Homeopathy prospers even as controversy rages

[n2doc]

By Julie Deardorff, Tribune reporter
March 6, 2011


A popular homeopathic flu remedy boasts that it comes with no side effects, no drug interactions and won't make you drowsy. But the product also lacks something most people expect to find in their medicine: active ingredients.

Oscillococcinum (O-sill-o-cox-see-num), a tongue-twisting concoction used to treat flulike symptoms, is a staple in many European homes. Sales are steadily growing in the U.S., where it can be found everywhere from storefronts to major retailers.

Homeopathy critics, however, derisively call the product "oh-silly-no-see-um," a reference to the absence of active ingredients. It's products such as Oscillococcinum that have placed homeopathy in an awkward position: popular among holistic-minded consumers but scorned by scientists and most Western-trained doctors.

The British Medical Association vehemently objects to national funding for homeopathy treatment, considering any effect to be placebo. Around the world, activists have staged mass public "overdose" events outside pharmacies to demonstrate there's literally nothing inside the small white pills. One U.S. group, meanwhile, has offered $1 million to anyone who can prove homeopathy works and has challenged major drug retailers such as CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens to stop selling the products.

more

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-0306-homeopathy-20110306,0,4579321.story

[PADemD]

1. If a placebo makes you feel better, what's the harm?

[Orrex]

2. If someone takes it in preference to actual medicine, then they may indeed suffer harm

Yes, yes. Drugs have side effects and homeopathy doesn't. Well, drugs have actual, testable benefits too, while homeopathy doesn't.

The problem isn't that you personally decide to dose yourself with diluted water; the problem occurs when your endorsement of it leads someone with a more serious condition to undertake that non-treatment and as a result suffer harm that might easily have been mitigated by real medical care.

But if you'd rather believe in something that's directly contrary to all of science and observable fact, then who are we to dissuade you?

[handmade34]

3. what you say is true

"...the problem occurs when your endorsement of it leads someone with a more serious condition to undertake that non-treatment and as a result suffer harm that might easily have been mitigated by real medical care."

but isn't that what corporations do everyday in marketing a product, and might I add on a very large scale that affects thousands of people... we are becoming more and more a "caveat emptor" society... some might argue that I am talking apples v oranges but I see corporations market products everyday that I believe are tragically harming our populace, esp. many overly processed, HFCS sweetened foods, but many products sold on the market do us no good as individuals or as a society (I personally believe harm us tremendously). I see homeopathy as just a minute thing on the entire grand scale of what is offered us for choices (to heal, support, feed, entertain ourselves)

[Orrex]

5. Big difference, though

Homeopathy is almost entirely unregulated and is a hugely profitable industry. Medicines and HFCS are subject to regulation. We can discuss the problems of actually enforcing those regulations, but that's a different matter.

Pharmaceutical companies aren't permitted to market their products as treatments unless they have the data to back up those claims. The homeopathic supplement industry, in contract, has no formal data to support any claims of treatment, and in fact the marketing of these products explicitly says so (i.e., "this product is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition"). It's only by distracting and misinforming the consumer that homeopathic "remedies" can be sold successfully at all.

I would suggest that the alternative health industry is a multi-billion dollar behemoth, so it's problematic to dismiss "homeopathy" (a sizable portion of that industry even if only in name) as "a minute thing."

[Celebration]

21. since they say that the product is not intended to treat or

diagnose disease, I find it impossible to believe that they are guilty of fraud.

It isn't tricking people. It simply.............isn't.

[Orrex]

32. Well, it's definitely shady

The entire commercial is spent touting the benefits of the product, and then you get a small-print disclaimer in white font on a pale background that reveals that the product is, in fact, worthless.

And that's just the commercials; if any promoter of those zero-value "supplements" is hawking the product without even those feeble disclaimers, then I'd say that it's still fraud.

[HuckleB]

38. Hogwash.

http://www.boironusa.com/products/oscillococcinum.php

http://www.boironusa.com/about/overview.php

[Codeine]

41. "To reduce the duration and severity of flu-like symptoms"

Game. Set. Match.

[MineralMan]

4. Homeopathetic medicine is a total sham, and always was.

People who fall for it won't be harmed directly by taking nothing, which is what homeopathetic medications are, but they may be harmed by not visiting a physician in time. That is the real danger of homeopathy, and why sales of homeopathetic "remedies" should be banned by law.

[Celebration]

6. The reason people don't go to doctors when they get sick

Is not because Walgreen's sells Oscillococcinum. It is because they have no health insurance and can't afford it.

They buy Oscillococcinum not because they don't go to the doctor, but because when they go to the doctor for a cold or the flu, the doctor just generally tells you to go home and drink plenty of fluids. Sure there is Tamiflu but that barely works, and only if you catch it quickly.

People make this big deal about people avoiding doctors because of being able to buy water. I don't know, why not just ban water? Since doctors tell us to drink a lot of fluids for colds, generally, people might think water can cure them. Why not ban it? We could always go to the doctor to get a water prescription if we got thirsty.

[HuckleB]

17. So multiple red herrings are your defense of a scam?

:shrug:

[Celebration]

23. was replying to the red herring about

people not going to the doctor because of homeopathic medicine being available at Walgreen's. There is no evidence of that. There IS evidence that homeopathic medicine is not fraudulent, as they fully inform consumers.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=222&topic_id=102159&mesg_id=102246

[HuckleB]

25. Ah, so they're sold right next to other medicines because they're trying to sell them to kids...

... who want to play doctor?

Thanks for the laugh!

BTW, just because you call something a red herring doesn't make it a red herring.

:rofl:

But since you like red herrings so much, I find this interesting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=245&topic_id=100628&mesg_id=100628

[Celebration]

29. ah

Likewise I am sure.

Yeah, it makes a whole lot of sense putting water sellers in jail because of where the product is placed in the store. :eyes: I don't think that would get anywhere. :rofl: Which is more harmful to kids? Mars Bars or water? LOL.

[laconicsax]

33. If I might jump in...

You ask whether Mars Bars or water is more harmful to kids, but last I checked, Mars Bars aren't sold as medicine, whereas water is.

[HuckleB]

34. And another red herring is all you have as a defense for this scam.

That is funny, but it's also very sad.

[HuckleB]

7. There is no controversy.

This product is a scam.

[BuddhaGirl]

8. homeopathy critics can be as "derisive" as they want

There's no controversy for those who use it and benefit :thumbsup:

[Orrex]

9. Those who use it? I'm sure that there are many.

Those who benefit? Again, I'm sure that there are many.

Of course, the people in group two are benefiting at the expense of the people in group one, but who are we to complain about frauds and snake oil peddlers?

[HuckleB]

10. +1

It's bizarre to see Democrats supporting scam artists with so much gumption.

[BuddhaGirl]

12. I'm sure there are many who consider homeopathy a fraud and snake oil

but, there are many who don't care about that :-) Just as I'm sure you don't care that I or other benefit from it's use.

It's all relative...

[Codeine]

11. Selling sugar pills as medicine should be grounds for imprisonment.

Nothing but a scam, and an ugly one at that.

[HuckleB]

13. Absolutely! -eom-

[Celebration]

14. Ban water I tell you!!

Just BAN it outright!! Anyone selling water should be put to death! And any doctor that tells a patient to drink a lot of water should be found guilty of conspiracy, without even a trial. There is no evidence whatsoever that drinking fluids helps colds. I dare anyone here to find a single double blind study that shows that drinking water helps a cold. All that does is help the water companies and water manufacturers out. And the consumers are getting totally ripped off. We badly need to protect them and their pocketbooks from this outright fraud. This is HEALTH FRAUD pure and simple. This should be the highest priority, and certainly above e coli in our food and the spread of MRSA in hospitals due to lax sanitary conditions. These water peddlers must be stopped. HEALTH FRAUD ALERT!! Put Barrett on the case. I'm sick of this. Case closed!!

[Codeine]

15. Yes. That's totally the message I'm sending out here.

There's no way my comment could be construed otherwise. :eyes:

[Celebration]

19. Jennifer Aniston should be put UNDER the jail

She says water is SMART! Sheesh! As if it isn't enough to claim that water has memory, she is so bold as to say that water is SMART! :eyes: Do you realize that people may actually buy this water because of that? What a complete FRAUD!!

http://mashable.com/2011/03/07/jennifer-aniston-sex-tape-viral/

[HuckleB]

16. That's quite a bizarre response.

:wow:

[Celebration]

20. following the logic

About the legalities of the marketing of water................

See Jennifer Aniston above............

[Codeine]

22. You do realize it's called the Slippery Slope FALLACY for a reason, yes? nt

[Celebration]

24. First we prosecute Jennifer Aniston

First things first.

[Codeine]

31. Uh huh. nt

[Celebration]

37. The water is smart

She says so. Therefore not only does the water have memory but the memory is good.

Obviously a case for solitary confinement!

[HuckleB]

40. Clearly, the answer to that question is no.

[Celebration]

43. Aniston must be STOPPED!

[HuckleB]

45. Is that your final answer?

:rofl:

[HuckleB]

26. You're not following anything but a ridiculous invention of your own imagination.

Do you not know when to stop?

:shrug:

[Celebration]

27. you obviously don't

Nobody should go to jail for selling harmless water when they even label it as not treating anything. What you are proposing is completely ridiculous.

[HuckleB]

28. Baloney.

As I noted, these aren't sold as toy pills for kids.

It's a scam, through and through. You know it, and the excuses you offer to defend this scam are complete BS. But you also know that. So what's your real excuse?

[Celebration]

30. what can be clearer

Than a label?????

[HuckleB]

35. What could be clearer ... ?

:rofl:

http://www.hmedicine.com/index.php

http://www.hmedicine.com/homeopathy/information/faq.php

http://bastyrcenter.org/content/category/4/147/161/

Now, where are they calling it a pretend remedy, not to be taken seriously?

On edit... more fun with homeopathic product marketing...

For Oscillococcinum ...
http://www.boironusa.com/products/oscillococcinum.php

http://www.boironusa.com/about/overview.php

http://www.boironusa.com/homeopathy/homeopathic-dilution.php

So you're saying that they clearly label their products water, and that they make it clear that their products have no value for anyone who actually hopes to treat something? Really?

[Celebration]

36. Ummm

Can't you find anything on the internet? Are people to go to jail because unrelated people on the internet write something you have no control over?

What kind of legal system is that?

Read the label!

[HuckleB]

39. So you can't respond to reality except to pretend that these sites are not selling the same ...

... products found in stores? This is the product in the OP... as noted in my later addition to that post...

http://www.boironusa.com/products/oscillococcinum.php

Your nonsense is nothing but nonsense. But, please, keep digging. further, haven't you used Bastyr as an example of justifying scam treatments in the past? If not, that's fine, but they are one of the big schools that push this stuff, and they're supposedly regulated. Somehow you think their web site is not worth the time of day now. Interesting. I will have to remember that.

[Celebration]

42. Jail worthy?

For WATER?

Not. Go after Jennifer Aniston first. She claims water is smart. Right on an ad. Oh my! Think of all the poor people that waste gazillions of dollars on the stuff.

[HuckleB]

44. Keep repeating your red herring. It's funny.

The fact remains that we put others in jail for similar scams, but let the purveyors of this snake oil scam make millions.

That doesn't make any sense.

Try again.

[HuckleB]

18. Homeopathic Insomnia Remedy No Match For Antarctic Summer

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/02/09/133600714/homeopathic-sleep-remedy-no-match-for-antarctic-summer?ps=sh_sthdl

And what's with the crap false equivalency in the Tribune article?