Doctors call for total NHS ban on homoeopathy
BMA conference tables seven motions against public funding of 200-year-old 'unscientific' practice
英國醫學協會會議提出7項議案，針對公眾資金放在二百年歷史的'不科學'實踐
By Nina Lakhani
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Helen Llewelyn suffered from chronic physical pain and depression as a result of endometriosis which conventional medicine, including surgery, failed to help
海倫利威林因患有子宮內膜異位症而有慢性身體疼痛和抑鬱症，傳統藥物，包括手術，未能帶來空幫助
Doctors will this week call for a total ban on all homoeopathic treatment on the NHS.
醫生將在本週呼籲全面禁止所有在國民保健服務的順勢療法治療。
Hundreds of delegates to the British Medical Association's conference are expected to support seven motions all opposed to the use of public money to pay for remedies which they claim are, at best, scientifically unproven and, at worst, ineffective.
對於英國醫學協會會議的數百名代表預計將支持7項議案，全都是反對使用公帑來支付補救措施，那他們宣稱，充其量，是科學地證明不來和，最壞的，是無效的。
Critics of the 200-year-old practice also want junior doctors to be exempt from working at homoeopathic hospitals because it goes against the principles of evidence-based medicine. Sugar pills and placebos have no place in a modern health service, they say, especially as the NHS must find £20bn in savings over the next few years.
二百年歷史的實踐的批評亦要豁免初級醫生在順勢療法的醫院工作，因為它違背循證醫學的原則。糖丸和安慰劑在現代醫療服務是沒有地位的，他們說，尤其是當國民保健服務必須在未來數年找到200億英鎊的儲蓄。
But supporters claim homoeopathy helps thousands of patients with chronic conditions such as ME, asthma, migraine and depression who have not responded to conventional medical treatments. The British Homoeopathic Association (BHA) points out that less than 0.01 per cent of the massive NHS drug bill is spent on homoeopathic tinctures and pills.
但支持者聲稱順勢療法幫助成千上萬的慢性疾病患者，如耳炎、哮喘、偏頭痛和抑鬱，那些對傳統醫學治療沒有反應的病。英國順勢療法協會（BHA）指出，大規模國民保健藥物的 帳單少於0.01%是用於順勢療法的酊劑和藥丸。
Nevertheless, the conference will also hear calls for homoeopathic remedies to be banned from chemists unless they are clearly labelled as placebos rather than medicines. The over-the-counter market is worth around £40m a year, and rising, according to Mintel, the consumer research organisation.
The increasingly vocal dissent follows a report from MPs on the influential science and technology select committee earlier this year, which also urged the NHS to cease funding homoeopathic treatments due to a clear absence of scientific proof about its efficacy. The MPs criticised current licensing and labelling regulations which "lend a spurious medical legitimacy" to homoeopathic products which are no more than sugar pills.
But supporters of homoeopathy are passionate and are unlikely to take this lying down.
David Tredinnick, the Tory MP and outspoken supporter of complementary therapies, tabled an early day motion last week calling on the Government to reject calls for a centrally driven ban and instead allow local services and clinicians to continue making decisions. A protest will take place outside the BMA conference in Brighton on Tuesday.
Homoeopathy works on the principle of "like cures like", so patients are treated with diluted substances that would cause the same symptoms in a healthy person. More than 55,000 NHS patients are seen through four homoeopathic hospitals every year, while thousands more are treated by dually trained GPs. This costs the NHS an estimated £10m, a tiny fraction of the overall £80bn health budget. But this is too much for some.
Dr Gordon Lehany, a psychiatrist and chair of the BMA's Scottish junior doctors committee, who has proposed one of the motions calling for the ban, said it was wrong to spend even a few million pounds of public money on useless homoeopathic treatments when new cancer drugs were being rejected on the grounds of cost. He said: "We're not saying homoeopathy shouldn't happen, just that it should not be funded on the NHS. While placebos can work, they are not medicines, there is no active ingredient, and so if people want to access these expensive sugar tablets, they have to find the money themselves."
Cristal Sumner, the BHA's chief executive, said: "While we are in the grip of new financial austerity measures, the BMA is launching an attack on a field of treatment that helps thousands of people in a cost-effective way. Patients have been able to access homoeopathy on the NHS since its inception. It is an important treatment choice for both patients and doctors."
病人：'它救了我的生命，那不是有料到嗎？'
The patient: 'It saved my life. Isn't that worth something?'
Helen Llewelyn, 31, from Haringey, north London, suffered from chronic physical pain and depression as a result of endometriosis which conventional medicine, including surgery, failed to help. She was referred to the Royal London Homoeopathic hospital in 2007.
"My homoeopathic treatment includes two medicines for physical pain and one for my mental state. I saw a homoeopathist three times and it worked. I come from a very scientific background; I'm certainly not someone drawn naturally to homoeopathy. I didn't think the medicines would work but they did. I thought anti-depressants would work but they didn't. So I don't put a lot of merit on the placebo argument. To say that funding for homoeopathy on the NHS is a waste is extremely short-sighted. It will save thousands on useless medicines. More importantly, it saved my life. Isn't that worth something? I would still be clinically depressed otherwise. It made me much more productive in society."
Pavan Amara
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/doctors-call-for-total-nhs-ban-on-homoeopathy-2011735.html
10萬美國人每年死於處方藥 而製藥公司致富
100,000 Americans Die Each Year from Prescription Drugs, While Pharma Companies Get Rich
Prescription drugs taken as directed kill 100,000 Americans a year. That's one person every five minutes. How did we get here?
依指示服用的處方藥物一年殺死 10萬美國人，那是每5分鐘一條人命。我們怎會落得如此地步？
June 25, 2010
How many people do you know who regularly use a prescription medication? If your social group is like most Americans', the answer is most. Sixty-five percent of the country takes a prescription drug these days. In 2005 alone, we spent $250 billion on them......
http://www.alternet.org/health/147318/100%2C000_americans_die_each_year_from_prescription_drugs%2C_while_pharma_companies_get_rich/
簡訊：英國報告指順勢療法無效
維他命、礦物質、氨基酸或草藥都是零死亡
給世界的36項預測：2010至2012年
健康自由的戰爭興起，目標在原奶、順勢療法、草藥和補充藥品
#25 - War on health freedom ramps up, targeting raw milk, homeopathy, herbs and supplements
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