Tag: Alternative Medicine

When British science author Simon Singh wrote a book questioning the validity of alternative medicine, he was hit with a libel suit by the British Chiropractic Association.  Instead of folding, he fought and won.

Scientifically validated treatments (aka “medicine”) are required to be demonstrably effective, and carry pages of warnings of possible side effects. Even for the most temperate drugs, it must be as clear as vodka that they may cause all manner of hell ranging from vomiting, diarrhea and cramps, to coughing up your pancreas, genital self-mutation and in the most adverse reactions, the irrepressible desire to shave a wolf. However, none of these is very likely. Homeopathic products, conversely, are not obliged to warn of anything. In almost all cases, that is adequate, as most homeopathic products are water. The problem arises in the rare cases when people are so blind to the inefficacy of these so-called treatments that they needlessly put health and lives at risk.

A science writer who is being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association is to fight on after a preliminary judgment against him was opened up to appeal today.