New Delhi: Homeopathy is once again under scrutiny as an American not-for-profit organisation has sued the multinational retailer, Walmart, for selling “alternative therapy that is pseudo-scientific nonsense”.
The Center for Inquiry (CFI), a charitable organisation, claims to defend science and evidence-based thinking rather than superstition, pseudoscience or prejudice.
According to a report in the American business magazine Fast Company, CFI filed a complaint against Walmart Monday, on behalf of the residents of Washington, claiming that the company was “deliberately creating a false and misleading impression in customers regarding homeopathic products, presenting them as an equal alternative to science and evidence-based medication”.
“It’s a very specific type of pseudo-scientific nonsense,” Nick Little, vice-president and general counsel of CFI, was quoted as having said.
Walmart is accused of selling over 1,000 homeopathic drugs — from common household medicines to stress aids — in its stores and online platforms across the United States.
“Walmart uses the trust placed in it by customers as a provider of medicines to profit from the sale of these products in full knowledge of the absence of evidence for their efficacy,” the article quotes the CFI complaint as having read.
“By displaying homeopathic products alongside science-based medicines, without any distinction between them, Walmart is failing to provide truthful information to its customer base, and deliberately creating the false idea in its customers that there is no difference between these two radically different sets of products, in violation of D.C. law.”
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Doubts on homeopathy, one after another
This, however, isn’t the first time that homeopathy is under the scanner. According to the international science journal, Nature, homeopathy treatment is based on the claim that illnesses can be treated using substances that produce similar symptoms.
The claims, however, aren’t backed up by scientific evidence. According to the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, “homeopathic products are no more effective than placebos in treating health problems”. A placebo is a substance that has no therapeutic effect but rather provides only psychological benefits.
Homeopathy is also not regulated or verified like other medications. The world’s largest drug regulator, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has warned against consuming such drugs in a press statement issued on 14 May. “Products labeled as homeopathic have not been approved by the FDA for any use and may not meet modern standards for safety, effectiveness, and quality,” it said.
It further said that the homeopathy drugs can be made from a wide range of substances, including ingredients derived from plants; healthy or diseased animal or human sources; minerals and chemicals.
“These products are often marketed as natural, safe and effective alternatives to approved prescription and nonprescription products and are widely available in the marketplace,” the statement said. “These unapproved drugs may cause significant and even irreparable harm if they are poorly manufactured, which can lead to contamination, or may contain active ingredients that are not adequately tested or disclosed to patients.”
Last year, a study published in a peer-reviewed journal, Scientific Reports, concluded that homeopathic treatment can ease pain in rats. It, however, caused an uproar as several researchers cast doubt over the claims. The journal later added an editors’ note to the homeopathy paper alerting readers to criticisms regarding the study.
Endorsed in India
In contrast, India, the home of homeopathy, has a separate ministry for ‘alternative medicines’ — AYUSH, or the ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy.
In the ministry, a research unit — Central Council of Research for Homeopathy — conducts tests and studies on it across the country. India’s drug controller or medical agencies have so far not issued any alerts or advisories casting doubts on the benefit of the treatment.
Moreover, it is regarded as an ancient therapy, with an endorsement from the ruling establishment.
“Homeopathic treatment is individualised or tailor-made to each person. It is a line of therapy which is not standardized, but customized to suit different people with the same condition,” Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s had said while addressing a meeting of eminent homeopathic doctors at Nagpur in April.
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