Letter

WMA should not retreat on use of placebos

BMJ 2002; 324 doi: 10.1136/bmj.324.7331.240 (Published 26 January 2002)
Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:240.1

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  1. Martin Bland, professor of medical statistics (mbland@sghms.ac.uk)
  1. St George's Hospital Medical School, London SW17 0RE

    EDITOR—I do not think that patients should remain untreated when a proved effective treatment is available, and I was pleased by the new clause 29 in the revised Declaration of Helsinki. I am dismayed that the World Medical Association is retreating from this position.1

    The association's first condition for the use of placebo in research trials to be ethically acceptable—“Where for compelling and scientifically sound methodological reasons its …

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