MD, PhD, MAE, FMedSci, FRCP, FRCPEd.

The German medical profession is struggling to decide what stance it should take on homeopathy. The evidence is clear: homeopathy is a pure placebo therapy. But there are powerful lobby groups trying to prevent the general acceptance of this conclusion. Now, a further step towards progress has been taken.

After two years of heated debate, the Baden-Württemberg Medical Association, Germany, has decided that further training for doctors in homeopathy will be cancelled. In July 2022, the Assembly of Representatives had already voted in favour of removing homeopathy from the further training regulations in Baden-Württemberg. This move prompted fierce opposition on several levels; the Social Affairs Minister Manfred Lucha (Greens), for instance, called it the ‘absolutely the wrong signal’. Homeopathy is an important part of healthcare for many people, he had claimed.

The treatment of patients in Baden-Württemberg with homeopathy will neither be restricted nor prohibited by this step. Doctors who have already completed the further training programme or are still in the process of doing so will not be affected by the change.

The chamber’s evaluation had concluded that there is no scientific evidence showing that homeopathy is effective for any condition. The German Medical Association had arrived at the same verdict and, already in 2022, it had spoken out in favour of the abolition in 2022.

On this blog, we have regularly discussed the German homeopathy debate and its many twists and turns, e.g.:

I am fairly confident that, in the end, the evidence will prevail, the confusion will disappear, and an agreement with broad support will emerge also in Germany:

THE PLACE FOR HOMEOPATHY IS IN THE MEDICAL HISTORY BOOKS! 

 

 

 

43 Responses to News from Germany: THE PLACE FOR HOMEOPATHY IS IN THE MEDICAL HISTORY BOOKS! 

  • In the history books – giving credit to Hahnemann who was ahead of his time in abandoning the harmful leeching, bleeding, purging, emetics offered by so many medical colleagues of his time, but who then, sadly, lost his way. Sigh.

    The practice of Homeopathy has made a valuable contribution to our understanding of placebo responses, and psychological determinants of health.
    But now – onward, ever upward!

    • Great stance for Homeopathy Richard Rawlins!! Long live Homeopathy!! It will be the savior of mankind once people understand how Big Pharma has destroyed their lives.

      • I recommend Richard Rawlins’ book “Real Secrets of Alternative Medicine” Placedo Publishing 2016 ISBN 13 978-1-51934-585-1 I think you will find it helpful.

  • Contrary to the idiotic stances or placebo nonsense that the people in the corridors of power are making they need to visit India the best place to visually see and talk to uneducated people on the efficacy of India. The reality is there are 7.7m+ people on the waiting list for operations and seeing a medical professional. I myself have been waiting to see the hip clinic after an injury 7 years ago.
    If anyone wants evidence and video footage of exactly what is Homeopathy, yes that includes you Edzard , please go on homeopathic Doctors websites that show hard core evidence, live videos of patients testimonials, these are not paid testimonials but proof of exactly how corrupt and money mad the Allopathic profession is. It is a blatant attempt to destroy people through their health and what do they have to gain? Yes they love their dividends including Professor Edzard who I am sure has so much money tied up in Astra zeneca and Glaxo smithline, why else would they stop people who are happy to continue Homeopathic treatment, they are not pressurising anyone to leave Allopathy and any operations needed. Homeopaths have always said they work side by side with Allopathy and operations to support the wellbeing of patients. The law breakers are Professor Edzard, any Allopathic profession and other placebo conspiracy theorists. Think about the UK it has 7.7m+ on medical waiting list, USA is about 10+ times that number, thanks to Placebo theorists we have successfully managed to get high levels of people suffering in the UK and abroad. Professor Edzard claims Reiki healing is worthwhile , where is the actual hard core evidence to suggest that it is not a Placebo. Can you visually see it’s effect, can that be measured ?? Has it been tested in a lab ? I think not Professor. You have been snookered pal.
    Visit http://www.wellinghomeopathy.com , http://www.homeoconsult.com, http://www.aurahomeopathy.com, www brahmhomeo.com , these just a tiny fraction of websites to showcase live patient testimonials. Why don’t you ever tell us what medical problem you had Professor ?? I know it was incurable nonsense disease which seriously affected your thinking and you woke up only thinking placebo. Get a grip man, you are not the world’s leading think-tank for deciding on any medical knowledge or even advising anyone on any medical aspect. Did you buy your 7 degrees?? I think you did. P.s. Have you heard of Dr John Henry Clarke Materia Medica, probably not as you took busy messing around with placebo. Buy the 3 volumes of Dr JH Clarke, have a read through it and let everyone know what you think.

    If still you feel it is placebo just do us all a favour and jump in front of fast moving train Professor. RIP Professor.

    • Ummm, how much of this blog have you actually read?

      To say that Ernst claims that Reiki healing is worthwhile suggests that you have read very little of it…

    • How on earth have you formed the idea that Professor Ernst “claims Reiki healing is worthwhile”?

      • Well maybe I didn’t read his disregard for Reiki. He is a hater of all natural healing. Reiki cannot be seen but only felt.

        • Professor Ernst is a supporter of all natural healing. He is an opposer of lies and fraud. He is the world’s foremost researcher of treatment modalities which claim to heal better than placebo. When modalities are found not to work better than placebo, patients need to know. Homeopathy has not been found to work better than placebo for any health condition. This is in keeping with our understanding of nature.

    • Live videos of patients testimonials? Press “delete”.
      Allopathic profession? Propaganda speech by homeopaths.
      John Henry Clarke? Well, a classical plastic shaman aka homeopath.

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

      • Great homeopath and helped me in my journey on treatment, simple language and easy to treat oneself also with potenties given in certain cures. I tried it myself, nearly 98% cured my hydrocephalus, due to ringworm on body at age 14 after Silicea 12x taken two doses only. Only some severe head cold left. I use table of follow up remedies to common and much used remedies, cross reference with symptom in Dr JH Clarke materia medica, the 3 volumes A-Z I have at home. Great life saver for me, thanks Dr JH Clarke, MD and Dr Wilhelm Boericke for your help. Start reading people, don’t be sheep.

        • I’ve read them.

          Clarke was a virulent racist, by the way.

        • Personal anecdotes are worthless. Your sycophantic, uncritical worship, on the other hand, is just embarrassing

        • “I tried it myself, nearly 98% cured my hydrocephalus, due to ringworm on body at age 14 after Silicea 12x taken two doses only”.

          I’m sorry – are you saying that ringworm, a fungal skin infection, caused you to have hydrocephalus? How?

    • “jump in front of fast moving train”
      That’s a rather unpleasant thing to say.
      Why are fans of homeopathy such nasty people?

  • Correction in previous comment – “talk to uneducated people on the efficacy of Homeopathy” . These people many did not go to school but live a far healthier life than many educated who went to school.

    • “Uneducated people” includes those who don’t know the difference between the terms efficacy and effectiveness.

      • Well, I have just educated myself! It is a nice distinction, perhaps confined to medical usage, and highly significant there.

    • I note that India has the highest incidence of Hansen’s disease (Leprosy) in the world, and that it also has a high burden of Tuberculosis.

  • First of all, homeopathy is no placebo. The key element is a LEGAL matter, which frees the homeopaths from responsibility. Homeopaths claim that a remedy CAN work, or not. So the patient is deluded and waits and waits and waits until the homeopathy magician has found “the right remedy”. The patients are tortured, they are forced to endure the illness, they lose valuable time (which otherwise would have been used for effective treatments), they are indoctrinated to suffer, and this way get accustomed to suffering. And the healer has absolutely no responsibility, because he “informed” the patient, that the remedy MIGHT work, or not.

    Second, homeopathy is fraud. The whole matter in Baden-Württemberg is explained here:

    “Landesärztekammer Baden-Württemberg zur geplanten Streichung der Homöopathie”
    https://www.allaxys.com/~kanzlerzwo/index.php?topic=13316.0

    The medical chamber wants to have homeopathy out of the medical training. But is does not want the fraud to be stopped. This is the crucial question. Why does the medical chamber want a fraud still to be allowed? A fraud must not be an acknowledged part of medicine. So, why do the chamberists want to keep it? Because of “freedom of therapy”.

    Isn’t it weird, that committing a known fraud is considered “freedom of therapy”?

    Here we have hit the wall. Here is the wagenburg, the laager: Despite claiming to oppose fraud, the chamberists allow it BECAUSE OF trade solidarity, of camaraderie, of colleagueship, In other words: because of complicity. It is “they” and it is “we”, they, the patients, and we, the masters of the universe.

    Why so? Because by enabling the frauds of others, they keep their backs free for their own frauds and wrongdoings.

    Some 100 homeopaths sent an open letter to the medical chamber of Baden-Württemberg, begging, whining, that homeopathy should be kept. One part of their letter reads like this:

    https://www.dzvhae.de/neu_2020/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024.07.18_Aerzte_Brief-an-die-Delegierten_LAeK_BaWue.pdf

    [*QUOTE*]
    ———————————————-
    Homöopathie als integratives Konzept: Homöopathie wird, wenn sie von Ärztinnen und Ärzten verordnet wird, in der Regel integrativ eingesetzt, d. h. es werden sowohl schulmedizinische wie auch komplementäre Verfahren gleichzeitig angewandt. Dieses Miteinander fördert in der Ärzteschaft den konstruktiven, kollegialen Dialog, Vielfalt statt Ausgrenzung. Gerade in Baden-Württemberg haben wir eine Vorreiterrolle im Bereich dieses Miteinanders der integrativen Medizin – sowohl im universitären Kontext wie auch in der klinischen Praxis.
    ———————————————-
    [*/QUOTE*]

    Translated with deepl.com:

    [*QUOTE*]
    ———————————————-
    Homeopathy as an integrative concept: When prescribed by doctors, homeopathy is generally used integratively, i.e. both conventional and complementary methods are used simultaneously. This cooperation promotes constructive, collegial dialogue in the medical profession, diversity instead of exclusion. In Baden-Württemberg in particular, we have a pioneering role in the area of this co-operation of integrative medicine – both in the university context and in clinical practice.
    ———————————————-
    [*/QUOTE*]

    There you have it, in plain words: “collegial dialogue in the medical profession, diversity instead of exclusion”.

    Isn’t this a confession what it all REALLY is about? I say: IT IS!

    They do not even hide their intention.

    And, we see it not only in the result, but from the beginning on: the camaraderie works. Homeopathy will not be forbidden. It all is only a cosmetic polishing, but nothing more.

    This is not spineless, this is worse than that, it is a willful camaraderie, a complicity with frauds.

    Do not think that I exaggerate. There is a range of treatments, collected under ” IGeL” (Individuelle Gesundheitsleistungen), which are not paid by the health insurances. Despite it is known that a lot of them are crap, or even fraud, they are not forbidden? Why are they not forbidden? “Because he needs the money, so let him do it.”

    This is no joke, this is a fact. With the utterly criminal “argument” “He needs the money, so let him have it”, fraud is legitimized.

    Fraud is a legitimate part of the medical profession in Germany.

  • The Minister of Health in Baden-Württemberg, Manne Lucha, is a big fan of homeopathy. As was to be expected, he is not amused that the Baden-Württemberg Medical Association canceled future training.

  • RPGNo1 do you have any enlightening videos of healthy people from Allopathic treatments. If not then please “Shut your stupid nonsense mouth” .
    Please remember: if you make a claim in a comment, support it with evidence. Professor Ernst says he has used Homeopathy but as always along with all the sceptics still doesn’t follow ; Please remember: if you make a claim in a comment, support it with evidence. Do as I say but it doesn’t matter what I ask for as I won’t follow it myself. Typical nonsense from the Puppet show showing Professor Ernst with peeled Onions on his eyes? Laughable Fellow who has zero answer to resolve the ever burdening increase on health service in NHS England and USA. No help or ideas with his 7 degrees, what use of the 7 degrees professor, time pass degrees I see?

    • Professor Ernst has carried out, and published, more evidence on homeopathy and other modalities than anyone else. The evidence on homeopathy from both primary and secondary research by many different researchers is published and available, as are succinct reviews on that evidence.

      No good quality evidence shows homeopathy to work better than placebo. This is in keeping with what we would expect from our understanding of nature.

    • Personal anecdotes are not proof of anything. They are worthless.

      You have no idea about anything, as your answers show, so stop trying to lecture me.

    • @Ramachandra Rao Tayya
      Among all your nonsense, this in particular caught my eye:

      … zero answer to resolve the ever burdening increase on health service in NHS England and USA.

      Solving a healthcare crisis by introducing fake medicine like homeopathy is like trying to extinguish a fire with gasoline.

      There are only two reasons why fake medicine is so popular in India: nationalist sentiments, and low cost. In reality, people are defrauded with regard to their health. Homeopathy may appear to be cheaper that real healthcare, but since it is 100% ineffective, it is in fact much more expensive: every dollar spent on homeopathy is not only completely wasted, but has the negative effect that it increases people’s belief in magic, driving them away from real medicine, and into the hands of charlatans and frauds.

  • Hi David B I am an Indian. I visited India about 10 times and still go. India is a subcontinent , half the size of USA, see the Size of India and size of UK. UK is size of Maharastra, one state out of 26 states in India. Also UK is size of Ohio in USA. Now why I mentioned land size is becoz I am mentioning population also next. INDIA population – 1.4 Bn . UK population – 68 MN. See the difference in Size and population, UK is a pin head compared to India. Now you mentioned India has highest Leprosy and Tuberculosis rate in the world. Did you know UK has a very high Tuberculosis rate but zero way of curing or treating it. India does. India is not as cosy financially throughout the country. There is a mega gigantic difference in people’s ability to pay for any medical treatment in India. The government is corrupt and does not help everyone. The leprosy and Tuberculosis patients you talk about live on less than $1 a day – 30% of Indians are like that. The rich film stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are like Emperors next to them in terms of wealth. Uneven wealth distribution and incompetent corrupt government of Narendra Modi is to blame for the Leprosy and Tuberculosis. Remember the 1.4 Bn population , this is far too much for India’s land. The Muslims are only increasing the population rate big time,men making women beget 10 children in certain areas of India. It is a pitiful country in a very bad situation. The west don’t care and cannot as this would be interference and rebuked by the commoner in India as they don’t care about each other. We in the west do care about each other to a certain extent, not in terms of medical treatments off course. Robert F Kennedy Jr. , the presidential candidate in USA talks of holistic approach to medical treatment , meaning understand route cause of why diseases appear in humans, not just popping pills . He is the saviour of USA which also is riddled with even greater medical problems , I.e. drug addiction, violent crime, etc. India is lot safer than USA and has lot less problematic medical conditions than USA. USA the richest, supposedly advanced nation on earth has fallen less than 3rd world countries in medical treatments and disease outbreaks – mentally and physically.

    • @Ramachandra Rao Tayya

      Robert F Kennedy Jr. , the presidential candidate in USA …

      Robert F Kennedy Jr is a lawyer, and utterly ignorant about medical issues. In fact, he is worse than ignorant: he spreads lies and nonsense about health (e.g. that vaccines cause autism). The man couldn’t tell his elbow from his arse to save his life.

      … talks of holistic approach to medical treatment , meaning understand route cause of why diseases appear in humans …

      Ah, the famed ‘root cause of disease’, which supposedly only a ‘holistic’ treatment can adequately address. The funny (and at the same time quite sad) thing is of course that not one of those SCAMmers can tell their victims what the ‘root cause’ of their condition actually is. Nor can they explain why their treatment is supposedly ‘holistic’, or how it is supposed to work.
      Homeopaths are worst of all: they do not look for any causes at all. They claim that if they just draw up a long enough list of ‘symptoms’, they can cure the patient with magical shaken water that they believe is associated with as many of those symptoms as possible. And many of those ‘symptoms’ are fictitious as well as completely ludicrous (e.g. ‘dreams of robbers’ … yeah, sure …).

      not just popping pills .

      Ah, that old straw man … And even if many health problems can be cured or improved by simply taking pills, then what is wrong with that? Fake medicine from homeopaths and other SCAMmers does not help patients with e.g. rheumatoid arthritis or heart arrhythmia or asthma AT ALL. Pills and other real medicines often DO help these people. But real doctors do much, much more than just making their patients ‘pop pills’.
      In fact, real doctors are the ones dispensing REAL holistic healthcare, who look for REAL ‘root causes’. If for instance someone visits them with sleeping problems, they don’t just prescribe sleeping pills and let it go at that. They ask the patient about their daily life, their work, their personal relationships, possible causes of stress, what they eat and drink, possible bad habits … anything that might cause or contribute to sleeping problems. And yes, when one or more probable causes have been found and addressed, then a prescription of sleeping pills may be given so that the patient can get used to a normal night’s sleep again. But those pills are not the actual cure – the cure is dealing with the cause of sleeplessness, once identified.

      • Richard please type in “sleeplessness reasons homeopathy” in Google search box. I just did , and low and behold plenty of reasons why and what is similarity in treating and curing the reasons for sleeplessness. You see , “Similimum Similima” means similarities in a set of people based on their makeup of problems given homeopathic remedies that in a person who did not have these makeup or set of problems is produced in that person.
        Means “like cures like” – remember story of medicine – not story of homeopathy yet, Hippocrates saw a dog licking its wound and after some time the wound was healed, cured. Meaning give the same problem the wound to the dog in an increased form and the wound is healed – hence the dog is healed. Same happened with Dr Samuel Hahnemman who stumbled accidentally across Malaria , Chincona Bark, Peruvian bark- he read that Chincona Bark caused Malaria so took orally a small dose of tge raw Chincona, Peruvian bark and developed symptoms of malaria. The symptoms subsided after some time. Journey of Homeopathy started and Onion wearing Professor Edzard Ernst was awakened hahaha 🤣🤣🤣 along with all the other sceptics off course.

    • The many errors in that comment are telling — particularly of a person making the claim “I am an Indian”.

      There is, of course, a possibility that the claimant is correct therefore the Government of India[𝟭,𝟮] is incorrect.

      https://knowindia.india.gov.in/states-uts/

      https://lgdirectory.gov.in/

      “India is a subcontinent…”

      India is just one of the countries that are located within Indian subcontinent, which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

      And so forth…

      Such a dire lack of attention to detail is fitting, if not an outright prerequisite, for acolytes of so-called alternative medicine.

  • Richard Rasker – “the cure is dealing with the cause of sleeplessness, once identified” . How many decades have Allopaths been given the chance to come up with a cure for Sleeplessness ? Tell me Richard, tell us all, we would be really interested in “how many decades have Allopaths been given the chance to come up with a cure for Sleeplessness? ” I personally had sleeplessness, my father gave me Thuja 30c a few doses to resolve my sleeplessness. Please read up and educate yourself about Thuja Occidentalis – Abor Vitae tree, tincture of the fresh green twigs. Yes I had sleeplessness. I would rather rely on short usage of a medicine for long term cure than repeated dangerous sleeping pills, which cause real side effects and isn’t it a pain in the arse to keep going to the pharmacy for repeated sleeping pills? I would rather not thank you. If you would keep taking repeated prescriptions then please be my guest and Good Luck pal, keep up the good work. It’s all down to preference. Not everyone is the same thank you! I got better things to do with my life than keep taking repeated pills for the same problem. I was on a BSc Degree for Biomedical Sciences long time ago and in the lecture hall the lecturer actually mentioned the difference between Homeopathy and Allopathy intake of medicines and how they actually work at the target organ to clear up a problem. The lecturer said that in Allopathy the medicine used does not penetrate the target organ, rather acts at it’s surface layer after which it is carried away by the blood stream away from the organ. This is the explanation of Allopathy not from a Homeopath but from a lecturer on the BSc Biomedical Sciences degree course. On the other hand he mentioned Homeopathy does penetrate the surface layer of the target organ. It actually works intracellularly – i.e. in between cells so is more effective and stays in between cells and has a better chance of fully stimulating the target organ. Read it up yourself lol, u might actually learn something here. As for “Magically shaken water” , I believe the drops of medicine are added to a certain amount of Ethyl Ethanol depending on the concentration required and one drop taken from that and water added. Ethyl Ethanol is a preservant – made in the laboratory by mixing certain chemicals under lab conditions. The actual process can be ascertained from certain Homeopathic dispensing chemists. Take Professor Ernst with you lol, you both could book a day out together, you know have a pint and meal afterwards at any nearby pub to socialise because you really need to, to clear your foggy minds. Tell professor Ernst not to balance Onions on his eyes, it might jinx the chemist at say Helios Pharmacy, they might think who is this “nobhead?” Richard don’t follow the Onion balancing nobhead , they might think who is this “dickhead?” Reality is both of you don’t go to the actual source of how the medicines are made from scratch, you really should to familiarise yourselves with how this “magical water is made”. I believe it is kept in test tubes to be spun in a centrifuge and extremely fast RPM – revolutions per minute to give it activation energy – ask Einstein – wake him up from the dead. E= MC squared .
    Quite a wake-up call for all sceptics of how “magical water from Mars or the Moon actually cures various illnesses”. Reading is everything , more you read, do actual visits to actual physical sites where Homeopathic medicines are made is what is lacking from yourself, the sceptics and of course our Onion eyed professor. Ignorance is fallicy of mankind , if we ignored everything then we would never come out of the Stone age , Iron age or any further ages mankind has had to progress through to finally enter the 21st century.
    Yes Robert F Kennedy Jr. Is a lawyer, good for him, also a politician and was a main runner in the US nominees for President. Good luck with Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy who loves Big Pharma, built his multi million dollar wealth on it. “God Bless Trump, God Bless America” .
    In the UK Keir Starmer is actually trying to find out root causes of problems left over by the previous Tory government. Sunak is Big Pharma supporter, Jeremy Hunt is a supporter of Homeopathy, Penny Mordaunt is a supporter of Homeopathy. Quite a mixed batch really. Don’t forget Theresa May is the only Type 1 diabetes politician in the realm of former World leaders. She asked Rishi to consider the introduction of some scheme to combat Type 1 diabetes – RICE scheme I think. I was listening to her suggestion to him live in the House of Commons. He agreed, being a supporter of only Big Pharma?? Why do you think ? Becoz she was his predecessor as Prime Minister. No other reason.
    Bashing Homeopathy and putting photos of yourself with Onions on your eyes on Twitter – is this really the future of the NHS ? 7.8m and rising fast everyday the NHS numbers – thanks to ignoring other successful countries like India in tackling their healthcare in majority. Yes there is Leprosy and Tuberculosis, I don’t disagree , but I did mention this is due to inequality of wealth in India and access to minimum money in India for about 30% of Indians, it’s a shame really as India is richer by GDP than the UK. Richard I really do hope you and our Onion professor book an appointment at Tunbridge Wells , Helios Pharmacy. Look forward to this good news, have a pint and a meal at the local pub afterwards , you might both be chatting about the procedure there of “water from Mars or the moon curing illnesses on Planet Earth, hahaha 🤣🤣. Enlighten us all dears. That’s all for now Folks from Looney Tunes which is what this forum is all about.

  • ‘Ramachandra wrote:
    ‘What a nobhead you are Richard, you got a nob growing out of your arsehole.’

    Claims on this blog need to be supported by evidence according to the pinned notice.

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