Homeopathic mass overdose

Hundreds of homeopathy sceptics are planning a 'mass overdose' of pills in protest at the continued marketing of the 'useless' medicines by high street chemist Boots.

More than 300 people will each swallow an entire bottle of pills or drink large quantities of homeopathic fluids in order to prove their claim that the medicines are ineffective.

The protest will take place on high streets across the country at 10.23 on January 30.

The group behind the stunt, known as 10.23, has lobbied the NHS to reduce its £4billion annual budget on homeopathic medicines and is now targeting Boots.

The popular chemist boasts large quantities of remedies including arnica, St John's wort, flower remedies and calendula cream.

The system of complementary medicine claims to treat and prevent disease by using greatly diluted forms of herbs and minerals.

It has grown into a multi-million pound industry in the UK, with Prince Charles among its advocates.

But critics say there is little scientific backing for its claims to ease conditions including asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis and depression.

Group 10.23 has accused Boots of profiting from what is an 'unscientific and absurd pseudoscience.'

Martin Robbins, a spokesman for the society, said: 'The remedies themselves may not be directly harmful, but there is a real danger in misleading customers into thinking that homeopathy is somehow equivalent to real medicine.

'Patients may believe that they are treating themselves or their children adequately, and delay seeking appropriate treatment; or they may receive dangerous advice after consulting with homeopaths rather than their GPs.'

He added: 'The 'overdose' is a dramatic way of demonstrating to the public that these remedies have literally nothing in them. If eating an entire box of homeopathic sleeping pills fails to send one person to sleep, then how on Earth can their sale be justified?'

The debate over homeopathic medicine was reignited in October when Boots' professional standards director Paul Bennett told a committee of MPs that there was no medical evidence that homeopathic pills and potions work.

'There is certainly a consumer demand for these products,' he said. 'I have no evidence to suggest they are efficacious.

'It is about consumer choice for us and a large number of our customers believe they are efficacious.'

Mr Bennett made his comments to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which is investigating the scientific evidence behind homeopathy.

This week Mr Bennett defended the chemist's right to sell homeopathic remedies.

'Boots UK is committed to providing our customers with a wide range of healthcare products to suit their individual needs, we know that many people believe in the benefits of complementary medicines and we aim to offer the products we know our customers want,' he said.

'Our pharmacists are trained healthcare professionals and are on hand to offer advice on the safe use of complementary medicines.'

The protests will take place in Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, Southampton and London, with sympathy demonstrations in Australia, Canada and the United States.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1245211/Sceptics-plan-mass-overdose-protest-homeopathic-medicine.html​

I gotta wonder why some people just don't realise that Homeopathy is complete nonsense. You'd think someone eating an entire box of homeopathic tablets with no after effects would make them think... :bang:

 

See - here's the thing topher. Ya'll live in a somewhat free market economy. If people didn't want it, they wouldn't buy it. Vote with your dollar. And all 300 people who eat that whole bottle of pills are voting for the wrong horse with their dollars.

 

Reducing this down to a matter of choice is to misunderstand the issue. This is a matter of ethics and public health.

Let me quote you the relevant bit:

Martin Robbins, a spokesman for the society, said: 'The remedies themselves may not be directly harmful, but there is a real danger in misleading customers into thinking that homeopathy is somehow equivalent to real medicine.

'Patients may believe that they are treating themselves or their children adequately, and delay seeking appropriate treatment; or they may receive dangerous advice after consulting with homeopaths rather than their GPs.'​

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(For the latter point, homeopaths have been known to recommend and prescribe homeopathic 'remedies' for malaria.)

There's two important issues, at least in relation to the UK:
1. The government funding Homeopathy on the NHS.
2. Major companies selling and promoting 'medicines' which does not work.

I don't really support outlawing homeopathy outright; if people want it then that's their right, however I do have a problem with the government funding it and I do have a problem with a major UK pharmaceutical retailer endorsing it, especially when the "professional standards director" of the company admits there is no evidence.

If all that matters is choice why don't we sell voodoo remedies or outright magic. I'm sure people will buy them too.

Do you think it is ethical to offer real medicine alongside pseudoscientific bogus 'medicine' under the pretence that they are equal?

 

Now that's an issue.

 

This.

Perhaps the only homeopathic substance available under subsidies should be sugar tablets. They work wonders with the placebo effects. Make them splenda for diabetics even.

But just because these 'medicines' don't do anything at their recommended doses doesn't mean you aren't going to poison yourself if you take the whole bottle.

 

Mitchell and Webb summed up my feelings on homeopathy perfectly.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0"]That Mitchell and Webb Look: Homeopathic A&E - YouTube[/ame]

 

The dilution levels used in homeopathy means it is impossible that any molecule of the original compound is left. It's nothing more than water or a sugar pill. Homeopathy was invented before we discovered Avogadro's constant, which is when we learnt that you can only dilute a substance so far before none of the original compound remains. D'oh!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWE1tH93G9U"]James Randi explains homeopathy - YouTube[/ame]
http://pauseandconsider.blogspot.com/2008/04/10-reasons-why-homeopathy-is-stupid.html

To illustrate the absurdity of Homeopathy, see point three from the second link:

3. DILUTION DELUSION. It’s well known that Homeopathic Remedies are highly diluted and the theory goes that the more the dilution, the more powerful the solution. So how well diluted are these substances? You’ll notice, if you look at a homeopathic product, that the product (pills or liquid) will have a number followed by a letter. Typically something like 12X or 15C or 5M. This represents the dilution ratios. The process goes as follows (I’ll use anti-histamine as an example diluted to 30C). The homeopath takes 1 drop of histamine (the substance that normally causes an allergy) and drops it into 99 drops of water. He/she then shakes the solution. The solution is now 1 in a hundred (or 1C). The homeopath then takes the mixed solution (1C), takes a drop of that and mixes it again with 99 drops of water making a 2C solution (that is 1 drop in 100x100=10,000 drops of water). The homeopath continues this process 30 times and then ends up with a solution that is 1 drop in 100,00,00,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000! That’s less concentrated than having one drop of histamine in all the Oceans and seas of the world! Some dilutions can be as high as 200C (equivalent to 1 drop in 10^400 that’s 10 with four hundred 0s), there are fewer atoms in the universe than this. Ultimately once you’ve passed your 12th dilution there should be no atoms left of the original histamine in the solution (those with high-school chemistry will refer to Avogadro’s Constant in working this out). You see, homeopathy was invented before the atom was discovered. It was therefore believed that you could carry on diluting a substance and a part of it would still be there. This is of course not so as the solution is just a bunch of discrete molecules in a test-tube!​

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I will laugh if some do die.

 

Well I suppose one of them might accidentally eat too many sugar pills and go into some kind of diabetic shock. Other than that, it's more likely that they'll die by being coincidentally struck by lightning at exactly the same time.

 

From....?

 

Because Homeopathy is so unregulated there could be all sorts of contaminents in them. I wouldn't take a whole bottle of 'em.
Chinese herbal medicine has instances of "remedies" that contain real drugs (Viagra in potency pills for example), heavy metals, pesticides etc.
Obviously homeopathy is different but there's still a risk I would say. Not from the non-existent bee venom (or whatever) but from anything else the homeopath's couldn't be bothered (or weren't required) to remove from their diluting agent.

 

This reminds me of a time when I asked the sales assistant in a Holland & Barratt store for the name of any scientific study that could support the store's claims that echinacea strengthens the immune system. It came as no surprise when she couldn't. I wrote a letter to the company's headquarters asking the same question, and their response was very similar to that of Boots. Something along the lines of "our customers want it, so we sell it." Homeopathic remedy companies make their fortunes on the stupidity of the masses.

I have a genuine Native American dream catcher going for a fiver if anyone is interested? Prevents nightmares and irritable bowel syndrome. Honest.

 

one of them might choke on the remedy and die of asphyxia,too

 

as stated contaminants, you really don't know whats in them lol until you go out buy some chemically break it down and tell me the exact contents I will treat them like any other drug , in other words they are dumb asses for taking bottles of them.

 

I could use that night catcher zandt my bowels have been acting up

 

James Randi frequently downed an entire packet of homeopathic sleeping tablets at his shows with no side-effects.

 

Good on him? As it has been stated they are not controlled by any means what it is in one batch could not be in the next win.

 

Not controlled by any means? I very much doubt that. I don't know exactly what the regulations are on homeopathic medicine, but the FDA must have some kind of jurisdiction over anything that's sold for people to ingest.

It might not be regulated as a medication, but as a dietary suppliment, or even a food, there should still be some sort of regulations. That's why you can't have rat poison mixed in with flour, even though it's not a medicine.

 

It's water in a bottle, granted the bottling process might mess up but then the fact of the matter is that anyone could be in danger regardless of the dosage. As it is the stuff is sold by Boots whom I buy all my drugs and occasionally my lunch from. Hell, I buy bottles of water from them, the odds of them getting me with their own brand homoeopathic remedies (Read: Own brand bottles of water) is pretty slim.

Even the sceptics don't trot out the idea that the water might be contaminated.