Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

News

Drugs agency grants its first licence to homoeopathic product

BMJ 2009; 338 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2055 (Published 20 May 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2055

Rapid Response:

Homeopathy doesn't do anything, which may be useful

As a clinical pharmacologist, I fully support and applaud all who
state that
homeopathy has the same scientific value as the flat earth theory,
intelligent
design or the moon being made of cheese. Others believe in magical stones,

in chiromancy, in astrology or voodoo, which are also right sometimes, by
chance.
Giving homeopathy credit for any kind of demonstrable efficacy is
ludicrous
and we all know it, after several hundred well-done clinical trials (see
Ben
Goldacre's Bad Science). Acupuncture and traditional chinese medicine are
not
far behind, though since acupuncture and TCM may actually harm the
patient, there is a remote chance they may also do something (1).

On the other hand, a good placebo is an incredibly useful (and
powerful)
therapeutic tool, that should only be used with caution (2). In this
context,
and when there is a need to give something more to a patient than just
good
words, a truly inactive placebo, with little risk of harm, might actually
be
useful, if only to avoid giving more dangerous but still useless drugs.
The
first indication the NHS should consider for homeopathy would be the
common cold, probably acute sinusitis (if it doesn't get better within a
week,
then use antibiotics), insomnia (as effective as benzodiazepines after 2
weeks, and much less addictive), and any number of uselessly overtreated
illnesses. It should be offered in a choice of colours appropriate to the
indication,(3) the content being irrelevant, with clear indications that
this will
not alter the course of the disease, but the patient will feel better,
which is
also one of the aims of the medical art, if not its science.

1) Moore N. Assessing drug safety. Bmj 2005;330(7490):539-40.

2) Moore ND. Placebos in medicine: Pain that is relieved by placebo is not

therefore unreal. Bmj 2005;330(7481):45.

3)Jacobs KW, Nordan FM. Classification of placebo drugs: effect of color.
Percept Mot Skills. 1979 Oct;49(2):367-72.

Competing interests:
I am a trained pharmacologist, and
reject vehemently the use in the
same sentence of homeopathy and
pharmacology

Competing interests: No competing interests

04 June 2009
Nicholas Moore
Clinical pharmacologist
33076 University of Bordeaux