It's a bit old, but still interesting, regarding homeopathy.
http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-05/belgium.html
IIRC Randi does something similar at his lectures/talks - he starts by downing a full bottle of homeopathic sleeping tablets.
There are various get-outs that homoeopaths use to explain why the skeptics always survive. The usual one is the claim that it's the potency (i.e. the number of times it has been diluted and succussed) of the remedy that determines the strength of the dose, not the amount of it taken, so any amount of a liquid remedy, or any number of homoeopathic pills, taken at about the same time will only count as a single dose.
Wouldn't that also mean that I could buy a single pill, break it into pieces, and then just take a tiny piece?
I don't see why not.
You could also take a single potentised pill and put it in a bottle with a load of plain sugar pills, and it'll transfer its magical properties to the rest of the pills. You need never buy more than one pill! Apparently it works just as well for liquid remedies: you just need to top them up with more solvent (don't shake it though, as this would make it more powerful).
I'm not making this up, honest! Homoeopaths call this "grafting".
I you sure they don't mean "grifting"?Originally Posted by Mojo
Well I'm convinced it's all true. After all they sell homeopathic remedies in Boots the chemist and they've got patient information leaflets like this one which warn against overdosing and mixing with other medications.
My pharmicist wouldn't lie to me.
:-\
And did you ask the pharmacist?
1) Boots (and other pharmacies) are businesses, if the customers can't find their magic pills there they'll take their business to somewhere that does, that often includes prescriptions as well.
2) The wording on the warnings implies that there's a therapeutic effect and looks like standard boilerplate for any OTC drug. Also the leaflet is probably a stock leaflet from Nelsons (the manufacturers) with Boots branding added.
3) Pharmacists, for the most part, know that homeopathy is rubbish, unfortunately (aside from 1) Boots pharmacists have virtually no control over what goes onto the shelves or where it's placed in store - blame the marketing drones for that one
On a minor 'plus' point if the altie stuff is being sold in a pharmacy it's possible that actual health issues, as opposed to just 'worried well', may be picked up and properly treated\referred by the pharmacist
No she was busy helping people with allopathic medicines and I do't think she'd have appreciated my sarcasm.
Or they might buy a medicine that works instead....
Actually thought the leaflet I posted is reprehensible the homepathic pill in my local boots are clearly labelled as non medicinal or something like that.
Today's Dilbert seems appropriate
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilber...-20070918.html
And on the minus side it legitimises homeopathy in people's percpetions. The people with actual health issues might buy a homepathic remedy mistaking it for real medicine - after all it comes from the pharmacist.
Evidence based medicine not allopathic
If only it was that simple this board wouldn't existOr they might buy a medicine that works instead....
Bizarrely though they're licensed as medicines under a GSL (General Sales License), therefore the information leaflet has to contain standard points that are meant to cover everyday eventualities. Any issues with the way stuff is licensed should be taken up with the government.Actually thought the leaflet I posted is reprehensible the homepathic pill in my local boots are clearly labelled as non medicinal or something like that.
Don't get me wrong, I hate that this crap has the air of fake legitimacy from being sold through pharmacy but if asked their opinion on a medical condition a pharmacist will almost never (there are some advocates in the profession) say that homeopathic remedies are the answer.And on the minus side it legitimises homeopathy in people's percpetions. The people with actual health issues might buy a homepathic remedy mistaking it for real medicine - after all it comes from the pharmacist.
Most people who want to buy CAM remedies do so without input from a healthcare professional, instead taking their advice from friends, newspaper health columnists, media celebrities, daytime TV and dubious web forums.
Which gives homoeopaths a problem with regard to the sort of homoeopathic remedies sold by Boots which claim to be a treatment for a particular condition.
Homoeopaths regularly claim that the reason homoeopathic medicines fail to show efficacy in controlled trials is that the consultation and individualistion process is an essential part of the treatment (see, for example, the comment by Jerome Whitney here), with some even invoking quantum entanglement as an excuse.
In the case of the condition-specific remedies sold by Boots, this is clearly not the case. They are supposed to treat a particular condition, there is no individualisation involved, and they are sold "off the shelf" so there is certainly no consultation involved. These "medicines" should be entirely suited to being tested in controlled trials.
If homoeopaths are serious about their objections to controlled trials, they should be denouncing these medicines. I'm not holding my breath.
Last edited by Mojo; 19th September 2007 at 08:07 AM.
I hope he doesn't do that too often. He could bring on diabetes.
If I were Randi, I'd be a teeny bit nervous about doing that stunt with the pills. Is it beyond the bounds of possibility that some fanatical woo-woo enthusiast might try to spike the pills with poison to "prove" they are real?
I suppose ol'Randi would spot the necessary sleight of hand, but still...
Mongrel, just as a point of politeness, if you don't like it when people blame the pharmacist, you might want to reconsider your labelling of marketeers as 'drones'.
Thanks!
The practice of homeopathy takes a material that causes a symptom and uses that to cure that symptom in a sufferer.
From the leaflet Matt references
Shouldn't this produce eye problems?The Euphrasia in this product, otherwise known as Eyebright due to its popular use for centuries as a treatment for eye Hayfever Relief problems, is sourced from several countries including Hungary
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks