Homeopathy conference at Oxford college ‘promotes quackery’

Charity says Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford is ‘naive’ to hire out its premises for event

Published on
February 28, 2017
Last updated
March 27, 2017
Jack Grove
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Source: Alamy
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Reader's comments (24)

#1 Submitted by Brigette on February 28, 2017 - 2:03pm
I would hope that the event proceeds as planned. Students should be exposed to other health care options, then make up their own minds regarding their value, or not.
#2 Submitted by ReallyGoodMedicine on February 28, 2017 - 8:57pm
Of course, students should be given the opportunity to learn about one of the world's safest and most effective systems of medicine -- homeopathy. They should be able to make their own decisions about it free of the influence of those who don't understand it, have never used it and never studied it. I'm quite sure that they will be impressed by the fact that there are 25,000 volumes of cured case records supporting it. They will also be interested to know that it's been used by hundreds of millions of people around the world for more than 200 years and has an overwhelming safety record. Anyone who would like to see hundreds of contemporary case records of cures of chronic diseases from type 2 diabetes to Grave's disease to addiction to prescription drugs can find them by googling "homeopathy cured cases". These records are documented with photographs, CT scan, x-rays, blood work, histopathological reports and more results from objective tests plus comments by both treating physicians and patients.
#3 Submitted by Unifex on February 28, 2017 - 6:39pm
@Brigette, I'm guessing you didn't read all the way to the end. “This is an all-ticket, closed shop, back-slapping exercise – this event is not about open debate,” he said. The students wouldn't be exposed to this. Also, the "value" of homeopathy is very well known in scientific circles. It doesn't work. Would you equally support classes (where the sort of exposure you're talking about *would* occur) on bloodletting to balance the humors or trepanation to let the demons out?
#4 Submitted by T500 on March 1, 2017 - 9:17pm
"Also, the "value" of homeopathy is very well known in scientific circles. It doesn't work. " Fallacy of false consesus (or James Randi fallacy). Some scientists can reject homeopathy based on prejudice, not on real data. Some examples of scientific research of homeopthy around the world: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043466617300236 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043466617300042 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0344033816306239 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16125589 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26988436 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27515878 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28163953 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26210222 www.nature.com/ijir/journal/v26/n1/full/ijir201312a.html www.journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1559325815626685 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16889990 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24030446 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23622259 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20599845 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16293983 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26369009 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20558607 www.journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118440 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1475491615000090 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229916302771 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167732215312277 www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368378.2015.1036072 www.link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40031-013-0035-2 www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.24717/abstract www.journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166340 www.journals.lww.com/neuroreport/Abstract/2001/02120/Neuroprotection_from_glutamate_toxicity_with.31.aspx www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043466616304690 www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01448765.2014.960451?src=recsys&journalCode=tbah www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834714 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19371564
#5 Submitted by Unifex on March 1, 2017 - 11:07pm
And despite this list the evidence showing homeopathy doesn't work beyond a similarly administered placebo far far outweighs it.
#6 Submitted by T500 on March 2, 2017 - 2:32am
This list of evidence show physico chemical and biological differences between plain water and potentized solutions. Two papers clearly show the fraud of "Lancet paper". Four recently double blind randomized controlled trials show a specific effect over placebo. Gold "Unifezzzz"... similar attacks from Monsanto CSICOP trolls science 1995. http://gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/17462-folta-troll-attacks-gmwatch
#7 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:41pm
"This list of evidence..." ...still doesn't overturn the massive pile of evidence that disagrees with it. You are cherry picking.
#8 Submitted by Unifex on February 28, 2017 - 11:57pm
Perhaps they should offer a number of free tickets to Oxford to give to their medical students and lecturers. Add some "balance" to the discussion...
#9 Submitted by DanaUllman on March 1, 2017 - 1:58pm
It is remarkable and sadly typical that this reporter only chose to interview extreme skeptics of homeopathy rather than a more diverse group of interested parties. It is interesting that this reporter ignored the fact that the World Health Organization has deemed France to have the best health care in the world and yet, according to a new survey published in FAMILY PRACTICE, 95% of French peditricians, dermatologists, and general practitioners incorporate homeopathic medicines into their practice. (Reference: Piolot M, Fagot JP, Rivière S, Fagot-Campagna A, Debeugny G, Couzigou P, Alla F. Homeopathy in France in 2011-2012 according to reimbursements in the French national health insurance database (SNIIRAM). Fam Pract. 2015 Aug;32(4):442-8. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmv028. Epub 2015 Apr 28. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25921648 Further, despite the repeated lies and misinformation that asserts that there is "no research" confirming the efficacy of homeopathic medicines, there actually have been studies published in many of the best medical journals in the world, including the Lancet, BMJ, Pediatrics, Rheumatology, Cancer, Pediatric Disease Journal, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chest, and many others. One would hope that this publication would work harder to present information more objectively rather than one that is hyper-biased.
#10 Submitted by Descartes on March 1, 2017 - 7:34pm
Hell-th hath no fury like a non-scientist scorned.
#11 Submitted by ... on March 1, 2017 - 4:17pm
"overwhelming safety record" Small amounts of tap water are indeed safe (well except to the wallet).
#12 Submitted by Unifex on March 1, 2017 - 6:58pm
A translation guide from D.Ullman to English: "extreme skeptics of homeopathy": pro-science people "more diverse group of interested parties": people with a vested interest in an anti-science position "fact": Twisted view of reality "FAMILY PRACTICE": shouting make it more real "repeated lies and misinformation": Things Dana is unacquainted with. Hope this helps.
#13 Submitted by Unifex on March 1, 2017 - 11:06pm
Ah nuts. "T500" is here. There goes any possibility of rational conversation. I'll leave their posts to speak for themselves. This commenter is seriously unhinged and just not worth the effort.
#14 Submitted by BFF on March 2, 2017 - 5:00pm
Homeopathy is used by the more educated in the population. It's obvious that doesn't include this writer. There are reams of scientific research backing homeopathy, but just because you choose one or two (and reword the results) does not prove evidence. Please go back to journalism school, Jack.
#15 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:50pm
<blockquote>Homeopathy is used by the more educated in the population. </blockquote> An uncited assertion? Citation needed. <blockquote>It's obvious that doesn't include this writer.</blockquote> Pointless personal attack that adds nothing to the discussion. <blockquote>There are reams of scientific research backing homeopathy,</blockquote> There is an <strong>extremely</strong> small "ream" of good quality research. It is far outweighed by the good quality research that shows it doesn't work. This small pile of research only grows if you loosen the quality requirements of the research to be included. <blockquote> but just because you choose one or two (and reword the results) does not prove evidence.</blockquote> Really? There are many blog posts that clearly demonstrate that the opposite is the case. I'm not saying the pro-science side of this soapbox is perfect, but you should probably look to your own backers before throwing accusations like that around. <blockquote> Please go back to journalism school, Jack.</blockquote> ...and just to show your integrity you close with another personal attack.
#16 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:51pm
note to self: html in posts here is not supported. :)
#17 Submitted by BFF on March 2, 2017 - 5:05pm
Homeopathy is used by the more educated in the population. It's obvious that doesn't include this writer. There are reams of scientific research backing homeopathy, but just because you choose one or two (and reword the results) does not prove evidence. Please go back to journalism school, Jack.
#18 Submitted by BFF on March 2, 2017 - 5:05pm
It seems rather obvious, looking at these rants against homeopathy, that claiming homeopathy is ineffective makes these pseudo-scientists' egos swell. Criticism and ridicule are poor replies.
#19 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:55pm
Anytime you're able to show that the scientific consensus demonstrates that homeopathy works, we'll fight for it. Anytime. Just show us the majority of good quality research backs you position. I can see the conundrum though. The alt-med crowd regularly fight against and vilify actual medicine as a whole. If homeopathy worked, or is later proven to work, it would be incorporated into actual medicine *along with everything else that works*. What would they do then?
#20 Submitted by BFF on March 2, 2017 - 5:32pm
Interesting that the comments keep disappearing. Unifex is obviously astroturfing.
#21 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:56pm
Nope, not me.
#22 Submitted by Jack Grove on March 2, 2017 - 5:40pm
We have had to remove some comments as they contravened our terms and conditions. As evidenced from the above comments, we've allowed different parties to have their say, despite several using them as an opportunity to make unfounded, ad-hominem attacks.
#23 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:58pm
Thanks for making that public Jack. Also, just a note; the reply links on other comments don't appear until you've made at least one comment on the story.
#24 Submitted by Unifex on March 2, 2017 - 6:39pm
"Interesting that the comments keep disappearing. Unifex is obviously astroturfing." Actually, it was pointed out to the THE, by someone else, that some of the comments were defamatory. They apparently agreed.

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