Incidentally, did you know that he has conned the President of Gambia into getting one of his fellowships now? Seriously. I’ve just posted it on The Lay Scientist. I hope this legislation covers issuing dodgy qualifications…

“people like Ann Walker will be able to trade on their doctorates to gather together practicioners under it”

lets hope the ruling can be extended to permit title claims only for the subject researched. Thus Dr Sarah Brewer, Dr Adam Carey and Dr John Briffa can freely exploit title to push their medical freelance work, but can’t use it to exploit their dodgy grasp on nutrition.

But will there be exemptions if the individual claims to be not formally trained in the subject?
Just check Dr Adam Carey’s details on Healthspan Nutriprofile:-
http://www.nutriprofile.org/SiteCredits.aspx

‘Dr Adam Carey is an accredited Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a SUB-SPECIALIST interest in reproductive endocrinology and nutrition’

..and of course ‘Professor’ Holfords claims that he only ‘practices’ nutrition…..

The ASA have slapped people for this before, and a few cases have been documented on these pages.

PaulC – yes, this legislation is very clear an straightforward and should make it easier to prosecute all those who deceive from all corners of the health field. My worry is that there may be too many traders out there who have been used to trading in murky half-truths and Trading Standards may become somewhat overloaded. Everyone from the cosmetic companies to pharmaceutical companies, like Boots and their ridiculous claims, to alt med traders of all types.

So we might be able to pressure the old guard, but a new more compliant one will arise to take its place. This a medusa we are fighting, not just a few puny cyclops.

On the other hand … I am concerned about the likely legal reliance on EBM as othodoxy when defining heresy. As we have recently seen (ie Kirsch on antidepressants, Kaufman on statins u.s.w.), the available evidence base may in some areas more accurately reflect corporate interests than it does science.

As you point out, the regulations will cover ‘Misleading practices, like false or deceptive messages, or leaving out important information.’

If the laws are to be impartially used, they should take on the professional crooks in the pharmaceutical industry as well as the more amateurish fraudsters in the CAM community.
PaulC

looking forward to the Continental set-up where styling yourself “Doctor” without a doctorate is a prosecutable offence.

Thinks ..will any homeopath be able to operate at all? As you have previously convincingly demonstrated, asking homeopaths to regulate their behaviour according to any sort of code is like asking an old computer the square root of minus one.