Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Researchers welcome WHO warning against homeopathy
[Media release]
NZ researchers welcome WHO warning against homeopathy use
21st August 2009 – the World Health Organization has warned that people with conditions such as HIV, TB and malaria should not rely on homeopathic treatments. New Zealand researchers Dr. Shaun Holt and Andrew Gilbey welcomed the warning, but said that it does not go far enough.
“The WHO should have gone further and said what any scientist who has reviewed the evidence would say: homeopathy does not work for any condition. It is not biologically plausible – the active ingredients have been diluted away. It has never worked in a well-conducted research study and, in my opinion, is no better than witchcraft” said Dr. Holt.
Researcher and homeopathy critic Andrew Gilbey added, “I fully agree with Dr Holt - the WHO must protect vulnerable people from the clever and insidious marketing of treatments that the developed world is now rejecting. Evidence clearly shows it would be a miracle if homeopathy were to work for life-threatening conditions, or, indeed, any conditions!”
Doctors treating some of the most impoverished people in the world for conditions such as tuberculosis and diarrhoea in children called for governments around the world to recognise the dangers of promoting homeopathy for life-threatening illnesses. Dr Nick Beeching, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital added that there was no objective evidence that homeopathy has any effect on these infections and told the BBC, “...I think it is irresponsible for a healthcare worker to promote the use of homeopathy in place of proven treatment for any life-threatening illness."
More information from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8211925.stm
Shaun Holt
• Qualified Doctor and
Pharmacist
• One of NZ’s most experienced medical
researchers
• Author of 2008 best-seller “Natural
Remedies that Really Work”
• Regular appearances on
TV One’s Breakfast show and national radio
shows
• Member of International Editorial Board of
medical research journal FACT
About Dr Andrew Gilbey
• University academic
• Interests in
alternative medicine, nutrition, loneliness, health benefits
of pets, and aviation
• Member of International
Editorial Board of medical research journal
FACT
ENDS
International Writers' Workshop NZ Inc: Ōtepoti Poets Top The Kathleen Grattan Prize For A Sequence Of Poems
NZ Amateur Sport Association: 22 Amendments Proposed For 2022 Act Lodged On 22 November
Auckland University of Technology: Reading Helps Children Face A Difficult Future
PATHA: Puberty Blocker Evidence Brief Affirms Aotearoa’s Approach
Tataki Auckland Unlimited: Into Ocean & Ice - Unveiling Antarctica's Past And Present
Health Coalition Aotearoa: Urgent Action Needed To Address Aotearoa’s Shameful Household Food Insecurity