the lancet racket!!

Publication: The Times Of India Mumbai;Date: Aug 29, 2005;Section: Times Nation;Page: 8
Health minister leads India’s defence of homeopathy
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: India is getting ready to hit back at a report that appeared in the medical journal Lancet recently, claiming that the 250-year old system of medicine, homoeopathy, has no real curative powers.
India’s argument: How can an entire system of medicine that is practised in over 66 countries and has treated millions of people, be wrong?
Their case: India has hundreds of studies confirming that homoeopathy works. Moreover, homoeopathy is now proving extremely useful for veterinary science. Health minister Dr A Ramadoss is planning to ask Lancet to send the original research papers. “On that basis, we will send them our findings. This is a serious issue because India is the largest homoeopathy user. We will counter this with scientific tests and data,’’ he said. Secretary, department of ayurveda, yoga and homoeopathy, Uma Pillai said, “How can a study dismiss an entire system of medicine? In India, we have exhaustive studies on homoeopathy that show its efficacy. It’s now being used in veterinary care in US, Europe and India. It is even being used for supplementary therapy. I don’t think the study has been fair’’. Joint secretary Shiv Basant added: “The study is preposterous. Homeopathy stands on a firm foundation in over 66 countries. Treating homoeopathy like some kind of voodoo is outrageous. Some therapies might not work that well. But that does not mean we brand the entire practice as useless’’. Another health ministry official said, “We will soon send Lancet a detailed report on what homoeopathy has done over the years. I don’t think the printed study makes much of a difference. The market for homoeopathic remedies has exploded in the last five years — growing from $25m in 1999 to $32m in 2004 in over-the-counter sales. The complementary medicine market as a whole has been valued at 147 million pounds, showing an overall increase of 45% since 1999. Now, even general physicians are suggesting homoeopathy’’. Carried out by Matthias Egger, at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine of the University of Berne in Switzerland, the study said homoeopathic treatment is no more effective than a placebo, the dummy substance used in medical trials.
This conclusion was reached after Dr Egger and his team reviewed a mountain of published evidence, comparing 110 trials of homoeopathic remedies against a placebo with 110 trials of conventional medicines. The ailments being treated in these trials included respiratory-tract infections,pollen allergies and asthma, gynaecological and obstetric problems, muscle and joint ache and intestinal upsets.
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