{"id":373,"date":"2014-03-27T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/health\/?p=373"},"modified":"2014-03-27T07:13:50","modified_gmt":"2014-03-27T14:13:50","slug":"drowning-sea-misinformation-part-2-uk-society-homeopaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/health\/2014\/03\/27\/drowning-sea-misinformation-part-2-uk-society-homeopaths\/","title":{"rendered":"Drowning in a sea of misinformation. Part 2: The UK \u2018Society of Homeopaths\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Edzard Ernst<\/strong><\/div>\n

Originally published\u00a0Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2013<\/p>\n

\n

\"card-073-Edzard-Ernst\"<\/a>The UK\u00a0\u2018Society of Homeopaths\u2019\u00a0<\/a>(SoH) is the largest professional organisation of UK non-doctor, so-called lay-homeopaths. On their website, the SoH\u00a0made very specific claims about homeopathy; in particular, they listed conditions for which homeopathy had allegedly been proven to be effective.\u00a0These claims have now thoroughly been debunked<\/a>, and the evidence the SoH produced in support of their claims has been shown to be misleading, cherry-picked or misinterpreted.<\/p>\n

I have no idea who conducted the above-named investigation and made a youtube video of it, but I think it is essentially correct and well worth watching. My own experiences with the SoH relate mainly to two encounters.<\/p>\n

The first\u00a0was a complaint I made about one of their high-ranking officers, Ralf Jeutter. He had been promotiong homeopathic vaccinations on his website (needless to stress, I think, that\u00a0there is no evidence to support the notion that homeopathic vaccinations are effective). As I felt that\u00a0the SoH\u00a0dragged their feet\u00a0pursuing my complaint, I had to send several reminders. Eventually, they considered it and concluded that Jeutter had done nothing wrong. This, presumably, is the reason why, even today, he can state on his\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0Homeopathy is used\u00a0to help individuals in dealing better with kinds of\u00a0<\/em>infections such as leptospirosis, meningitis and cholera.\u00a0<\/em>All is fine, it seems as long as a disclaimer is added:\u00a0Any information obtained here is not to\u00a0<\/em>be construed as medical OR legal advice. The decision to vaccinate and how you\u00a0<\/em>implement that decision is yours and yours alone. The evidence for the efficacy\u00a0<\/em>of homeopathic immunisation is \u2018anecdotal\u2019. That means it is based on\u00a0<\/em>individuals\u2019 reports past and present.<\/em><\/p>\n

My second encounter with the SoH relates to my 2010\u00a0analysis<\/a>\u00a0of the SoH code of ethics and their adherence to it.\u00a0The code\u00a0demanded that:<\/p>\n