Yesterday marked the beginning of World Homeopathy Awareness Week (WHAW), in which the practitioners of and believers in homeopathy curiously wish to draw our attention to that in which they believe.
On Friday night's show, we interviewed Michael Kruse from the Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism about WHAW - you can access that interview via our podcast page.
But if it's awareness the homeopathic community wants, then by all means, let's raise some awareness. Here's part of an excellent presentation from the amazing James Randi on the basics of homeopathy:
More from Richard Dawkins:
In the interests of awareness, perhaps it should be pointed out what a committee of British MPs recently concluded:
Today the Science and Technology Select Committee delivered its verdict on homeopathy and it was devastating. The committee has called for the complete withdrawal of NHS funding and official licensing of homeopathy.
(...) ...much of the evidence presented by homeopaths simply does not stand up to scrutiny, and the committee agrees, concurring with the government, the scientific community and independent experts in concluding that: "the systematic reviews and meta-analyses conclusively demonstrate that homeopathic products perform no better than placebos."
Even the claims that more research is needed have been rebutted. Plenty of evidence has accumulated regarding the effectiveness of homeopathy, and a verdict has been reached. It is useless. As the report states: "It is ... unethical to enter patients into trials to answer questions that have been settled already."
As Michael Kruse pointed out to us, while it might seem harmless to allow people to take what amount to nothing more than a sugar pill if only to enjoy some placebo effect, the real harm is in people seeking homoepathic treatment in place of proven, science-based medical treatment.
Dr. Stephen Murgatroyd surveys the Canadian landscape:
Yet the British Columbia the Green Party has argued that it should be funded, despite the decision of the BC Government not to do so. Jane Sterk, leader of the Greens, has bought into the idea that if people want it they should be able to get it as part of a provincial health plan, whether or not the treatments work.
We also have a Federal initiative which seems to take homeopathy seriously. The Natural Health Products Research Program (NHPRP) of the Natural Health Products Directorate within Health Canada has been consulting with homeopathic practitioners and developing a research agenda, as if this branch of pseudo-science was to be taken as seriously as, for example, a pharmaceutical product or new medical practice.
Homeopathic products, sold over the counter in drug stores, are regulated by this Federal body. In 2008 the federal government proposed Bill C-51, which contained the potential of restricting the availability of certain natural health products – including homeopathic medicines – except by prescription through practitioners who are authorized by their provincial governments. The reality is that many of the “medicines” labeled homeopathic contain no detectable amount of active ingredient, so it is impossible to test whether they contain what their label says. Unlike most potent drugs, they have not been proven effective against disease by double-blind clinical testing. In fact, the vast majority of homeopathic products have never even been tested; proponents simply rely on “provings” to tell them what should work. It’s time for a bill to ban their sale.
I'll leave you with one more video:
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