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Saturday, January 30, 2010

Skeptics Publicly OD on Homeopathic Drugs

Homeopathy skeptics staged a mass "protest" against store-sold homeopathic medicines by intentionally overdosing on them at branches of Boots, the UK's leading pharmacy, health, and beauty retailer (according to its website). The MSS, Merseyside Skeptics Society, which organized this protest, says the point is to prove to the public that store-bought homeopathic remedies do not work. "We believe that they shouldn't be selling sugar pills to people who are sick," a spokesperson for MSS - who said similar protests were scheduled in the US, Spain, Australia, and Canada - told the press.

A spokesperson for Boots said the store follows guidelines put in place by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and notes that homeopathic medicine is recognized by the NHS and many individuals. Many people use homeopathic products as complementary to their prescribed medications, not instead of them. "We would support the call for scientific research and evidence gathering on the efficacy of homeopathic medicines," the Boots spokesperson said.

While no one thought the protesters would suffer any adverse effects from intentionally overdosing on the supplements, the Society of Homeopaths' executive, Paula Ross, said the protests were "ill-advised."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

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