Baum: Serious problem raised
Friday, 16 Nov 2007 13:11
The promotion of homeopathy as a potential treatment for HIV/Aids poses a "serious problem", an academic has warned.
Professor Michael Baum of University College London is a well-established anti-homeopathy campaigner who has a track record of criticising the therapy.
He was among those who wrote to all primary care trusts in the UK in May expressing their concerns about the NHS' use of the treatment and, with the Society for Homeopaths' symposium coming up on December 1st, he has spoken out yet again.
“Although many herbal medicines are unproven, they, unlike homoeopathic remedies, have scientific plausibility," Prof Baum writes.
He says it would be "unethical and patronising" to prioritise placebos for their own sake and believes it is wrong to encourage the mistaken link between homeopathy and herbal medicine.
"People say homoeopathy cannot do any harm but when it is being promoted for HIV then there is a serious problem."
