnourished and died. This case has very important implications for those who are seeking better ways to regulate the so-called 'complementary and alternative medicine' (CAM) sector here in the UK." The Quackometer (28th September 2009)

Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH) objects to statutory regulation of homeopaths

Gimpy's blog (10th September 2009)

The Faculty of Homeopathy "Answers the Critics". Scientific basis of homeopathy?

Critical analysis of a press statement released by the Society of Homeopaths. DBH blogspot (5th September 2009)

The homeopaths respond to allegations of misdeeds by inciting a campaign of harrassment

Includes the publication of a document that was passed around the homeopathic community appearing to call for a mass harassment of UN and WHO figures who have committed the sin of condemning the inappropriate use of homeopathy. Gimpy's blog (27th August 2009)

The Society of Homeopaths are a Shambles and a Bad Joke

"The Society cannot be trusted to give meaningful health advice and to rein in the dangerous practices of their members." The Quackometer (21st August 2009)

Homeopath Struck Off. Shock!

"What is quite remarkable about this is that the Society of Homeopaths has received lots of complaints over the past year or so about homeopaths blatantly breaching their code of ethics, giving dangerous advice about their magic versions of vaccination and selling sugar pills as a malaria prophylactic and all these have been met with stonewalling, obfuscation and a refusal to recognise the problem." The Quackometer (13th August 2009)

Homeopaths: Do You Really Want Statutory Regulation?

"If by some fluke you do manage to achieve full regulation, expect your cosy world to come crashing down very fast. Your quest for regulatory recognition will be hubris. It took over fifteen years for the chiropractors to realise they had been practising on borrowed time. Your regulatory nemesis will come much quicker." The Quackometer (29th July 2009)

Society of Homeopaths reject Ofquack regulation

The SoH have decisively rejected regulation under the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (Ofquack). Gimpy's Blog (26th July 2009)

A homeopathy apologist takes over the Lymphoma Association …

"Science is what has resulted in lymphoma going from being a death sentence to one of the most treatable and survivable of cancers, particularly Hodgkin's lymphoma. Homeopathy is quackery, pure and simple, and hiring a quack apologist to run what should be a science-based organization sends a horrible message." Orac blogspot (15th July 2009)

Experimenting with phenomena…which aren't actually there at all

Shpalman blog (18th June 2009)

Homeopathic Research Institute's Head of Clinical Research fails to declare conflict of interest

Gimpy's blog (11th June 2009)

Truth behind NHS's homeopathy budget

Channel 4 News report (10th June 2009) [Includes 5.45min video segment]

Bogus therapy for real diseases: more homeopathic killing

Report of a homeopath and his wife who were found guilty of the manslaughter of their baby daughter who suffered from severe eczema and died of septicemia in 2002. After a four-week trial a Supreme Court jury took less than two days to reach its decision. The Crown argued the couple did not seek conventional medical treatment for their child, instead treating her with homeopathic drops. DC Science (5th June 2009)

British Researchers Call For WHO To 'Condemn Homeopathy' For Serious Diseases

Medical News Today (3rd June 2009)

Is a degree in homeopathy a sick joke?

Article by Richard Tomkins, Financial Times (23rd May 2009)

Homeopathy and sepsis

"Does homeopathy increase survival in sepsis? Only if you think that a sip of water today will decrease your chance of dying in 6 months." Article by Mark Crislip, Science Based Medicine (22nd May 2009)

Homeopathy Does Not Cause Side Effects in Cancer Patients

"What is unfortunate is that it might well be quite legitimate to discuss the benefits and risks of offering inert treatments, like homeopathy, to cancer patients if the patient feels they get benefit through some sort of placebo effect. But this is not a debate about clinical evidence, it is a debate about clinical ethics — is it acceptable to tell a patient a pill may work for them when we know it is just a placebo?" The Quackometer (14th April 2009)

MPs criticise science adviser for defending government on homeopathy

Professor John Beddington has failed to challenge the government on its alternative medicine and drug classification policies, says science select committee. The Guardian (20th January 2009)

Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) investigates sale of homeopathic swine flu medicine

"Ainsworths Pharmacy in Westminster is under investigation by the RPSGB after a referral by the MHRA. The drugs watchdog passed the case to the Society's Fitness to Practise team. The MHRA said "there did not seem to be a breach of medicines legislation" but added it had asked the RPSGB to consider "any ethical practice issues in relation to the advice that was provided during the consultation". The case was referred to the MHRA by The Sunday Telegraph." Chemist+Druggist (2009)

Natural History Museum gives homeopathy undue scientific credibility

Thinking-is-dangerous Blogspot (16th November 2008)

Could water really have a memory?

Article by Simon Singh, BBC Health News (25th July 2008)

Is Statutory Self-Regulation the Answer for Homeopathy?

The Quackometer (9th January 2008)

Curing Homeopathy'

A critical commentary on the proposed new UK regulatory body, the 'Natural Healthcare Council'. The Quackometer (5th January 2008)

How Does He Know?

What method is Dr Peter Fisher (Director of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital and official homeopathy to HM Queen Elizabeth II) applying to determine that homeopathy is no good for malaria? Has he run tests? Where can we read about these tests? They must exist otherwise how does he know that homeopathy is no good for malaria? Skeptico (31st October 2007)

The cranks who swear by citronella oil

"To its fans, homeopathy is the ultimate cure-all. In fact, its effects can be positively deadly. On 1 December 2007, faith healers will meet at Roots & Shoots in south London to discuss how to treat Aids with magic pills. They won't call themselves faith healers, of course, or shamans or juju men. They will present themselves as 'homeopaths': serious men and women whose remedies are as good as conventional medicine." Nick Cohen, The Observer (28th October 2007)

My Day with the Homeopaths — Part I

Includes a 12 point "chain of implausibility" that covers just about everything that's wrong with homeopathy. Steven Novella, MD, Neurologica Blog (26th October 2007)

My Day with the Homeopaths — Part II

Steven Novella, MD, Neurologica Blog (29th October 2007)

'Will Homeopathy and iTunes Cure AIDS?'

"I just have to wonder what a homeopath would actually have to do or claim for the Society of Homeopaths to actually take action, strike off and disown one of their fold?" Includes a link to information on the Society of Homeopaths' symposium (which was held during December 2007 in London) on the treatment of HIV/AIDS with homeopathy. Andy Lewis, The Quackometer (19th August 2007)

Homeopathy and the Folly of Watery Memory

"In the current issue of Homeopathy [see link immediately below], scientists present evidence not so much of water memory but of the potential for water to have memory….. Coming up with bold theories to explain how homeopathy could work would be useful if homeopathy did work." Article by Christopher Wanjek, Live Science (6th August 2007)

Click here for the free full contents of 'The Memory of Water' issue of Homeopathy [Volume 96, Issue 3 pp. 141-230 (July 2007)]

The Memory of Water: a scientific heresy? (Editorial by Peter Fisher); The Memory of Water: an overview (Martin F. Chaplin); The history of the Memory of Water (Yolène Thomas); Can Water possibly have a memory? A sceptical view (José Teixeira); Long term structural effects in water: autothixotropy of water and its hysteresis (Bohumil Vybíral and Pavel Vorácek); The defining role of structure (including epitaxy) in the plausibility of homeopathy (Manju Lata Rao Rustum Roy Iris R. Bell and Richard Hoover); Can low-temperature thermoluminescence cast light on the nature of ultra-high dilutions? (Louis Rey); The 'Memory of Water': an almost deciphered enigma. Dissipative structures in extremely dilute aqueous solutions (V. Elia E. Napoli and R. Germano); The possible role of active oxygen in the Memory of Water (Vladimir L. Voeikov); The silica hypothesis for homeopathy: physical chemistry (David J. Anick and John A. Ives); The octave potencies convention: a mathematical model of dilution and succession (David J. Anick); The nature of the active ingredient in ultramolecular dilutions (Otto Weingärtner); Conspicuous by its absence; the Memory of Water macro-entanglement and the possibility of homeopathy (L.R. Milgrom). [Complete set of papers reproduced by Ben Goldacre at Bad Science August 2007]

Debate: "Does Homeopathy Work?"

Video and commentary on a debate on homeopathy between NHS doctor, Ben Goldacre, and Peter Fisher, clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital and homeopathic physician to the Queen. The debate was held at the Natural History Museum, London, on 30th November 2006. (Link to Professor David Colquhoun's Improbable Science Page)

Tony Blair's views on homeopathy

"I wouldn't bother fighting a great battle over homeopathy, I mean there are people who use it, people who don't use it, it is not going to determine the future of the world, frankly." Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, quoted in the Guardian on 2nd November 2006. In the same article, he urged scientists "to concentrate on important issues" when it came to public battles.

Bad Science in The Guardian

A critical commentary on Nicola Sturzaker's article in The Guardian. Ms Sturzaker, a practising osteopath, took issue with the negative response to the MHRA's licensing of homeopathic remedies. Skeptico (4th September 2006)

Can specific biological signals be digitized? (Paper refuting Benveniste's digital biological signals)

Jacques Benveniste, the French immunologist who claimed that water has a memory that could justify homoeopathy, died aged 69 in October 2004 after heart surgery. Benveniste claimed that by using 'digital biology' it was possible to extract 'the memory of water', store it in an electronic form, and then transmit it to other places where it could be installed in different water. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (January 2006)

James Randi on Jacques Benveniste (1 of 4)

James Randi on Jacques Benveniste's homeopathy research at the 2006 Amazing Meeting. (YouTube, 9mins 30secs)

James Randi on Jacques Benveniste (2 of 4)

(YouTube, 9mins 19secs)

James Randi on Jacques Benveniste (3 of 4)

(YouTube, 8 mins 48secs) [Some sound distortion for a few seconds at about a minute in]

James Randi on Jacques Benveniste (4 of 4)

(YouTube, 3mins 15secs)

Homeopathy on the NHS in Bristol: Dr Spence's paper

A critical commentary on Dr David Spence's study from David Colquhoun, FRS, A. J. Clark Professor of Pharmacology, University College London. Includes a PDF link to the study [Spence DS, Thompson EA, Barron SJ, Homeopathic Treatment for Chronic Disease: A 6-Year, University-Hospital Outpatient Observational Study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2005, Vol. 11, No.5, pp. 793-8]. (Also see the link immediately below)

'Largest ever NHS homeopathic hospital study shows significant improvements in 70% of patients treated with homeopathy'

Dr David Spence, Clinical Director and Consultant Physician at Bristol Homeopathic Hospital and Chairman of the British Homeopathic Association, a co-author of the study, said "These results clearly demonstrate the value of homeopathy in the NHS". The study, which asked people how happy they were after having some homeopathy, appears to have had no control group, no randomisation and blinding, no control of whether patients were receiving other (conventional) treatments, and the outcome measure was not calibrated or universally recognised. Many critical comments about the study are contained in this link. Ben Goldacre, MD, Bad Science (21st November 2005)

Homeopathy: diluting the evidence

More critical comment on Dr David Spence's recent homeopathy study from Timandra Harkness, science writer and broadcaster (Spiked Online)

'Alternative therapies could save the NHS money, says report commissioned by Prince Charles'

News article in the British Medical Journal which elicited critical responses concerning the validity of homeopathy: "Many of homeopathy's proponents seem unable to see the truth about homeopathy because homeopathy is a philosophy that has been finely tuned over 200 years to render its adherents incapable of discerning the truth for themselves. This problem is built into the structure of the homeopathic process. Literally any outcome for the patient is used as confirmation of homeopathy's truth. Recovery obviously means the remedy worked. A lack of response merely dictates more prolonged treatment or a change of remedy. More bizarrely, a deterioration is called an "aggravation" and is specifically regarded as a sure sign the remedy is having the desired effect. Homeopathy is not a system of medicine, but a set of excuses. It does not provide successful treatment but a set of narrative tools to accompany the natural history of the disease". Simon J. Baker, Verterinary Surgeon (17th October 2005)

Boots PLC publication claims that homeopathy research has proved its efficacy

James Randi takes a critical look at correspondence between an ordinary member of the public and the prestigious Boots Pharmacy chain (9th September 2005)

Cancer care goes complementary

"Alternative therapies are moving into mainstream medicine as NHS oncology departments link up with a homoeopathic hospital." Re-opening after a £18.5 million makeover, the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital "will be integrated with the mainstream oncology department at the nearby University College Hospital…Patients are also regularly referred from other leading cancer centres such as the Royal Marsden." The article includes the dubious views of several proponents of CAM therapies. The Times Online (11th June 2005)

Homeopathy ward escapes cutbacks

Scotland's only homeopathic inpatient hospital ward has been saved from closure under NHS cuts. BBC News (17th May 2005)

Memorandum by the Society of Homeopaths

"There is mounting evidence from well documented research of the efficacy of homeopathy across a range of medical condtions. This means there is a firm basis for GP referrals to homeopathic treatment." Written evidence submitted to the Select Committee on Health, The United Kingdom Parliament (18th June 2003)

A qualitative study of consultations at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital

Concludes that "compassion, mutual respect and hope appear to be core components of this therapeutic alliance". Report in Focus on Alternative and Complementary Medicine [FACT] (2002)

Patient enablement at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital

Concludes "Patients receiving holistic care at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital are enabled by the consultations, and this is related to the doctors' empathy. Enablement at consultation is associated with subsequent health gain". Report in Focus on Complementary and Alternative Medicine [FACT] (2002)

A randomized controlled trial of homeopathy in rheumatoid arthritis

This study found no evidence that active homeopathy was effective in reducing the symptoms of joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Stated in the last paragraph: "Over these years we have come to believe that conventional RCTs are unlikely to capture the possible benefits of homeopathy…It seems more important to define if homeopathists can genuinely control patients' symptoms and less relevant to have concerns about whether this is due to a 'genuine' effect or to influencing the placebo response." P. Fisher and D. Scott (Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital), Rheumatology (2001) [ NOTE: Dr Peter Fisher is homeopath to HM Queen Elizabeth II ]

Special visit to the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital by two members of the Sub-Committee on 24 August 2000

"Dr Reilly agreed that many biochemists find the concept of homeopathic treatment puzzling and diffcult to accept, but pointed out that in his opinion the biophysicists had much less diffculty in understanding the validity of the mechanism by which homeopathic remedies may act." Select Committee on Science and Technology — Sixth Report (The United Kingdom Parliament).

Empathy, enablement and outcome: a 1-year prospective study at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital

Abstract of a presentation (relating to the two links immediately below) made at the 11th Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care in Exeter, UK.

Magic of signs: a non-local interpretation of homeopathy

"By admitting that homeopathy could be quite an efficient form of magic, thereby pointing to the importance of the states of mind, homeopaths could possibly understand better, what happens." H. Walach, (page 310) Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol.13, No.2, pp.291-315 (1999) [pdf]

Homeopathic Training for Health Professionals (UK)

Offers two internationally recognised qualifications in homeopathy: a Primary Health Care certificate in Homeopathy, and a Primary Certificate in Veterinary Homeopathy — both of which concentrate on first aid, acute prescribing and basic philosophy.

Training in homeopathic medicine for dental surgeons

(Faculty of Homeopathy)

NHS Homeopathic centres

A list of five NHS homeopathic hospitals (Faculty of Homeopathy)

BSc (Hons) Health Sciences: Homoeopathy

Degree offered by the University of Westminster

BSc (Hons) Homeopathic Medicine

Degree offered by the University of Central Lancashire