Letter sent to The Guardian - 22nd October 2007
Letter to the Editor The Guardian Sir, Re: Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column ‘Threats – the homeopathic panacea’ We refer to Mr Goldacre's column entitled "Threats – the homeopathic panacea" in Saturday's Guardian (20th October 2007). The Society of Homeopaths took the content of the 2006 BBC Newsnight programme on malaria very seriously and responded via press statements and media interviews promising action if it were required. We contacted the programme makers directly to ask for their evidence that any Society members had given dangerous or misleading advice to members of the public. They were unable to provide a single example. The Society’s professional conduct procedures cannot be invoked without a specific complaint, an alleged offender or any evidence. In these circumstances, The Society was unable to investigate a specific case. Nevertheless, as a further precaution, we reissued our Guidelines on advice for the prevention of malaria and sent a copy to every member within a day of the programme being aired. The Society instructed lawyers to write to the Internet Service Provider of Dr. Lewis’ website because the content of his site was not merely critical but defamatory of The Society, with the effect that its reputation could have been lowered. Dr Lewis, in his article, stated as fact highly offensive comments about The Society and it is for that reason that The Society decided it had no option but to take action. The very crude abuse posted on various websites and e-mailed to The Society since our action suggests that these bloggers/authors are not people who are interested in a real debate on the basis of either science or the public good but who simply want to attack homeopathy, for the very sake of it. Due to the unpleasantness and surprisingly vitriolic nature of the postings on the Quackometer website and others, The Society has taken a
conscious decision not to respond to these bloggers. Ben Goldacre’s further assertion that The Society avoids real debate about the efficacy of homeopathy is also inaccurate. The Society has a long track record of engaging with governmental and other bodies, such as giving evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science & Technology’s Inquiry into complementary and alternative medicine. During the course of that Inquiry, The Society was cited as a model of best practice in voluntary self-regulation. The Society also participated in the Science & Technology Inquiry into Allergies (2007) and is a founding member of the European Council of Classical Homeopathy, which is an active member of the Brussels-based European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), a Corresponding Member of the European Coalition for Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medical Products (ECHAMP)~ and has NGO Participatory Status with the Council of Europe. During the last 30 years, The Society has been working to create a robust system of voluntary self-regulation for homeopathy, establishing professional-level training standards (both private colleges and university degree courses) and a culture of research and critical reflection on practice. In that time, we have heavily invested our members’ money and their time to create a responsible homeopathic profession. We always recommend that members of the public seek a qualified, registered and insured practitioner and we take our own responsibilities in this field very seriously. Andy Kirk Chair The Society of Homeopaths