This article could well be proof that homeopathy is ineffective against paranoia.
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Given the fact that homeopathy has met with resistance simultaneously on multiple fronts, many are wondering if this is an organized effort. Dr. Larry Malerba, who has practiced homeopathic medicine for more than 25 years, says that he has never witnessed this level of antipathy toward holistic medicine before:
“When one considers the broad array of recent anti-homeopathy activities that cross international borders, it would be naïve to think that there wasn’t a common motivating influence. One has to wonder who stands to gain the most from this witch hunt.”
Homeopathy, in particular, is a thorn in the side of Pharma because of the fact that its unique medicines are FDA regulated, safe, inexpensive, and can’t be patented. Malerba asked the question,
“Could it be that the media is missing the larger story here, that a powerful medical monopoly is seeking to destroy one of its most successful competitors?”
In India, where homeopathy enjoys tremendous popularity, there are an estimated 250 thousand homeopathic practitioners. Indian homeopath, Dr Sreevals G Menon, seems to agree that there is something fishy going on. He recently wrote:
“The renewed and more vigorous attack on the efficacy of homoeopathy as a curative therapy picked up internationally by the media is nothing but a sinister pogrom by the powerful pharmaceutical corporations the world over.”
… Homeopathic supporters have long suspected that Pharma is secretly funding skeptic organizations. It appears that Pharma astroturfs by taking advantage of skeptic organizations that have strong anti-holistic medicine beliefs, encouraging them to spread false information about homeopathy.
But questions remain. Does this constitute an anti-democratic assault on freedom of medical choice? Are media outlets that have been manipulated by corporate medical interests feeding false information to consumers? Why is an increasingly popular medical therapy known for its long track record of safety suddenly receiving so much negative attention?…
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I do sympathize with those poor homeopathy fans!
Paranoia is a nasty condition!
And their placebos are useless for alleviating it.
Sad – really sad.
I really love the “they can not be patented” part. Most homeopaths want to make you believe homeopathic drugs can not be patented because they use generally available substances. Well, the reason is completely different. Every patent has to include examples that the inventions actually *works* – and this is where homeopathic patents generally fail …..
Yet a search on Google Patents for homeopathy returns over 11,000 results, many of which are granted patents:
Homeopathic formulations useful for treating pain and/or inflammation
Treatment methods using homeopathic preparations of growth factors
I remember when I applied for a patent many years ago, I learned that there was no need to show that the idea worked. About the only things that are rejected on principle are perpetual motion machines. Of course, homeopathy is hardly more plausible.
The irony is that some of the products granted US patents are illegal under US regulations. Have to be in HPUS etc.
Many boards of Pharmaceutical companies is Mr Ernst on?
Is that a question or a nasty accusation?
If the latter, how about substantiating it?
In 40 years of working in the pharmaceutical industry I actually had a very hard time getting anyone to discredit any CAM. Everyone was far too busy developing drugs that work. CAM is simply not on their radar, and their reaction if any was hilarity, not fear. What these idiot homeopaths don’t grasp is that a relatively small body of people with evidence on their side can be far more effective than huge sums of money being used to promote silly ideas.
https://majikthyse.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/the-myth-of-big-pharma/#more-430
Curses.We’ve been riumbled.
This discussion is ridiculous. If homeopathic remedies could be proven to work for clinical conditions, big pharma would take those remedies and market them as medicines.
The number of medicines derived from plants and herbs (herbalism and naturopathy) are numerous and pharmaceutical drugs are more effective and better to use than the herbal originals because they are purified of ‘unwanted’ elements, and purity and strength are standardised.
The fact the ‘Big Pharma’ has not taken over homeopathy suggests that it has not found evidence that particular homeopathic remedies are efficacious for medical conditions.
So basically a homeopath has reached a conclusion which isn’t supported by any evidence. Leopards and spots spring to mind.
I’m 75 yrs old have been using homeopathics without any need for Big Pharma … not even an over the counter product…don’t have Medicare D….. hmmmm is that enough evidence for you my friend.
Cheryl Nashbar
No of course not. Have you not read enough on this blog to know what evidence is?
This is, of course, what homeopaths would love to believe is the truth rather than confront the reality that their favourite therapy is a crock of complete nonsense.
A friend of mine is a professional Big Pharma shill. She runs a PR company and spends her time papering over the cracks for GSK and trying to keep Ben Goldacre quiet. Alt Med, as Les has said above, doesn’t even register on the radar of pharmaceutical companies no matter how much the fans would wish it to be otherwise.
Larry Malerba is an osteopath, not a doctor of medicine.
I thought he was a hobo.
An osteopath FINALLY got me on thryoid support after 10 yrs of miserable failures by allopathic MD’s….I struggled with 10 yrs of depression and written many A/D’s for depression… it was thyroid and the osteopath did NO labs but he knew from years prior about thyroid and how so many suffer.
Oh you lucky skeptical bastards in the US!
Over here in Germany we critics of homeopathy are in trouble: Big Pharma won’t pay us! The two major societies of “Big Pharma” in Germany, the BPI (“Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie”) and BAH (Bundesverband der Arzneimittelhersteller”) expressed their opposition to dropping the law that requires homeopathic remedies to be sold in pharmacies only. Furthermore they insist on public health to cover homeopathic treatments.
See here:
http://www.pharma-relations.de/news/bpi-und-bah-aeussern-sich-pro-homoeopathie
https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2017/06/20/pharmaverband-verteidigt-homoeopathie
(both in German)
When I type “larry malerba” into google, the next word it suggests is “quack”. Enough said.
When I typed a spoof Trump email a couple of days ago, Spellcheck changed ‘bigly” to ‘bigot’.
What is a conspiracy theory versus a state of denial? Essentially, the former is based on the fact there is no evidence for the belief – which its believers think is evidence it’s a concealed conspiracy. The latter is where the evidence for the existence of the stated fact is independently verifiable, yet its veracity is being denied by those who are threatened by it. Fact deniers may also claim that the messenger of the denied fact is a conspiracy theorist. On this reasoning, fact denying homeopaths claiming that skeptics of homeopathy are merely posing as skeptics because they are in the pay of Big Pharma are also delusional conspiracy theorists because they have zero evidence for that belief. See https://dysology.blogspot.com/2018/07/conspiracy-theories.html
Hey,
why don’t you try the soup first before…?
You get bad cramp?? Try the ‘cheap’ (sorry if that word hurts some of you) homeopathic medication as follows :-
Cuprum Metallicum (in France the potency is 5CH, that is : medium range – countries may differ : go for mid-range).
After an unbearably bad cramp, try it! Take a single dose at bedtime (in the above case 5 granules) then….
Wait and see if you get that morning uncontrollable cramp in your leg(s) or not. (No placebo effect here, I promise
just excellent homeopathy). But you might need some guts to admit error if you have a deep hatred of homeopathy.
you must be a bit limited if you thought that sceptics have not tried it before criticising it; but we are usually keener on evidence than on experience:
https://edzardernst.com/2012/11/what-is-and-what-isnt-clinical-evidence-and-why-is-the-distinction-important/