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