Flashback - The Homeopathy Scam

[It's Friday and time for another flashback. This time we go back to April 2015 when I ask, does homeopathy really work? Since then I have posted a few more times on the same subject. All of that research comes to the same conclusion. No, it doesn't. Here is the original.]

In a widely circulated article from the Guardian newspaper, the news from Australia is that it does not. The headline reads: “Homeopathy not effective for treating any condition, Australian report finds.” After a thorough and extensive review of over 200 research papers on the subject, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) states: “there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective.”

They go on to warn that people who use homeopathic medicine as an excuse to delay or avoid professional medical help may be putting their lives at risk.

What is homeopathy? The article describes it as the belief “that illness-causing substances can, in minute doses, treat people who are unwell,” and by diluting them in water or alcohol, “the resulting mixture retains a ‘memory’ of the original substance that triggers a healing response in the body.” That is the theory.

Wikipedia defines it as “a system of alternative medicine created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann based on his doctrine of like cures like, whereby a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people.” 

The fact that it is not effective is certainly not news as the first paragraph of Wikipedia entry immediately goes on to say: “Homeopathy is considered a pseudoscience. It is not effective for any condition, and no remedy has been proven to be more effective than placebo.” References associated with this conclusion date back to 2000 and earlier. It was known for a long time, but the fact that any government agency has come out so strongly against it is new.

The industry has a different take. The National Center for Homeopathy tells us: “Homeopathy is a safe, gentle, and natural system of healing that works with your body to relieve symptoms, restore itself, and improve your overall health.... It is extremely safe to use, even with very small children and pets, has none of the side effects of many traditional medications, is very affordable, is made from natural substances, and is FDA regulated.”

This British source sees it differently. After an extensive explanation of the theory behind it they describe it as being rooted in superstition, ritual and sympathetic magic; and cite a comprehensive study from 2005 showing that it is ineffective. For the theory to be true “we would have to toss out practically everything we have learned over the past two centuries about biology, pharmacology, mathematics, chemistry and physics.”

It seems many people disagree with the industry portrayal. Many studies have shown it as ineffective, but what about the claims of safety and regulation? The US Government’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Health states: “We have a fair amount of research on homeopathic medicine for a variety of conditions, but less evidence on its safety, particularly for over-the-counter products.” The FDA “doesn’t evaluate these products for safety or effectiveness” and “some contain ingredients or contaminants in amounts that could cause side effects, drug interactions, or other safety concerns.” [Note: As of November 2019, no homeopathic products have been approved.]

If potential contaminants along with the ingredients are diluted beyond the point of detection, usually the worst outcome would result from people relying on homeopathy to the exclusion of professional medical help, especially if they avoid vaccinations.

So what’s the big deal? It’s just people again throwing away money on products that have been known for years to be ineffective. But when a company gets you to pay money for something that doesn’t work, how can that be legal? Doesn’t the government also have an agency to protect us from our own foolishness, like credit card scams, payday loans and fraudulent vacation schemes? Out of curiosity I asked, “Where does the government’s Consumer Protection Agency stand on all of this?”  

Their website lists under the heading “Current Scams That You Should Be Aware Of” the following categories:  Benefits and Grants, Business, Cars, Citizenship and Immigration, Computers and Internet, Family, Home, and Community, Health and Nutrition, International Relations, Jobs and Education, Money, and Travel and Recreation. A closer look at the Health and Nutrition link shows no mention of homeopathy (but there are a large number of other very interesting topics where Americans have been sold worthless or dangerous products). Until there are enough complaints on this topic, I guess we are on our own.

The government can’t (or won’t) protect us from sellers of every product or service that takes our money and give us only promises in return. Again critical thinking and just a little research can eliminate a lot of wasted time and money and possibly keep us safer.

Homeopathy - Does It Really Work?

In a widely circulated article from the Guardian newspaper, the news from Australia is that it does not.  The headline reads: “Homeopathy not effective for treating any condition, Australian report finds.”  After a thorough and extensive review of over 200 research papers on the subject, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) states:  “there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective.”

They go on to warn that people who use homeopathic medicine as an excuse to delay or avoid professional medical help may be putting their lives at risk.

What is homeopathy?  The article describes it as the belief “that illness-causing substances can, in minute doses, treat people who are unwell,” and by diluting them in water or alcohol, “the resulting mixture retains a ‘memory’ of the original substance that triggers a healing response in the body.”  That is the theory.

Wikipedia defines it as “a system of alternative medicine created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann based on his doctrine of like cures like, whereby a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people.”

The fact that it is not effective is certainly not news as the first paragraph of Wikipedia entry immediately goes on to say:  “Homeopathy is considered a pseudoscience. It is not effective for any condition, and no remedy has been proven to be more effective than placebo.”  References associated with this conclusion date back to 2000 and earlier.  It was known for a long time, but the fact that any government agency has come out so strongly against it is new.

The industry has a different take.  The National Center for Homeopathy tells us:  “Homeopathy is a safe, gentle, and natural system of healing that works with your body to relieve symptoms, restore itself, and improve your overall health.”  “It is extremely safe to use, even with very small children and pets, has none of the side effects of many traditional medications, is very affordable, is made from natural substances, and is FDA regulated.”

One British source sees it differently.  After an extensive explanation of the theory behind it they describe it as being rooted in superstition, ritual and sympathetic magic; and cite a comprehensive study from 2005 showing that it is ineffective.  For the theory to be true “we would have to toss out practically everything we have learned over the past two centuries about biology, pharmacology, mathematics, chemistry and physics.”

It seems many people disagree with the industry portrayal.  Many studies have shown it as ineffective, but what about the claims of safety and regulation?  The US Government’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Health is not complimentary on the subject.  “We have a fair amount of research on homeopathic medicine for a variety of conditions, but less evidence on its safety, particularly for over-the-counter products.”  The FDA does regulate it as a class of drugs, but “doesn’t evaluate these products for safety or effectiveness” and “some contain ingredients or contaminants in amounts that could cause side effects, drug interactions, or other safety concerns.”

Since those potential contaminants are so diluted, sometimes to beyond the point of detection, homeopathic medicine is probably safe but ineffective. The worst that can happen is for people to rely on homeopathy to the exclusion of professional medical help, especially if they avoid vaccinations.

So what’s the big deal?  It’s just people again throwing away money on a product that has been known for years to be ineffective.  But when a company gets you to pay money for something that doesn’t work, how can that be legal?  Doesn’t the government also have a consumer protection division to protect us from our own foolishness, like credit card scams, payday loans and fraudulent vacation schemes?  Out of curiosity I asked, “Where does the government’s Consumer Protection Agency stand on all of this?” 

Their website lists under the heading “Current Scams That You Should Be Aware Of” the following categories:  Benefits and Grants, Business, Cars, Citizenship and Immigration, Computers and Internet, Family, Home, and Community, Health and Nutrition, International Relations, Jobs and Education, Money, and Travel and Recreation.  A closer look at the Health and Nutrition link shows no mention of homeopathy (but there are a large number of other very interesting topics where Americans have been sold worthless or dangerous products).  Until there are enough complaints on this topic, I guess we are on our own.

The government can’t (or won’t) protect us from sellers of every product or service that takes our money and give us only promises in return.  Again critical thinking and just a little research can eliminate a lot of wasted time and money and possibly keep us safer.

It Doesn’t Take Much

A number of weeks ago, one of my loyal readers sent me an email with this excerpt of an article on homeopathy saying I might find it interesting. 

“Something like 5 million adults and 1 million children use homeopathy, remedies that, in fact, contain no discernible amounts of the active ingredients…. Analysts project that the global market for homeopathic treatments will rise 12.5 percent by 2023, and already it’s a $1.2 billion industry. People are beginning to feel cheated: a nonprofit suing Walmart and CVS for hawking such snake oil conducted a survey that found 41 percent of people feel negatively about homeopathy when they learn about the pseudoscience behind it.”

I did find it interesting. I was familiar with the lawsuit mentioned and had referred to it earlier. But this time what struck me was the data from the survey. If 41% are willing to change their minds (and feel cheated) when presented with the fact that there is no science behind homeopathy, that means 59% were unmoved even in the face of good evidence. They were that strongly committed to their opinions. From a critical thinking standpoint, this is very disturbing. Why look for evidence just to ignore it?

My reader thought that those 59% were in trouble, but I responded that we are all in trouble. When more than a majority hold any particular opinion, it is so easy for that to become policy. Cowardly politicians, primarily interested in job security, will go along with any crazy idea.

This phenomenon is not limited to homeopathy or alternative medicine. When I looked through articles on the Post Truth Culture and ignored those that spin the erroneous notion that it began with the Trump presidency, I found this interesting opinion piece arguing that the source lies in the ideas of individual freedom and the trend toward personalizing every experience: especially things like clothing, entertainment and tattoos.

“If you take this culture of hyper-individualism to its extreme, one might come to believe that we have the right to believe whatever we want, to – even if those beliefs are immediately provably untrue… Freedom to believe in one's own, individual universe; freedom to pick and choose facts, and discard those that are disagreeable.”

So we continue to see headlines like this one from last month: “Kindergarten Vax Exemption Rates Up – Again.” The science doesn't matter when people can personalize reality.

Likewise in politics, some recent research shows that “party identification bests ideological identification. And most people will stick with their party long after they’ve abandoned their ideology.”

Critical thinkers would work out their ideological beliefs first and then support the party or candidate that best fits them. They would begin by deciding where they stand on issues before committing.

“The truth, it seems, is closer to the reverse: We choose our party for a variety of reasons – chief among them being the preferences of our family members, core groups, and community – and then we sign on to their platforms.” 

What’s even scarier than this total disregard for information and facts by vast numbers of people is that it takes only a few people, not close to a majority, or a few incidents to incite calls for new laws or even mob action.

In one example, in response to the death of an Indiana woman from strangulation by her pet boa constrictor, the Humane Society of the United States called for legislative action. The news item tells, “at least eighteen people have died from large constrictor snake related incidents in the United States since 1978 – 13 of those since 1990. If less than one death every two years calls for a new law, what of the 350 children who drown in swimming pools each year? 

Another is the legal battle between Oberlin College and a local bakery featured on CBS Sunday Morning. A shoplifting incident by an African American student led to protests and accusations of discrimination and white supremacy, resulting in a substantial loss of business for a local family-owned store. All it took was a few activists using social media to spread a slanted story.

There are so many other examples where a minor action, incident or comment gets people up in arms, demanding changes, revenge or satisfaction, often based not on the facts or intention, but on the firm beliefs of the group. No amount or logic, reason or science will persuade them to change their minds.

Can You Trust Your Pharmacy?

A recurring comment in the script of an episode of an old TV Western (Maverick, 1958) was the line, “If you can’t trust your banker, who can you trust?” The modern day equivalent of that could well be, “If you can’t trust your pharmacy?” This is nothing against the pharmacists, who studied hard to be licensed. There is no evidence of them not giving accurate advice. The displays in the store itself along with some other corporate and industry practices, on the other hand, can and do imply things that aren’t true. Two recent news items act as a good reminder.

The first is about an on-line survey of 1000 Americans published in August, sponsored by the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and conducted by Lake Research Partners. The survey centered on people’s general trust in their pharmacy at Wal-Mart and CVS, and more specifically their feelings regarding homeopathic medicines at those pharmacies.

They chose these pharmacies because both corporations face a lawsuit over their practice of selling homeopathic medicine side by side with science-based remedies. CFI believes it is deceptive to imply that they are as effective as regular OTC cough, cold and other remedies, when they have “no medical benefits beyond that of a placebo.”

There is, in fact, broad agreement on this point. “After a thorough and extensive review of over 200 research papers on the subject, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) [of Australia concluded in 2015]:  “There are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective.” (For a thorough explanation of homeopathic medicines click the link.)

That survey of Wal-Mart and CVS customers asked them about how they make their purchasing decisions for cough, cold, and flu remedies at the two stores “and about their general knowledge of the basic principles of homeopathy, an 18th-century pseudoscience that has been utterly disproven.” The survey showed that exposure to this new information about the failures of homeopathy in so many independent studies led consumers to have to negative feelings about the products and the companies selling them. More than 4 in 10, “described their feelings about the purchase of a homeopathic remedy in deeply negative” terms.

Remember, one of the companies, CVS, still talks about how proud they are of the decision to discontinue tobacco products five years ago and believe it shows their concern about the health of their customers. Tobacco sales were profitable, but ultimately stood in the way of them being considered “a trusted health care provider.” According to their CEO, they strive to be in the same class of business values as TOMS shoes (which donates shoes to African countries providing unfair competition to African small businesses trying to survive by selling shoes – but that kind of unintended consequence is a topic for a different time). If they value their reputation for being a healthcare resource, one would think they would be as concerned about the accurate representation of their products.

But if you can’t trust your pharmacy about the product displays, what about the prices?

That leads to the second news item. A lawsuit filed in August by PharmacyChecker.com accuses “The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), LegitScript, and three Pharma front groups [of] operating a coordinated campaign to suppress market competition, artificially inflate the price of prescription drugs, and spread misinformation to scare consumers away from international online pharmacies.” 

PharmacyChecker.com verifies the reliability of international online pharmacies and compares their drug prices to allow consumers to be confident about their on-line purchases and to inject competition into the prescription drug market. They allege in the lawsuit that those organizations have conspired with Google, Microsoft and others to lower their page on search results and in some cases to display a warning box when the page is opened.

Companies and industries do many things to protect their business and to make a profit. Consumers have to do many things to protect themselves. Mostly it involves research and critical thinking, especially when health and healthcare costs are concerned.

Sound Familiar?

It’s interesting how a little critical thinking can anticipate events.  Here is a list of just a few recent news items that looked so familiar in light of my entries on this site over the last six years.

Driverless vehicles:  Almost 4 years ago I asked the question, “What could lie ahead in the case of self-driving cars?”  I suggested driverless 18-wheelers moving freight from warehouses to stores, trash trucks with automatic lifts to both collect and drive the route, a robot to deliver mail from an autonomous vehicle sorting and filling the boxes, taxis with a touchpad to enter destination but no driver and even safer school buses with CCTV to take attendance and keep an eye on the children.

Today we have heard much about testing driverless trucks.  This Guardian article tells us the UK government has approved trials of convoys of semi-automated trucks on their highways.  “Up to three wirelessly connected HGVs will travel in convoy, with acceleration, braking and steering controlled by the lead vehicle, a concept named platooning.”

At the same time that Uber is testing self-driving taxis, in Ann Arbor, MI “Domino’s and Ford are teaming up to see if customers will warm to the idea of pizza delivered by driverless cars.”  It’s all coming true and probably faster than expected.

On another subject:  Many Americans look to our neighbors to the north to set the example for medical care, but recently Manitoba, “the only remaining Canadian province that covers a portion of chiropractic care” has reduced the per visit insurance by about 30 percent and it covers only the manipulation.  This according to Dynamic Chiropractic.

Only a few weeks ago I warned about the dangers and possibilities of fraud concerning chiropractic services.  Apparently most Canadian provinces address these issues by refusing to pay for any of it, letting citizens pay their money and take their chances.

Low-fat diets:  A new analysis presented at the European Society of Cardiology spanning more than a decade and considering 135,000 adult subjects from five continents reveals flaws in government dietary guidelines around the world.  “The ongoing Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) project has found both saturated and unsaturated fat intake linked to better heart health, that a high-carb diet is a better predictor of health risks than fat consumption, and that the health benefits of fruit, vegetables, and legumes like beans and chickpeas may plateau at three to four servings per day.

  

The dispute about the dangers of eating fat has been going on for almost 60 years.  Unfortunately, the political side crowded out the science.  As I put it earlier this year, "With virtually no evidence that eating less fat had any health benefits, [the authorities] assumed that 'if a cholesterol-lowering drug could prevent heart attacks, then a low-fat, cholesterol-lowering diet should do the same.'  But the research and the experience over many years could not confirm this conclusion."

On the subject of homeopathy:  Recently, a couple of negative articles arrived at my desk on this subject.  One listed almost fifty warning letters sent by the FDA to makers of homeopathic products over the last 10 years.  “Nearly all ordered the seller to stop claiming that products could effectively treat specific diseases or conditions. Some ordered the seller to stop claiming that products were vaccine equivalents. A few involved the failure to use good manufacturing practices.”

The second revealed that the Russian Academy of Sciences “has become the latest body to declare homeopathy has ‘no scientific basis’ and endangers people who believe it to be effective.”  I came to pretty much the same conclusion two and a half years ago in “Homeopathy – Does It Really Work?”

I’m sure there are at least several more, but these are the ones that stood out in my mind or happened to catch my attention.  Seeing some of the trends before they become broadly accepted requires only that one pay attention and try to stay strong in the five key dimensions.

Real Medicine

There is no such thing as alternative medicine.  There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t. (Paraphrased from Dr. Harriet Hall’s excellent lecture series on YouTube.)

 I’m reminded of this wisdom when I hear news like this from NBC. “Complementary therapies may sound good, but they don't cure cancer.” Last Thursday researchers published the results of a study showing that “cancer patients who choose alternative medicine over standard, proven cancer treatments are more likely to die.”

The practice of using herbs or meditation is fairly common among cancer patients and may make them feel better and more at ease; but it does nothing to cure the cancer. People who rely solely on complementary medicines are more likely to opt out of proven treatments and twice as likely to die from the cancer.

The study also found that those who relied on alternative cures tended to be younger women with more education and more money. This is an exception to data showing that the poor generally have worse outcomes. It is only natural to look for a gentler, less intrusive solution, but better-informed people should know that doctors and the FDA “have warned for years that unproven treatments may lure patients away from legitimate therapy that can save their lives.”

That last sentence is interesting in light of another recent piece of medical news. “The Center for Inquiry has filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia on behalf of the general public against drug retailer CVS for consumer fraud over its sale and marketing of useless homeopathic medicines.” Their objection is that CVS sells homeopathic products side by side with scientifically proven medicines, leading customers to believe that the products are as effective as standard remedies for pain, insomnia, and cold/flu symptoms.

The Center for Inquiry (CFI) characterizes homeopathy as “a total sham” and explains their reasoning. Of course, they are a skeptical group, and this opinion would be expected. However, the experts come down on their side. “The FTC declared in 2016 that the marketing of homeopathic products for specific diseases and symptoms is only acceptable if consumers are told: ‘(1) there is no scientific evidence that the product works and (2) the product’s claims are based only on theories of homeopathy from the 1700s that are not accepted by most modern medical experts.’ And last year, the FDA announced a new...policy of regulatory action against homeopathic products.” (It's only the CAM lobby that deflects stronger action.)

 Isn’t this CVS that seems to endorse homeopathy as legitimate medicine the same CVS that made headlines a few years ago by refusing to sell tobacco products, because they cared so much about our health?

That’s right. And now they are trying to take credit for a 1% decrease in the number of packs of cigarettes sold in 13 key states where they do business. But critics of the CVS claim see it a little differently and don’t think CVS should get much credit for the improvement.

With such a small percentage of the market, most analysts don’t believe the CVS claim that smokers made the switch from cigarettes to “mostly ineffective nicotine patches and quit smoking. [It] only illustrates how little the company knows about the difficulty of quitting." With so many smokers trying to quit anyway, it’s hard to believe the CVS decision had much influence.

CVS counters that their studies show an impact on public health. Also, a spokeswoman adds that the company is trying to drive impulse buying away from the traditional junk food by “placing healthier foods – such as yogurt and fresh fruit – in key locations in the front of the store.” But they still place homeopathic products under signs that imply real curative power when CFI, the FTC and the FDA see a problem with that.

CVS and many others try to convince us that they are really interested in our health while they sell ineffective homeopathic products, dietary supplements and "alternative" medicines.  I wouldn’t trust them with my health decisions, but I’m a critical thinker.

More Easy Resolutions for 2017

Last time I got through the first three of seven science and health myths that need to go.  The source story argued that researchers have shown them to be false so often that it’s time to pull the plug and stop believing them.  This provides a great opportunity to make a few constructive and very doable New Year’s resolutions.  Since most of the effort would be to stop believing and acting like you believe in these debunked ideas, success should come easily.

Last time I covered the myths about how you can’t depend only on exercise for weight loss, misunderstanding about global warming and antibiotic abuse.  The remaining four concern: will power, dangers of GMOs, homeopathy and something called power posing. 

Beginning with will power, “psychologists are increasingly finding that willpower alone is an ineffective strategy.” They say it’s not something you develop or practice; it’s something you either have to some degree or not.  That seems like a formula to let most of us off the hook for a lack of self-control in the face of temptation. It could explain why most resolutions fail.

The authors really draw no conclusion in the article except to imply that we have been expecting too much by asking people to control their diets (among other things).  But one solution is to work on the environment.  Eat more meals at home and don’t have the junk food and salty snacks available, then the will power is needed only at the grocery store – or have someone else shop for you.  That might work.  Although to completely give up on will power seems a little fatalistic.

The next myth declares GMOs are harmful to humans.  Not so.  “Earlier this year National Academy of Sciences released a sweeping report on GM crops that should’ve put these fears to rest. It was an independent look at all the evidence to date, and it found, much as past reports have, that GM crops are just as safe to eat as their conventional counterparts.”

There is a lot of fear mongering going on in the press and by certain advertisers playing on this misunderstanding.  The evidence is clear, but people continue to spend more money than necessary for groceries, while less fortunate people in other countries are starve because their governments endorse this myth and ban GMO crops.

The next myth is that “Homeopathy is a real medical treatment.”  This is an easy one.  Stop throwing away money on false cures.  For a more in-depth treatment of this subject including the history and fallacies behind the theory, see this youtube video.

 “‘Power posing’ will make you act powerful” comes as the final myth.  The notion arose from a 2010 study conducted at Columbia University reporting that making yourself look big by stretching out made you feel more powerful and take greater risks.  They actually measured higher levels of the hormone testosterone in some of the participants.

Unfortunately, follow-up studies with larger sample sizes failed to replicate these findings.  Last year one of the researchers from the original project team withdrew her support, conceding that the effects they detected were not real.

In summary, maybe I will resolve in 2017 to not use power posing as a shortcut to feeling more powerful.  I will not spend a penny on homeopathic medicine and will eat GMO products with reckless abandon.  I can do all these without depending on will power.  In fact it will take about as much will power as my usual sacrifice of giving up spinach for lent!  Happy New Year.