Media

Newsnight misses opportunity for intelligent debate on homeopathy

5 January 2011

BBC’s Newsnight programme featured a mini-report into homeopathic medicines being offered as alternatives to vaccinations for tropical diseases such as malaria and typhoid on 4 January. The biased pre-recorded report failed to discuss the topic in a balanced way and completely missed addressing the main cause of concern, which is the lack of state regulation of homeopaths.

The Faculty of Homeopathy represents hundreds of professionally qualified clinicians such as doctors, nurses, vets and dentists who are statutorily regulated and safely use homeopathy on a regular basis to the benefit of their patients, many of whom have found little or no relief from their symptoms using conventional medicine. Members of the Faculty of Homeopathy would never recommend homeopathic medicine instead of conventional immunisation. It is the poor advice given by some lay practitioners as highlighted in the Newsnight programme that undermines homeopathy as an effective medicine and results in the hostile media stories.

With approximately 7 million people in Britain using homeopathy, and growing numbers of people becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of conventional drugs, an intelligent discussion is needed on the subject of deficiencies in our current healthcare system and the important role complementary medicine provided by statutorily regulated professionals can play in keeping Britons healthy.