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FDA Confirms Toxicity of Homeopathic Baby Products; Maker Refuses To Recall (arstechnica.com)
Last year in November, the Federal Trade Commission issued an enforcement policy statement that requires over-the-counter (OTC) homeopathic drugs and product makers to disclose in their advertisement and labeling that there is no evidence that homeopathic products are effective. At around the same time the FTC issued the statement, the Food and Drug Administration was investigating homeopathic teething gels and tablets, which may have been improperly diluted, thus causing serious harm to infants. The FDA investigated 10 infant deaths and more than 400 reports of seizures, fever, and vomiting and confirmed Friday that belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, was the prime suspect. When the FDA notified the products' maker, Hyland's, the company would not agree to recall the products. Ars Technica reports: Hyland's has been defensive since the FDA first opened the investigation last September. In an October press release, the company referred to agency's warnings as a source of "confusion" and assured consumers that the products are safe and effective. Still, the company discontinued distribution in the U.S. The National Center for Homeopathy, which has ties with Hyland's, slammed the FDA, calling the agency's warnings "arbitrary and capricious." In an "action alert," the organization went on to suggest that warning was prompted by "groups interested in seeing homeopathy destroyed" and led to "fear mongering" by the media. As before, the FDA is urging parents to avoid the homeopathic teething products and toss any already purchased. The FDA does not evaluate or approve the homeopathic products, which have no proven health benefit. Belladonna is an active ingredient in those products, but is supposed to be heavily diluted. Homeopaths belief that ailments and diseases can be cured by trace amounts or "memories" of toxic substances that mimic or cause similar symptoms. Homeopathy is a pseudoscience that has been squarely debunked, offering no more than a placebo effect. In its announcement Friday, the FDA said it had found inconsistent amounts of belladonna in Hyland's products. Some of the amounts were "far exceeding" what was intended.
See it from their point of view: Homeopathy uses the same logic as vaccines.
However, unlike vaccines, with homeopathy, the undereducated are only damaging the likelihood of diminishing the number of their own offspring. Ignoring vaccines designed to protect herd immunity hurts the rest of us, too.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Which would be fine if it was just morons poisoning themselves, but they're poisoning small children, and that's the chief problem here.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Barely any trace? The chance of finding a single molecule of the diluted compound in a homeopathic product is less than winning the lottery several times in a row. (If the dilution is done properly according to homeopathic rules, which apparently was not the case for these teething gels).
Good occasion to watch Tim Minchin's "Storm" again, about alternative medicine and such. (Skip the first minute)
Best quote from that video: By definition, alternative medicine has either not been proved to work, or been proved not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work?...
Medicine.
My point was that this is an example of effective homeopathy.
No, it isn't. You're giving them peanut. Homeopathy is giving people nothing. N-o-t-h-i-n-g.
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.