The global Homeopathy Product Market has recently been projected to increase by 18.2% during the forecast period 2016-2024. Considering that highly diluted homeopathic remedies are pure placebos, this is remarkable, I think.
But why? Why are consumers spending their money on ineffective treatments?
The answer is probably complex, and there are many factors to explain this puzzling phenomenon. One of them is the constant and clever marketing of homeopathy. This website, [Link disabled by Admin because of suspected malware] for instance, claims that homeopathy can be used for first aid. Below I have copied the remedy in question, the potency best suited, and the conditions to be treated.
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1. ARNICA MONT. 30 – bruises, contusions, injuries, shock.
2. HYPERICUM 200 – injuries to parts rich in nerve-supply, laceration, also preventive for tetanus.
3. LEDUM PAL 30-punctured wounds, black eye. Also preventive for tetanus.
4. RHUS TOX 30 – sprains and strains, muscular pains.
5. RUT A GRA V. 30 – bruised periosteum, bones and injury to ligaments.
6. CANTHARIS 30 } for burns
7. URTICA URENS 6 } for burns
8 HEPAR SULPH 200 – septic wounds extremely painful and tender.
9. SILICIA 30 – sepsis.
FEVER, HEADACHE, COLD-DRUGS
1. ACONITE NAP. 30 – sudden high fever with chill, bad effects of fear, shock.
2. ARSENIC ALB 30 – colds, food poisoning.
3. BELLADONNA 30 – high fever, sunstroke, earache,
4. BRYONIA ALB. 30 – fever with cold, biliousness and constipation.
5. GELSEMIUM 30•-high fever with chill, influenza, cold.
6. PULSATILLA 30 – for cold, indigestion, after fatty food.
OTHER DRUGS
1 CARBO VEG. 30 – flatulence and indigestion.
2. CHAMOMILLA 30 – teething children with various troubles.
3. CINA 30 – worms
4. COFFF A 30 – sleeplessness 5. GLONOINE 6 – sunstroke, headache, high b16dd-pressure.
6. H AMAMELLIS 30 – bleeding from veins-dark blood.
7. IPECACUANHA 30– nausea vomiting, also for haemorrhages.
8. NUX VOMICA 30- biliousness, constipation, dysentery.
9. PODOPHYLLUM 30 – diarrhoea
10. PHOSPHORUS 30 – haemorrhage with bright red blood.
EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS
1. ARNICA OINT } for injuries where skin not broken
2. HYPERICUM OINT }for injuries where skin not broken
3. CALENDULA OINT. – for open wounds.
4. MULLIEN OIL – for earache
5. PLANTAGO MAJ. for toothache
BESIDES THE ABOVE DRUGS THE TWELVE TISSUE WILL ALSO BE USEFUL AS FIRST-AID DRUGS WHEN
PER INDICATIONS.
HOMEOPATHIC PROPHYLACTICS
Diseases or Condition | Preventive medicine |
Chicken Pox | Ant.tart and Malandrinum |
Cholera | Ars.alb and Ver.alb. |
Diphtheria | Diphtherinum |
Measles | Morbilinum |
Herpes | Variolinum |
Influenza | Influenzinum |
Whooping Cough | Drosera, Pertussin |
Mumps | Pilocarpine and Parotidinum |
Poliomyelitis | Lathyrus Sativus and Plumbum |
Small Pox | Variolinum and Malandrinum |
Tetanus | Ledum, Hypericum |
Typhoid | Baptisia Q, Typhoidinum |
Vaccination Ill effects | Thuja |
Rabies | Hydrophobinum |
Tuberculosis | Tuberculinum Bov. |
END OF QUOTE
You must admit that this is impressive. Imagine someone reading this – is it not understandable that consumers try homeopathy?
If this website were an exception or an extreme case – but it is not! Information like this is available on the Internet and elsewhere a million times over. And there is no doubt that such information is a risk factor for public health.
What is needed is factual information presented such that consumers can understand it. In my view, this would be an important contribution to public health – so important, in fact, that I have just published a book with exactly this aim. I hope that many consumers will learn about it.
Clearly you have no real experience with homeopathic remedies and you are ignorant about how to use them. I’ve seen the most amazing results with them on humans that weren’t conscious – how can that be a placebo affect? I have seen excellent results in animals. Could that be placebo? I’ve seen incredible results with mental illness and heart disease. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I think your comment qualifies as being, if not by far the most, then amongst the most, asinine comments posted on this website.
Congratulations!
Edzard *doesn’t have to know* what he’s talking about to understand the best quality research we have to date demonstrates conclusively that homeopathy doesn’t work.
And having said that, Edzard does actually know what he’s talking about. To make a statement like that on this particular topic demonstrates that you don’t know anything about him. Otherwise you’d have taken a different angle on the attack.
Sad.
Citizen Gold,
I totally agree with you that “Edzard *doesn’t have to know* what he’s talking about to understand the best quality research we have to date demonstrates conclusively that homeopathy doesn’t work.” Here’s my attempt at an analogy…
Whether or not Prof. Ernst has any real experience with Moon cheese and/or Moon mice is irrelevant because Prof. Ernst is an expert in both assessing and authoring systematic reviews of the underlying data; and he’s very astute regrading the vast difference between data, and the plural of anecdote, which is anecdotes.
Conclusions that are derived from anecdotes are simply the Poisson distribution of rare events filtered by shed loads of wishful thinking, other cognitive biases, and marketing agendas.
Dear Dr. Edzard Enrst,
did you see this: http://www.vox.com/2016/11/18/13676834/ftc-homeopathy-crackdown-regulation ?
The FTC report: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/996984/p114505_otc_homeopathic_drug_enforcement_policy_statement.pdf
What do you think about it?
For those who’ve not seen this before, here’s a link to the USA Amazon.com, where you can buy a “Homeopathic Accident and Emergency First Aid Kit”.
Some of the customer reviews are pure gold, e.g. …
“Being an owner of this kit has saved my life several times over. Last week I was doing some repairs in the garage, and I accidentally smashed my thumb to a paper thin wafer with a lump hammer. If I hadn’t taken the weakest dose possible of these incredible pills, I’m pretty sure my thumb would have had to be amputated; at least that’s what the so-called “nurse” who “healed” me with “medicine” said after I came around from “surgery”.”
“Just be careful with children! Don’t give them one pill. It would be too strong for them. Give them the entire vial to weaken the power of the medicine.”
“Rush to aid someone with this kit, and they’ll be sure to laugh their woes away. Laughter really is the best medicine. Makes a great gag gift for… Wait. Over $50? This isn’t a gag gift, is it? Holy crap! People think this will work?”
LOL! Those are awesome! 🙂