Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
This is actually the second adjudication [1] in two weeks that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled on against Homeopathy UK (H-UK, formerly the British Homeopathic Association, BHA). The complaint (which I submitted to the ASA in September 2020) described in the article relates to the Conditions Directory [2] on H-UK's own website. This lists a menu of ailments that homeopathy is implausibly suggested to help - minus the named conditions that the ASA told them to remove. There are still plenty of serious conditions listed including Crohn's, eczema, lupus and postnatal depression.
A separate, earlier complaint, brought by the Good Thinking Society [3], was ruled on and published on 5 May 2021 [4]. That adjudication referred to Liverpool Homeopathy, a clinic run by H-UK, which was found to have made similarly unwarranted claims about homeopathy and a variety of medical conditions - "People in the UK have been using it to successfully help with migraine, anxiety, chronic pain, woman’s [sic] health issues, depression, eczema, chronic fatigue, asthma, IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, and many other conditions."
Re: Homeopathy UK told to take down articles saying remedies can help depression and asthma
Dear Editor
This is actually the second adjudication [1] in two weeks that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled on against Homeopathy UK (H-UK, formerly the British Homeopathic Association, BHA). The complaint (which I submitted to the ASA in September 2020) described in the article relates to the Conditions Directory [2] on H-UK's own website. This lists a menu of ailments that homeopathy is implausibly suggested to help - minus the named conditions that the ASA told them to remove. There are still plenty of serious conditions listed including Crohn's, eczema, lupus and postnatal depression.
A separate, earlier complaint, brought by the Good Thinking Society [3], was ruled on and published on 5 May 2021 [4]. That adjudication referred to Liverpool Homeopathy, a clinic run by H-UK, which was found to have made similarly unwarranted claims about homeopathy and a variety of medical conditions - "People in the UK have been using it to successfully help with migraine, anxiety, chronic pain, woman’s [sic] health issues, depression, eczema, chronic fatigue, asthma, IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, and many other conditions."
Jo Brodie, Blackheath
[1] ASA Ruling on Homeopathy UK - Advertising Standards Authority (19 May 2021) - https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/homeopathy-uk-a20-1078950-homeopathy-uk.html
[2] Conditions Directory - Homeopathy UK https://homeopathy-uk.org/homeopathy/how-homeopathy-helps/conditions
[3] Good Thinking Society - https://goodthinkingsociety.org/
[4] ASA Ruling on Homeopathy UK - Advertising Standards Authority (5 May 2021) - https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/homeopathy-uk-a20-1077604-homeopathy-uk.html
Competing interests: I submitted a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority which resulted in the adjudication described in the article.