Homeopathic treatments ‘no better than a placebo’: study

Study of alternative medicine on 68 conditions found ‘no evidence it was effective’

Homeopathy is no more effective than a placebo, a national medical agency has concluded in a hard-hitting report.

Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) analysed research into the effectiveness of alternative medicines on 68 health conditions and found ‘there is no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective’ on any of them.

The review, conducted by a working committee of medical experts, said homeopathy had no impact on a range of conditions including asthma, arthritis, sleep disturbances, cold and flu, chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema, cholera, burns, malaria and heroin addiction.

The authors of the report said: ‘No good-quality, well-designed studies with enough participants for a meaningful result reported either that homeopathy caused greater health improvements than a substance with no effect on the health condition [placebo], or that homeopathy caused health improvements equal to those of another treatment.’

They went on to dismiss anecdotal support for the effectiveness of homeopathy, and urged health professionals to take account of scientific evidence when informing patients.

‘It is not possible to tell whether a health treatment is effective or not simply by considering individuals’ experiences or healthcare practitioners’ beliefs,’ they said.

Homeopathy is a complementary medicine, the central principle of which is that ‘like cures like’ – that a substance that causes certain symptoms can also help to remove them in tiny doses.

The report prompted medical professionals to call for governments to stop legitimising homeopathy.

Professor John Dwyer, an immunologist and emeritus professor of medicine at the University of New South Wales, told Guardian Australia the report was long overdue and said homeopathic treatments should now be ‘put away’ once and for all.

He said: ‘Obviously we understand the placebo effect. We know that many people have illnesses that are short lived by its very nature and their bodies will cure them, so it’s very easy for people to fall in trap that because they did A, B follows.’

He added he did not think it ethical to prescribe a placebo.

Dr Richard Choong, Western Australia president of the Australian Medical Association, also welcomed the report and said his organisation has long held there is no evidence to support homeopathy.

‘Homeopathy is not a science. It is not based in science,’ he said. ‘In a lot of cases it can be considered dangerous and can risk people’s lives,’ said Dr Choong.

Submissions from homeopathy interest groups and the public were among the studies assessed by the NHMRC, but did not alter the conclusions of the Council, in some cases due to the poor quality of the studies submitted.