Dive Brief:
- Homeopathy has consistently been under scrutiny for lack of efficacy, driving the FDA to hold a public hearing April 20-21 seeking information on homeopathic products.
- Homeopathic medicines include pellets placed under the tongue, tablets, liquids, ointments, sprays, and creams.
- The Australian government recently conducted a study concluding that homeopathy is ineffective.
Dive Insight:
The National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia recently conducted an overview of published reviews and an independent evaluation of homeopathic therapies and concluded that homeopathy is ineffective. In the U.S., the FDA issued an advisory for consumers warning against the use of homeopathic asthma therapies, according to Reuters.
In principle, homeopathy is based on the theory that a disease can be treated using small doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of the disease. This concept has been vociferously attacked by the scientific community, and large scale studies have suggested that homeopathy's claims are largely baseless.