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NHS Should Stop Funding Homeopathy, Says Parliamentary Committee
An anonymous reader writes "Homeopathic remedies work no better than placebos, and so should no longer be paid for by the UK National Health Service, a committee of British members of parliament has concluded. In preparing its report, the committee, which scrutinizes the evidence behind government policies, took evidence from scientists and homeopaths, and reviewed numerous reports and scientific investigations into homeopathy. It found no evidence that such treatments work beyond providing a placebo effect." Updated 201025 19:40 GMT by timothy: This recommendation has some people up in arms.
If the homeopathy is performing as well as placebo, but doctors offering placebo treatments do so at a risk of litigation, wouldn't the Homeopathy still be better than nothing?
Or is No Treatment = Placebo?
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
Simon Singh is being currently driven to bankruptcy because of a libel suit in the UK, for saying exactly the same thing about Chiropractic remedies. I hope the homeopaths sue these MPs for libel, and just perhaps, that will make lawmakers think about reforming the ridiculous British libel laws.
I feel like the Chinese are doing it right. Chinese traditional medicine is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture, but they have no hesitation in adopting western medicine when necessary.
Traditional medicine for prevention and getting people to regularly pay attention to their health and see doctors.
Modern medicine for those times where there is no herbal treatment.
Best of both worlds.
There's a lot of people with severe fatigue problems (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, **Crohn's disease**, etc.), that regular doctors can't help, and usually can't even diagnose.
Without the diagnosis and subsequently treatment for my Crohn's Disease by **regular doctors** I'd be dead... as of 25 years ago.
There's a lot of people who have problems with wheat gluten, for instance, which exhibits itself with symptoms like migraines and fatigue, but regular doctors are of no use here as they don't even consider diet as a factor in treating patients, and think that someone eating healthy foods is just the same as someone eating junk food loaded with HFCS.
I've regularly been tested for gluten/wheat intollerances, and lactose intollerance, and have been referred to a dietician, by **regular doctors**, to help treat my Crohns, and YES, it was THEIR recommendation! And such atittudes aren't a rarity either, they're the norm in my experience here.
What works, through the processes of science, becomes medicine, and what doesn't work, becomes alternative medicine. That's how we separate the two - it's that simple.
And yes, from regular doctors, I've regularly been prescribed and received recommendations regarding many medicines of a herbal-like nature (even snippets of advice like trying dreadlock waxes with tea-tree oil to help fight the psoriasis, etc, along with... leave it, it'll get better in time of its own accord) - 'cos if it works best, they'll recommend it!
Perhaps "regular doctors" in the UK have subtly important differences in attitude perhaps? Focussed towards treating the individual with the best care and advice they have at their hands, rather than a focus on assisting pharmacuticals and their associates make more money?
Perhaps because it's deceptive, and profiting off lies is generally considered unethical,
Western doctors often prescribe placebos for people.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso