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The US Government is Finally Telling People that Homeopathy is a Sham (vox.com)

Not a good news for people who trust homeopathic drugs. The Federal Trade Commission has issued an enforcement policy statement that requires over-the-counter (OTC) homeopathic drugs and products makers to disclose in their advertisement and labeling that there is no evidence that Homeopathic products are effective and also mention that modern medical experts don't recognize any claims of effectiveness only based on homeopathic theories. From a report on Vox: This FTC ruling is definitely a step in the right direction of raising awareness about the lack of evidence behind homeopathy. "This is a real victory for reason, science, and the health of the American people," said Michael De Dora, public policy director for the Center for Inquiry, a science-based advocacy and education group that's been pushing for more homeopathy oversight. "The FTC has made the right decision to hold manufacturers accountable for the absolutely baseless assertions they make about homeopathic products." But it doesn't mean these "medicines" will disappear from store shelves. The FTC only has the right to crack down on misleading marketing claims, and if the makers of homeopathic remedies clearly state that their products are based on no science, they can still sell them.

35 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. Thanks for catching up!! by HumanWiki · · Score: 4, Funny

    To the rest of us.. Years ago..

    1. Re:Thanks for catching up!! by The-Ixian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Next thing you know, the govmint will require news sources to fact check!

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    2. Re:Thanks for catching up!! by Hope+Thelps · · Score: 5, Funny

      Next thing you know, the govmint will require news sources to fact check!

      Hell no, from there it's a short slippery slope to requiring them to spellcheck and where would that leave Slashdot?

      --
      To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem. ~ h2g2
    3. Re:Thanks for catching up!! by rtb61 · · Score: 3

      The reality is, yes, homoeopathy does work but it only works as a placebo. Convince people they will recover and some who were on that borderline of naturally recovering will be more likely to recover and some others will die. Provide proper cures and convince them they will recover, and the benefit of the real cure will be reinforced by the placebo affect. Placebo affect simply exploits feast or famine internal systems. When stressed you go into famine mode, attempting to conserve resources until it is safe to use them in feast mode and you need to get your body into feast mode in order for it to recover properly. Those products of course have no place in the market but it is a reminded that proper medical products should come with assurances of efficacy as well as psychological treatment, as it will promote recovery.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    4. Re:Thanks for catching up!! by Shinobi · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually, in the largest study done so far, which lead to the Australian crackdown on homeopathy, it was shown that homeopathy had worse efficacy than even prayers, which in turn performed worse than placebos.

  2. Not surprised by slazzy · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've known a lot of people who try homeopathic treatments, some of them work but they always seem like a scam. We did a homeopathic wart treatment for my son. It worked great, but the $200 'tincture' was basically just alcohol with some herbs and shit in it. The next time he had a wart on the other foot, we did the same thing but instead bought a 99 cent bottle of alcohol to put on the bandaid and it worked just as well.

    --
    Website Just Down For Me? Find out
    1. Re:Not surprised by skids · · Score: 2

      He'll bring positive results to all American patients no doubt. There will be so many positive results, the most positive ever. It'll be yuge.

    2. Re:Not surprised by Dorianny · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The FTC only has the right to crack down on misleading marketing claims, and if the makers of homeopathic remedies clearly state that their products are based on no science, they can still sell them..

      I can see it now; "Anecdotal evidence from scientific studies indicates the potential effectiveness of our remedy"

      The homeopathic crowd is largely the Big pharma Conspiracy theory types. The snake-oil salesman are going to offer the fact that the FTC is after them as proof that their stuff works and Government is trying to shut them down to protect the pharmaceutical industry

    3. Re:Not surprised by XXongo · · Score: 2
      Close. Homeopathy, actually, is based on the principle that if a malady has X symptoms, then a drug (or herb) that produces those symptoms, if taken in low dose, will be effective against that malady. That's homeopathy, in a nutshell.

      They have added to that the additional theory that this remedy will get even more effective as the dose gets lower (and gone on to take that crackpot idea to absurd lengths). But the actual "homeo" part of homeopathy is the first statement: to cure a malady, use something that produces the same symptoms.

  3. The sad part by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    People who believe in homeopathy also tend to believe that the government, big pharma, and these "experts" are all working together to funnel money into their own pockets, so "of course they're going to lie and say that homeopathy is fake because they want us to buy their overpriced poisons!"

  4. great news by gravewax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    how the fuck is it "Not good news for people who trust homeopathic drugs."? so telling people the truth because it goes against their misguided beliefs is bad news? personally I will take a dose of truth over being continually deceived any day.

  5. You realize that homeopathic treatments are water? by HBI · · Score: 2

    Essentially - and my wife is completely obsessed with one particular practicioner, which is why I got familiar with this - the whole homeopathic preparation is some small amount of a "good thing" like an essential oil. Then they put in so much distilled water that there probably isn't a single molecule of the "good thing" in the solution dose you get. The idea behind it is that there is some kind of spiritual residue of the good stuff in the resulting "solution". Then they package it - whether it's in a sugar pill or a little bottle of water with an eyedropper attached.

    I stopped pointing this out to her because she believes in the person, not the process, and I can't shake that from her with words. Perhaps when the cat dies from his allergies that were unaffected by the distilled water he gets dropped in his mouth daily? Maybe then, but I wouldn't bet on it.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  6. oh no by fyngyrz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thanks for catching up!! To the rest of us.. Years ago..

    No. There is a huge proportion of US society that is hoodwinked by these fake nostrums. The bloody veterinarian here in town sells that crap FFS. They're the only vet within 50 miles, too. There a store here, a "healthfood store" that sells all manner of that shite.

    It's everywhere. I'm glad you're smart enough to know better, and yes, a lot of others are too, but that still leaves a huge proportion of the population. The government is very late to this party, and huge harm has been done because of that, but join the party they should -- it's important.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    1. Re: oh no by KBentley57 · · Score: 2

      No, in fact, it's probably worse. As it is guaranteed to not have any meaningful clinical results, the only remaining thing you can get from a bottle is contamination. So, while gaining nothing, you run the risk of ingesting contamination, mechanical, bacterial, viral, etc. So in that regard, homeopathy 0.

    2. Re: oh no by plover · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's also more dangerous in that it could placate the patient for a while, delaying them from actively seeking actual treatment.

      --
      John
    3. Re:oh no by cellocgw · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Never heard of it, never had anyone recommend it to me, don't know anyone who ever used it.

      Well, then, according to the homeopathic theory applied to knowledge, you were an expert all along!

      --
      https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  7. Re:It's a shame except for vaccines... by HBI · · Score: 5, Informative

    Vaccines are not like homeopathic preparations. The good stuff isn't dissolved into insignificance in them.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  8. Trump & Homepathy overlap? by swb · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is there any overlap there?

    My built-in ideology meter says homeopathy people lean way left and Trump people mostly right.

    Yet there seems to be kind of a similar level of denial of reality in both camps.

    1. Re:Trump & Homepathy overlap? by Macdude · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When you go to the extreme left and the extreme right they tend to join up together. It turns out the political continuum is not a line, but a circle.

      --
      "Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
  9. Blatant evidence-oriented bias! by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 2

    there is no evidence that Homeopathic products are effective

    Evidence, schmevidence. What does your faith tell you? You're not going to trust your life and your body to people who don't have the right feelings, are you?

    --
    "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
  10. Lets Define Homeopathy. by wjcofkc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Contrary to what many in this thread are assuming, homeopathic "remedies" do not contain anything but water. Homeopathy is based on the crackpot idea that you can take something, potentially poisonous, dilute it, then dilute it again. and again until nothing is left other than pure water that happens to retain the "molecular memory" of only medicinal properties. It makes no sense. At least with "herbs and shit" you have actual chemical components that humans have been screwing around with for thousands of years. This does not change the fact that many so called homeopathic remedies are marketed as such while containing something other than water. Typically it is pure grain alcohol. I worked at a few GNC stores back in the 90's. On one day my boss and I got drunk off of a few drops of some flu "remedy". I made like $700 in commision that day.

    --
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    1. Re:Lets Define Homeopathy. by hey! · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Contrary to what many in this thread are assuming, homeopathic "remedies" do not contain anything but water. Homeopathy is based on the crackpot idea that you can take something, potentially poisonous, dilute it, then dilute it again. and again until nothing is left other than pure water that happens to retain the "molecular memory" of only medicinal properties. It makes no sense.

      Well, if you'd ever read Frazer's seminal anthropology-of-religion book, The Golden Bough, you'd recognize this nonsense as sympathetic magic -- in particular what he calls the "Law of Contact or Contagion". There's also an element of the law of similarity; in this case rather than like causing like (the pounding of a rain dance causing rain), you have like cures like.

      In a European context people are reluctant to call homeopathy magic because it's practiced by supposedly educated white people, but in principle the theory isn't that different from something you'd hear from a shaman; although if the witch doctor practices folk herbalism he probably has a better chance of curing you. Of course an actual homeopathic remedy is less likely to make you sicker.

      --
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  11. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by Joce640k · · Score: 2

    the whole homeopathic preparation is some small amount of a "good thing" like an essential oil.

    Nope. It's actually a small amount of a bad thing.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    Why san't they just throw a lump of it in the sea and cure all known diseases forever?

    --
    No sig today...
  12. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by imidan · · Score: 2

    The problem is ... things advertised as homeopathic are not always "just water."

    Furthermore, sometimes the other stuff in the potion can actually be bad for you. Studies have found homeopathic potions contaminated with heavy metals and microorganisms that could cause sickness or make it worse. Usually, the dose of this stuff is small enough that it probably won't hurt you, but the point is, the best that can be said about homeopathics isn't "at least it's just water."

  13. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by sconeu · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My current GF (who is, of all things, an orthodontist) is into this shit. She's trying to get me off of my meds and onto "red rice yeast".

    You'd think that someone who went to three major dental schools would know better.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  14. everything I say is a lie by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 4, Funny

    But it doesn't mean these "medicines" will disappear from store shelves. The FTC only has the right to crack down on misleading marketing claims, and if the makers of homeopathic remedies clearly state that their products are based on no science, they can still sell them.

    So essentially, you can still sell your homeopathic remedies as long you're willing to water down your claims as to their efficacy until those claims can no longer be detected.

    But if watered-down homeopathy actually turns out to be the cure for homeopathy, won't that mean they were right all along?

  15. Re:Good by sjames · · Score: 2

    You do know that Airborne isn't homeopathic, don't you?

  16. Sadly, I had a friend who used homeopathy. by tlambert · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sadly, I had a friend who used homeopathy.

    He forgot to take it one day, and OD'ed.

  17. Re:On the other hand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I call bullshit. Cite your source, here's mine.

    http://www.fda.gov/Food/Guidan...

    See section S2.

  18. Try This by Forthan+Red · · Score: 2

    Go into one of these quackatoriums, and get some homeopathic "medicine". When you get to the register, take out a vial of water, and explain to the cashier that you dipped a one dollar bill into that water, then diluted it 1,000 times. That should cover the bill.

  19. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by Grishnakh · · Score: 2

    Agreed. I made that mistake once, and I'm not making it again. You may think acceptance of some alt-med stuff like chiropractic and homeopathy is fairly innocuous, but pretty soon that person is visiting New Age "counselors" and talking about the "Ascended Masters", "St Germain and the violet flame", and all other kinds of wackiness, plus insisting on spending inordinate amounts of money on it.

    What I'd really like to see is a serious survey to determine if beliefs in this quackery are more common among women than men. I'll bet it is. Women are already known to be more religious than men, and beliefs in "medicine" not backed by evidence are basically like religion.

  20. Re:Homeopathy may work by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 3, Funny

    So you're saying that homeopathy is like.. Tinkerbell?

  21. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 2

    Gravity cures all diseases if you jump from high enough.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  22. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

    "What I'd really like to see is a serious survey to determine if beliefs in this quackery are more common among women than men"

    I observe this too, but I don't think it has anything to do with women's brains. It's the common feminine culture that makes women, above all else, incurious. This is why women not specifically trained in a technology tend to reject science and replace it with the 'feelings' of the nearest shaman.

  23. Re:You realize that homeopathic treatments are wat by slashrio · · Score: 2

    There are some really good chiropractors though.
    I also, just like you, have some anecdotal evidence to prove my point.

    --
    "Trump!!", the new Godwin.