Uncategorized – Page 7 – The Quackometer Blog

Dr Peter Fisher and “Plausibility Bias”

15th August, 2011 33

In this season’s newsletter from the Homeopathy Research Institute, Dr Peter Fisher, Clinical Director of the NHS Hospital, the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine, writes an essay on how homeopathy research may be being unfairly appraised due to the ‘plausibility bias’ of scientists. Fisher makes a case that “Negative plausibility bias obstructs a fair evaluation of the evidence around homeopathy”. That is, that views that homeopathy appears to be [read more…]

Some Amusing Homeopath’s consider what to do with the ASA and skeptics

8th August, 2011 2

From the minutus discussion board… From: timothymaccaw Opting out is effectively what Uschi Kraus-Harper has done with her response to the ASA (see below) after their fatuous demand for unwarranted website changes because of their current homeop… [read more…]

The Advertising Standards Authority Seeks to Destroy Complementary Medicine–Apparently

27th July, 2011 27

This time, Jayney Goddard, who calls herself the President of The Complementary Medical Association, is calling on homeopaths and other quacks to provide evidence for her to take to the ASA that they are being very mean to them. She has been circulating an email asking for evidence that the ASA has really hurt the feelings of people who make livings from selling superstitious and pseudoscientific forms of treatments. And [read more…]

Ainsworths Pharmacy: Casual Disregard for the Law.

27th July, 2011 30

You might have thought by now that homeopaths would have understood that one of the main reasons they are constantly criticised is that they make claims that their sugar pills can treat or prevent life threatening illnesses when there is no sensible reason to think this is true. This puts lives at risk. If homeopaths were more circumspect in the claims they make, then they might have a quieter life. [read more…]

NHS “Any Qualified Provider” Initiative is a Bonanza for Quacks

20th July, 2011 22

As we were all watching the Tiswas Select Committee questioning the Murdochs, the government were letting out press releases saying they were to hand over a billion pounds of NHS services to private companies and charities. The announcements say that patients will be given a “wider choice of providers” for some services and that “the goal is to enable patients to choose from any qualified provider where this will result [read more…]

Proposed ASA “allowed wording” for advertising homeopaths’ services.

5th July, 2011 0

Further, to my last blog post’s report on a leaked email from the homeopaths showing how they are trying to agree some wording with the ASA as to how they can advertise their services, I can now reveal the first draft. I think it is pretty good. T… [read more…]

Desperate Homeopaths

1st July, 2011 12

Look what just appeared in my inbox. It a communication that appears to have gone out to most homeopaths in the UK, both medically trained and lay, about the current complaints against homeopaths being considered by the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA have a large number of complaints to deal with as a direct result of the activities of a new pressure group called the Nightingale Collaboration. The NC was [read more…]

Any Willing Quack. Liverpool PCT look to Commission Homeopathic Services

18th June, 2011 57

I do not have a crystal ball. And I have no idea how the current farcical reorganisation of the NHS will end up. But last September, I was worrying that the emphasis on competition would allow GP consortia to commission quack services – if there is patient demand then there appeared to be little stopping them doing this. And now, in the middle of this mess we see Liverpool PCT [read more…]

Homeopathic Study of Cancer Treatment Fails. Homeopaths Conclude It Works.

14th June, 2011 39

Given that it is Homeopathy Awareness Week again, I thought it would be worth exploring how Homeopaths mislead us about science and evidence. So, from that site of uniformly misleading health advice, What Doctors Don’t Tell You, we learn that, Homeopathy has a ‘clinically relevant’ effect way beyond placebo Critics have always dismissed homeopathy as offering nothing more than a placebo effect – you just think it’s making you better. [read more…]

Chris Ruane MP, ex deputy head, has doubts about germ theory

2nd June, 2011 4

One of the readers of my blog wrote to his constituency MP about his concern for public funding of NHS. This is his MP’s reply.Quite an astonishing display of anti-intellectualism and ignorance. It might be worth pointing out that before Mr Ruane … [read more…]