Homeopathic Medicine Labels Now Must State Products Do Not Work

[SidDithers]

U.S. trade agency requires products say there is no scientific evidence for effectiveness

Over the counter homeopathic remedies sold in the US will now have to come with a warning that they are based on outdated theories ‘not accepted by most modern medical experts’ and that ‘there is no scientific evidence the product works’. Failure to do so will mean the makers of homeopathic remedies will risk running afoul of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The agency argues that unsupported health claims included in the marketing for some of these remedies are in breach of laws that prohibit deceptive advertising or labelling of over the counter drugs.

The body has released an enforcement policy statement clarifying that homeopathic drugs are not exempt from rules that apply to other health products when it comes to claims of efficacy and should not be treated differently. In order for any claims in adverts or on packaging not to be ‘misleading’ to consumers it should be clearly communicated that they are based on theories developed in the 1700s and that there is a lack of evidence to back them up, the statement says.

It adds that the FTC will ‘carefully scrutinise the net impression of [over the counter] homeopathic advertising or other marketing … to ensure that it adequately conveys the extremely limited nature of the health claim being asserted’.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/homeopathic-medicine-labels-now-must-state-products-do-not-work/?WT.mc_id=SA_TW_HLTH_NEWS






Sid

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[stonecutter357]

2. K&R!

[MADem]

3. I am all for the "placebo effect" but profiting off it

is a lousy thing to do. Maybe this will convince the poor fools that buy into that crap to just stop and go see someone who can actually help them.

[HockeyMom]

7. I buy my "holestilc medicines"

in the produce section not in plastic bottles. A lot tastier too. "Warning! This produce is purely for culinary purposes and not meant for medicinal purposes"?.

Garlic pills? Oh, come on. To quote Andrew Zimmern, "If it looks (and smells) good, EAT IT".

[MADem]

8. Really! I don't understand "turmeric pills" either.

Put it in your FOOOOOOD...with lotsa black pepper!!!! Better than aspirin for aches and pains, too!

[Siwsan]

9. I use turmeric both ways - capsules and in food

Also ginger in both forms. The all over body aches that used to jar me out of a deep sleep are now a thing of the past.

I also use a whole lot of home grown garlic in my cooking and baking. And I use the small cloves like a pill - just peel, bruise and swallow whole.

Drinking organic apple cider vinegar mixed with 100% apple cider has eliminated the acid reflux that sometimes plagued me.

I know a lot of people laugh at non pharmaceutical solutions but the sickest I ever was happened when I was taking prescription drugs.

[MADem]

12. I was raised with what are called "non pharmaceutical" solutions!

They didn't have fancy names like "holistic" or anything like that, it was just the FIRST thing you did if you had an issue.

If your issue wasn't resolved in due time, THEN you went to the doctor for the stronger stuff.

[mopinko]

4. i wonder if cheeto will reverse this.

melania believe is royal jelly or some such thing he "butters" up poor baron with.
does he have any friends in this scam, i wonder?

but basically, thank ja. never ceases to amaze me how new information fails so often to erase old, erroneous information. just weird. says something about us monkeys.

[jmowreader]

16. Why wouldn't he?

Forcing the homeopathic industry to print "this isn't medicine and it doesn't do anything" on their products might cut into their profits a little.

[D23MIURG23]

5. K&R

[Dr Hobbitstein]

6. K&R for science and reason! nt

[Shoonra]

10. Do you remember Avogadro's Number ??

If you can think back to high school chemistry, Avogadro's Number was how much a solution could be diluted before the original substance ceased to exist in it. Essentially it told you that if someone poured a teaspoon of cyanide into the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Cod, you could still go swimming in Bermuda. The Number was estimated early in the 19th century, and Jean Perrin got the 1926 Nobel Prize in physics for proving it exactly several different ways.

The simple fact is that homeopathic dilutions are MUCH greater than Avogandro's Number. This on top of the fact that homeopathic concoctions hardly bother to tell you what the original ingredient was, or what made them think it had any efficacy. The point is that, at that dilution, there really is NOTHING in the bottle except water. A homeopathic dose of cyanide could be swallowed safely. Would-be suicides could be allowed to swallow entire barrels of homeopathic sleeping pills. You could switch labels on homeopathic "remedies" and nobody, not even "homeopathic doctors", would know the difference.

And homeopaths know this. They claim that even though there is no discernible molecule of the original ingredient in the entire bottle, that somehow the water has a "memory" of the ingredient; something that even atomic microscropes cannot detect. IF that were true, then the water has a much stronger memory of every bit of pollution, every bit of pollen or dust, in the air of the room in the which the water was drawn, distilled, poured, opened, etc., it might even have a "memory" of what it mixed with before it was processed in the city reservoir.

Homeopathy started early in the 19th century - at a time when unregulated snake oil remedies, and even the medications used by real physicians, were loaded with dangers and of doubtful worth - so they were comparatively harmless, if ineffective. They are still ineffective, but now it's an age where real medicine can do some good.

[MADem]

13. This will free up a huge chunk of floor space at Whole Paycheck, too! nt

[electron_blue]

11. good!

[bucolic_frolic]

14. I swear by some homeopathic remedies

for colds, flu, sinus congestion, and sharp pain

Doctor recommended and prescribed

They work for me

[Wounded Bear]

18. Mainly because those maladies call for drinking lots of clear liquids...

[eShirl]

20. placebo effect is very real

[mahina]

21. Here's what happened to me. When my son was teething and miserable, a friend gave me a bottle

Of Hyland's teething tablets. I thought: "Hemlock? No Fn way I'm giving that to my baby. Plus, homeopathy is woo nonsense."

One night at about 3 am when he had been screaming bloody murder for one hour more than I could calmly handle, I reached for the woo nonsense, and in seconds, he stopped screaming, stopped crying, stopped drooling and he wasn't hot anymore. I let go of being right and grabbed those pills for every teething episode since, with the same outcome. The crying stopped. He wasn't hot anymore and he wasn't drooling anymore.

I don't know why it works, I'm challenged by it myself, but I promise you it works. It can't be a placebo effect on a little baby.

[mopinko]

25. just sayin, tho- you could have a bias error

in your conclusion. the most common being that we remember the hits, but forget the misses. your brain would conspire to make you forget any times that it didnt work, or didnt work as effectively. that doesnt mean you are lying, it means that your brain would at least try to make that happen.
memory is tricky that way.

[mahina]

31. This is my only experience with any homeopathic remedy.

It's the only product I ever used, and it worked every time I used it.
So, no.

I took all the required basic sciences in college, including physics, biology and chemistry. Had a healthy exposure to philosophy including reasoning, and argumentation.

Your farm looks interesting.

[Johnny2X2X]

35. Pleased send me your credit card numbers

I have a magic tap over my kitchen sink that dispenses your homeopathic medicine with the turn of a knob. For $1000 I'll send you a lifetime supply.

[mahina]

36. Does that make you feel better about yourself?

Since you didn't read what I wrote, here's what happened to me: When my son was teething and miserable, a friend gave me a bottle of Hyland's teething tablets. I thought: "Hemlock? No Fn way I'm giving that to my baby. Plus, homeopathy is woo nonsense."

One night at about 3 am when he had been screaming bloody murder for one hour more than I could calmly handle, I reached for the woo nonsense, and in seconds, he stopped screaming, stopped crying, stopped drooling and he wasn't hot anymore. I let go of being right and grabbed those pills for every teething episode since, with the same outcome. The crying stopped. He wasn't hot anymore and he wasn't drooling anymore.

I don't know why it works, I'm challenged by it myself, but I promise you it works. It can't be a placebo effect on a little baby.

[Silent3]

39. The plural of anecdote is not data. Correlation is not causation.

That this worked one time is not anywhere near enough to overturn the outstanding evidence against homeopathy.

Are you sure that this was actually homeopathic, not an herbal or other natural treatment that actually had some measurable and significant amount of active ingredient?

Couldn't the baby simply have started feeling better coincidentally with the timing of your application? Yes, to you personally that "in seconds" must seem significant, but weighed against all the evidence against homeopathy, coincidence is actually more likely, and it's also far more likely that drops of any sort might have been soothing.

Further, babies certainly can respond to both the emotional states of their parents, and the feeling of being tended to and taken care of. So, yes, a baby can experience the placebo effect.

[etherealtruth]

41. This isn't funny ... babies have died using the very product the poster is lauding

I realize that you were in no way making light of the severe and sometimes deadly effects some of these concoctions can have ... but ...


Teething tablets may be linked to 10 children's deaths, FDA says

(CNN) — Ten deaths of children who used homeopathic teething tablets and 400 adverse events associated with the tablets have been reported to the US Food and Drug Administration, the agency said Wednesday.

The FDA warned caregivers to stop using the products, which parents use to soothe teething babies, and to take their child to a doctor immediately if the child experiences problems.
The agency is investigating the adverse events and the cases involving the deaths, as "the relationship of these deaths to the homeopathic teething products has not yet been determined and is currently under review," according to a statement.

The deaths and adverse events -- including fever, lethargy, vomiting, sleepiness, tremors, shortness of breath, irritability and agitation -- occurred over the past six years.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/12/health/hylands-teething-tablets-discontinued-fda-warning/

[mopinko]

38. well, interesting is def one thing you can say about it. lol

it is actually the coolest, longest running science project of my lifetime, so yeah, that it is.

[etherealtruth]

40. Hyland's teething tablets have been subjected to recalls for

The significant and severe "problems" with this particular product go back a very long time. I am glad your child was not seriously harmed ... but even though she was not, the risk is there and it is significant and I hope other parents research this well and understand the significant risks

"Hyland's Teething Tablets are manufactured to contain a small amount of belladonna, a substance that can cause serious harm at larger doses. For such a product, it is important that the amount of belladonna be carefully controlled. FDA laboratory analysis, however, has found that Hyland's Teething Tablets contain inconsistent amounts of belladonna. In addition, the FDA has received reports of serious adverse events in children taking this product that are consistent with belladonna toxicity. The FDA has also received reports of children who consumed more tablets than recommended, because the containers do not have child resistant caps.
"http://www.parenting.com/article/hylands-teething-tablet-recall

Teething tablets may be linked to 10 children's deaths, FDA says

(CNN) — Ten deaths of children who used homeopathic teething tablets and 400 adverse events associated with the tablets have been reported to the US Food and Drug Administration, the agency said Wednesday.

The FDA warned caregivers to stop using the products, which parents use to soothe teething babies, and to take their child to a doctor immediately if the child experiences problems.
The agency is investigating the adverse events and the cases involving the deaths, as "the relationship of these deaths to the homeopathic teething products has not yet been determined and is currently under review," according to a statement.

The deaths and adverse events -- including fever, lethargy, vomiting, sleepiness, tremors, shortness of breath, irritability and agitation -- occurred over the past six years.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/12/health/hylands-teething-tablets-discontinued-fda-warning/

[progressoid]

44. Hylands teething tables were recalled and they ceased production dues to deaths and adverse effects.

At least ten deaths and 400 "adverse effects" were associated with homeopathic teething tablets and gels — such as flulike symptoms, night terrors, and shortness of breath — between 2010 and 2016.

http://www.parenting.com/article/hylands-teething-tablet-recall

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm523468.htm

[bucolic_frolic]

33. To those with closed minds it is

homepathic onions, pulsatilla, arnica montana

30 years of benefits, no worries, work every time

[mopinko]

23. dont confuse homeopathic w natural or alternative.

eta- or holistic. this isnt about herbal remedies or such. this is about the particular voodoo called homeopathy.

[yallerdawg]

15. Warning: Does not keep doctor away!

[Wolf Frankula]

17. If Like Cures Like

Then the way to cure a fever is to heat the patient, the way to cure blood loss is to bleed the patient, the way to cure hypothermia is to put the patient in a cannery cold room, the way to cure diarrhea is with laxatives, the remedy for snakebite is another bite.

Holistic is halfasstic.

Wolf

[jmowreader]

19. Although this is a necessary and good step, there's one huge problem

The people who are susceptible to believing homeopathy works have been told, repeatedly, that there is NO DAMN WAY IN HELL this could possibly work. (Or you can change "homeopathy" to cars that run on water, Tesla's wireless electrical transmission system, magnetic motors, free energy, Republican economics, or any other popular nonsense you want. It gets you to the same place.) Their response is always the same: it works perfectly but powerful interests are suppressing the knowledge of this new science.

I fear homeopathy will get MORE popular after these labels start appearing; the homeopathy supporters will take them as "proof" there's collusion between Big Pharma and the Corrupt Government.

[HockeyMom]

24. You cannot stop family tradition

I grew up with my first generation Italian American Nana born in 1900. She passed this down to my Mom, her to me, and me to my kids.

Marketing simply saw a business money making scheme for this with the younger generation who did not grow up with it. Those of us who have seen the results of this generation after generation know all about it. Putting labels on a bottle of homeopathic pills is quite frankly a joke to us. We know we can get the same results from spices, herbs, teas, and veggies. Do you want to put warning labels on these also?

As another poster said, it was only when these "Old Wives Remedies" did not work that we went to doctors. Majority of times they DID work. We never had medicine cabinets full of scripts, or 70% of the population on at least one daily medication as we do today.

[loyalsister]

28. The same people who elect to spend money on supplements by the pound

and fill their bookshelfs with books they buy about conspiracy theories on iodine, flouride, vaccines..... All medical science is a hoax until they break a bone.

[jmowreader]

30. Supplements possibly have some value. There really is Vitamin C in a Vitamin C tablet.

Homeopathy is a different story. As I've said before, the only things homeopathic preparations stand even the slightest chance of curing are thirst, BO, dirty dishes, wilting plants, dirty cars, and all the other things the water out of your tap (that doesn't cost ten bucks an ounce) will do just as well.

[loyalsister]

42. Supplements are as far as some will go

And I know my sister takes several everyday to prevent... cancer, migraines, aches and pains, etc... They definitely have value, but a lot of the people same people who are into homeopathy also believe them to be cure-alls.

[RandySF]

22. Good

Now my wife may finally listen before she gets duped again by one of her friends.

[bravenak]

27. You deal with this too? Lord! My mom does it. Gives me grief☠

[bravenak]

26. LOL Haa Haa Haa!

Maybe now I can convince my mother to stop stocking me up with sugar pills or whatever those stupid things are when I get sick.

[Gothmog]

29. This is good news

[NightWatcher]

32. Stay the hell away from my healin crystals or I'll put a hex on your ass.

[Johnny2X2X]

34. Long overdue

You wouldn't believe that some online companies charge for this stuff.

Read this somewhere. Homeopathy is the equivalency of throwing 50 Aspirin into a 20 square mile lake, waiting 4 years, and then coming back when you have a headache to drink some lake water. The human body has zero reaction to dilutions so weak, none.

[petronius]

37. That's a good decision. Adults are free to make their own choices, but they should

at least have access to good data (and no unchallenged falsehoods from a seller) in arriving at those choices...

[backscatter712]

43. Good! Time for some truth in advertising.

If you want to take your expensive magic water or magic sugar pills, knock yourselves out, but don't try to fool anyone into thinking they're anything more than they are - expensive water and sugar pills.

There's nothing in them. Literally.