Homeopaths in the UK are about to find out what it’s like to be properly regulated….and they don’t like it.
Consolidation of existing regulations by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will come into force in July 2012 despite a vigorous campaign by supporters of homeopathy. While the details of the regulations take a little effort to get your head around, there are a couple of good summaries of the situation, particularly on the UK Parliament website.
Consolidation of the regulations in this way does nothing more dramatic than bring homeopathy products under the same restrictions as other products that make therapeutic claims.
This a big problem for homeopaths because the situation in the UK is that there are only 5 appropriately qualified pharmacies under the regulations which can dispense the four dozen or so formally registered potions that can be legally sold.
All other homeopathic prescribing and supply not involving a face-to-face consultation with a registered homeopath will be unlawful after July 1 2012.
The thousands of unregistered homeopathic preparations that are not included in the regulations (equivalent to our TGA Registered products) will no longer be legal for sale. Even for the handful of legal preparations, supply without a face-to-face consultation will cease. All online sales will be illegal, and even phone ordering will have to cease.
I guess that’s what you call living in a free society. We’ll be burning witches again soon. And they’ll classify my biplane obsolete. Good grief, they may even ground it!!
Not to worry Bigglesworth ol’ chap, the old Sopwith Camel has a flying start on this bio caper, what with its castor oil lubricant and all that, what?
I say, rather good that, wasn’t it, “flying start.” Someone should write that down.
About time homeopaths had the rules and regulations applied to them as all other health care workers.
The homeopathic claims are disingenuous to say the least and could be likened to ‘fool’s gold’.
Now they’ll just have to find a less conniving way to make a living.
It is really sad that in Britain they don’t have money to cover real diseases, and yet they are wasting money on Homeopathic cures – and actually paying for Homeopathic specialists. It is crazy.
This is bassakwards. Instead of adding regulation to homeopathic cures, they should take regulation off health care.
Sorry, but healthcare regulation is protecting people from toxins and unsafe medications. While the FDA has gone overboard at times, who can forget Thalidomide? The FDA’s strictness protected America from that horror (in fact, that is why we were able to identify it, America had very few cases, all of which were from women who had taken Thalidomide for morning sickness while in Eurpoe while Europe was inundated).
Ben – you’ve got it backwards, again. Most medical harm has come not from too little regulation, but too much. The vast majority of injuries from medicines have come from FDA approved medications, later found to be harmful. We’ve now swung so far the other way that perfectly safe medications and treatments are banned by FDA due to a variation of the “precautionary principle”. Healthcare regulation has nothing whatsoever to do with protecting healthcare consumers, and everything to do with protecting high-paying healthcare lobbyists.
I’m not saying that there are not problems, and I agree that the FDA has gone over the edge recently. However, the abolition of all medical regulation is not the answer, and I cited the most visible single event that demonstrated that.
How many tens of thousands of people died of leprosy because of your precious FDA’s ban of Thalidomide?
And how many more would die if all regulations were removed and it became a buyer beware market?
If the average Brit had access to healthcare, homeopaths would be out of business even faster. The problem is that it can take months, sometimes in severe pain, to even be seen by a doctor. So, the “average Joe” turns to a homeopath who can promise today what Joe may not get for months, if ever. The problem is not the homeopath, its the entire broken, rotten National Healthcare System. As Americans are about to discover first hand.
Nonsense
Care to elaborate on that?