A few months ago, I was chatting to a friend of mine in a pub about a horrific story in the papers at the time about a very young girl who died of septicaemia from untreated eczema. I say “untreated”… her father was a homeopath.
It was around the same time we in the UK were hearing more horror stories, like “Baby P” and Madeleine McCann, so it tied in with a general child abuse theme that seemed to keep cropping up.
My friend and I were talking about how something needed to be done. Something that would get public attention, so that people would be given a balanced view of certain types of healthcare. After all, Simon and I knew that homeopathy doesn’t work beyond the placebo effect, everyone else should have the right to know too. Once the public are aware of different sides of the argument, it would enable them to choose whether they wanted magic water or a medicine that has been scientifically proven to work. In Gloria’s case, a bit of E45 or possibly hydrocortisone would have done the trick – I should know, I get eczema too.
A few weeks later, I was contacted by a lovely bloke called Andy, Simon had passed my details on to him. Andy oop North needed a Londoner to help out with organising a nationwide event to make the public aware of the quack that we call “homeopathy”. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. This is exactly what I had in mind.
Then in December, a major spokesperson for Boots (one of the leading pharmacists in the UK, a bit of an institution really!) announced that it didn’t matter to Boots that they know homeopathy doesn’t work, they were going to keep peddling it anyway! Hang on, yes, that’s right: homeopathic pills turn over a profit, therefore they’re going to keep selling it. And homeopaths accuse *me* of being big pharma shill!
The 10:23 campaign means such a lot to me, not because I’m big pharma (I’m not, incidentally. I’m an admin clerk for a fine arts company!) but because it’s something we should all care about.
Admittedly, I’ve taken Bach’s Remedy and Relief for exam stress and it worked. It worked even better if I took double the recommended dose. But as soon as I googled the ingredients and discovered it was all in my mind (and I’d failed one of my A-Levels) its effect completely stopped. Perhaps by taking away the belief in a dummy-medicine (placebo) I’m doing the world a disservice. Or perhaps you, me, Gloria, and the millions of HIV positive and AIDs sufferers in Africa deserve the right to an informed, evidence based decision about what goes into our bodies.
For more information about 10:23, and to take part, please visit our website.
I care about 10:23 because of the envelope stuffed with used fivers big pharma push through my door once a week.
I think you’ve got better reasons though
.
As a boots emplyee of seven years (on and off), working at several stores, I have to say I have never witnessed, or been encouraged to promote homeopathic remedys over real drugs. Of course using drugs too much (in particular pain killers) lead to them become less and less effective, and like stress n sleeping stuff, it’s a real bad idea to use actual drugs for it unless it’s really that neccesary. I don’t buy into homeopathy n all that vitamins crap, I think such people are usually quite wealthy any way, so it aint like a the scam being implied on that 10:23 website.
With everything there ar some people who take it too far, i’e’ those parents and some “homeopathic scientists”. If i was having severe sleeping troubles tho, I would try homeopathic remedies first, medicine should be a last resort, you aren’t likely to get homeopathy addiction, but we all know about robbie’s red bull by day, sleeping pill by night addictions, and all those celebs that die cos of addiction to prescription drugs for minor things like “stress” (haeth ledger, michael jackson, brittney murphy, to name a few recent ones). So, no offense, but boots aren’t the criminals here, and the protest is kinda pointless! If people wanna be stupid and take leaves n plant shoots instead of chemo to treat thier cancer then let them die. It’s just a sad sad thing when they give birth to children, but we can’t ban alcohol because some alcoholics give birth to children and become abusive can we?
You miss the point of the article, the protest is about education, not “banning” – I spoke to friends the other day who confused homeopathy with herbal medicine and were utterly unaware of quite how ludicrous it is. Boots give this snake oil an air of respectability because they’re a trusted retailer. So, no, I’d never argue that someone should be banned from selling a sugar pill with a drop of magic water on it, but I’ll argue that they should be unable to market it with misleading and pseudoscientific claims, and that the public should be well aware of the ineffectiveness of the product.
It’s about evidence, to say “let them die” about those who are seduced into choosing alternative medicine instead of better evidenced treatments is utterly callous. People just don’t know quite how hollow these alt meds are, and people are desperate and will clutch at any straw. The protest is *precisely* worth the time and effort if it waken even a few people up to the fact that just because a product is on the shelf at Boots does not mean it has any proven effect… and that Boots know this.
“If people wanna be stupid and take leaves n plant shoots instead of chemo to treat thier cancer then let them die”
Unfortunately people get influenced by the information around them. The air of ‘natural remedy’ surrounding homeopathy is completely unearned & false. (It literally has no ingredients is based on faith-based wishful thinking & performs no better than placebo – homeopaths will pick the odd small study where the random noise just so happens to favour homeopathy- ignore the swathes of quality trials & meta-analyses that say no such thing)
I knew someone who chose homeopathy over chemo. If she had access to the true knowledge of the nature of homeopathy, she may still be here. She just thought she was doing the right thing.
Garrikai:
“If people wanna be stupid and take leaves n plant shoots instead of chemo to treat thier cancer then let them die.”
There, right there, see it, just there? That’s it. That’s the problem.
You work for a company selling this stuff and don’t even know what’s in it yourself. Homeopathy is not a herbal medication. Some herbal based remedies do work, and when they do work most become legitimate medicine (Aspirin, Penecillin etc) whilst others, though used, are not the first port of call such as St. Johns Wort.
Homeopathy is an ultra dillute solution of water, that is all. People are mistaking what this campaign is about and what homeopathy is. When I first heard about the campaign I didn’t realise just how wide the misunderstanding of homeopathy was. I saw it as an annoying and slightly silly remedy that only the New Age loonies used. I was completely unaware how far flung it was.
This campaign is vitally important. The issue is not about taking away people’s right to chose. People can chose to take 6 wax candles with their breakfast if they think it will help, the point is making sure they are aware that it is nonsense and dangerous. If they then continue to use it then, that’s unfortunate but they’ve made an informed choice.
Alex Pryce
Ok, I guess there is a real passion for this, i’m guilty of not being anti-homeopathic enough. Like a similar campaign can be launched against organised religion, cos some pastors are con-men, I have relatives who have gone as far as selling thier homes for the church, a lot of people are mislead and conned through ‘religion’, but I am still a practising christian despite this. Just like In some countries people get killed over which football team they killed, and (particularly south america) players families get kidnapped if they try to leave thier club.
I don’t need to use drugs and alcohol as an example, or fashion, but there are lots of things that aren’t neccesary that cause people to suffer and die and stuff, but where it brings joy and satisfaction to some people, there is always going to be demand, hence supply. If homeopathy was really as innafective as clinical tests show, people wouldn’t keep buying it. It aint like people try itt once, it doesn’t work and they are out £15 or watever. People use it, find it cures them, and then in some unfortunate circumstances they start to believe it can replace all medical treatments and things, and you get tragedies.
I’ll admit I don’t know squat about homeopathy, I just know it’s in the vitamins and herbal remedies section (the fake stuff). I don’t know of any boots products in particular that are dangerous (i.e. that people would take instead of seeing a doctor), we don’t have anti malaria stuff, so in my view no crime is done. we sell ridiculous skin creams as well, and what about those hair products where they make up words (you’ve seen the TV ads), wanna ‘educate the nation’ about that too? It’s just money.
I’m not intended to disagree with anything, I just think this is one of many areas of our society where good and bad outcomes result, and I don’t see it as anymore problematic. If you feel this is the worst of the lot, then good on you, but money tends to dictate everything at the end of the day.
If you’d like to know more, Garikai, please do visit http://www.1023.org.uk
You’re right, this isn’t the worst of the lot, but it’s a place to start!
Thanks for commenting
Cx
Big badaboom.
You can designate me First Aider. I’m bringing a pack of Polos with me in case anyone suffers harmful effects – mint stops homeopathic remedies working, which is why you can’t use regular toothpaste with them. Safe.
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