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Pharmacists 'break ethical code' on homeopathy

24-Jul-08

UK pharmacists are breaking their own ethical code on a daily basis when selling homeopathic medicines, a leading expert in complementary medicine has warned.

The ethical code states that pharmacists who sell homeopathic remedies, herbal medicines or other complementary therapies, must assist patients in making informed decisions by providing them with the necessary information.

But in an open letter to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, Devon, criticises high street pharmacists for selling homeopathic remedies without informing customers that they contain no biologically active agents and are no more effective than sugar pills.

In the letter, Professor Ernst says that ‘customers are frequently misinformed by promotional material available in UK pharmacies and verbal advice given by pharmacists. Thus pharmacists breach their own mandatory ethical code on a daily basis’.

Professor Ernst calls for ‘urgent action’ to make sure that the ethical standards are followed by high street chemists.

sanjay.tanday@haymarket.com

Royal Pharmaceutical Society 2008

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Stephen Gordon

24/07/2008

Your readers may have noticed Prof. Ernst likes publicity and cannot go a week without seeing his name in the papers. He speaks as if his personal opinion on homeopathic medicines is somehow the truth which it is not. The evidence base for homeopathy and the medicines used is actually better than for a large number of conventional interventions offered daily in the NHS. Furthermore the majority of homeopathic medicines are sold without indications due to tight regulations set by the MHRA.

Ethically pharmacists would do their patients far more good by advising them on all the side effects of the conventional medicines they dispense and sell and on the ineffectiveness of medicines such as anti-biotics for viral infections which NICE has confirmed yet again are mis-prescribed millions of times a year and are the root cause of superbugs.

dean dorsett

24/07/2008

Must comment on the usual very... scientific approach to criticising the critiques of homeopathy... you'll find that religion does the same...

1. attack the messenger ... "Your readers may have noticed Prof. Ernst likes publicity and cannot go a week without seeing his name in the papers. "

2. Speak in absolute terms about "truth" and criticise the straw in others eyes while ignoring the plank in ours... "He speaks as if his personal opinion on homeopathic medicines is somehow the truth which it is not." As far as I know all the objective research seems to back the prof and and not the fundamentalist opinions and beliefs of the homeopath

3. Make broad sweeping faith based statements without the need to be objective... "The evidence base for homeopathy and the medicines used is actually better than for a large number of conventional interventions offered daily in the NHS." Altough I disagree I feel that these poorly evidenced conventional interventions should be stopped as opposed to asking the NHS budget to pay for more rubbish

4. Make unevidenced claims that since no one can prove or disprove, the audience accepts as gospel... "Furthermore the majority of homeopathic medicines are sold without indications due to tight regulations set by the MHRA." In an unregulated industry where a former Serb leader can heal the sick, chinese herbalist can sell horse manure for cancer and Holland and Barret checkout teenagers can give advice on medicine after a 30 second assesment can we really make the above claims

5. Make emotive arguments attacking opponents rather than evidenced defence on your own shakey position... " Ethically pharmacists would do their patients far more good by advising them on all the side effects of the conventional medicines they dispense and sell and on the ineffectiveness of medicines such as anti-biotics for viral infections which NICE has confirmed yet again are mis-prescribed millions of times a year and are the root cause of superbugs"... what does this issue have to do with homeopathy

.... Holy Water Anyone???

David Colquhoun

25/07/2008

Not only do many pharmacists give unethical advice, but they are aided and abetted in doing so by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, as described at http://dcscience.net/?p=233

I'm afraid Stephen Gordon just can't, or won't, accept the evidence. I suppose that is hardly surprising since to believe the evidence would cost him his living (he seems to have quite forgotten to mention that he is a homeopath in private practice.

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