Campaign 10:23 against homeopathy

At 10:23 am on Jan 30, 2010, more than 400 protestors across UK took overdoses of homeopathic medicines by publicly swallowing an entire bottle of medicines to prove that there is nothing in it and homeopathy is pseudo-science. The protagonists were incensed at the fact that the National Health Service in UK was planning to put more funds for homeo medicines and treatment at various hospitals. The program was organised by the Merseyside Skeptics Society which is a non-profit organisation which aims to develop and support the skeptical community on Merseyside, UK. They chose 10:23 because unusual times are more likely to stick in the mind, and as a reference to Avogadro's number, 6.022x10²³.

See the Youtube video of how the program was successfully performed at Edinburgh



The homeopaths promptly declared that "treatments are 'person specific' and based on taking a series of small doses, so it did not expect any reaction in the protesters unless one already had symptoms matched to their remedy". Homeopaths have a clever way of sidestepping awkward moments! It is amazing to see the stupidity of some patients who fall for this snake-oil treatment!

At this moment, it'd be opportune to have a brief look into homeopathy to see what it is. Most of the material is based on the info on 1023 campaign home page and a related New Scientist article dated 30-01-2010.

Homeopathy is based on three laws put forward by the inventor Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. The three laws are

1. The law of similars: It states that whatever causes the symptoms would also cure those symptoms. For example, caffeine which keeps you awake can be used as a cure for insomnia, streaming eyes due to hayfever can be treated with onion etc. It doesn't require any medical background to dismiss this rubbish.

2. The law of infinitesimals: According to this law, the potency of a remedy is improved by repeated dilutions with water. Diluting one unit of a homeo medicine with 99 units of water makes what they call a 'centesimal' or 1C. Taking one unit of this 1C medicine and mixing it with 99 units of water makes a 2C remedy which is nothing but 99.99% water. This process is repeated further and most remedies are commonly sold at 6C dilution in which the original medicine will be in the ratio of 0.0000000001%. This solution is then dripped on to sugar pills for ease of consumption. There are instances where the dilution goes up to 30C. However, after 12C, the concentration (or dilution?) crosses the Avogadro limit such that the resulting potion may not even contain a single molecule of the original remedy! At 30C, you have a better chance of winning the lottery five times in a row than finding a single molecule of the medicine in the potion.

3. The law of succussion: This law specifies that vigorous shaking and ritualistic tapping of the solution while preparing it increases the potency. Hahnemann made this 'discovery' while transporting the remedies on horse-drawn carriages over poor roads at that time. The shaking process is called succussion and it is believed that this process allows the water to retain the 'memory' or 'vibrations' of the original substance, long after it has been diluted away to nothing.

So, it is clear that the entire homeopathic edifice is based on these three absurd laws which have no scientific basis. Then, you will obviously find some ardent supporters of this treatment who are convinced of its efficacy and they are not freaks or fraudsters. How is it possible? We have here what the medical people call 'placebo effect'. Placebo is a neutral thing which does not affect the patient in any chemical way. This sets in motion a healing process effected by psychological belief that the patient is given the right medicine. Obviously, the inner brain has a good role in making us cured of the disease. In fact, placebos are used in the testing of new drugs in modern medicine. Two groups of patients will be given a placebo and the test medicine without disclosing which is which and the results are analysed to see if the test medicine performs markedly superior to the placebo. There are two types of diseases, one which is healed by medication and the other which is healed without any medicine. Homeopathy, with its placebo effect, is effective only in the second instance!

Often, people ask, "what is the problem in trying homeopathy, since it won't cause any side effects?". Of course, there are no harmful side effects other than the possibility of a crate full of homeo medicines accidentally falling on your head. There are no side effects, but there are no effects, either! It is a bit like justifying building a car without any wheels on the basis that you can still enjoy the comfy leather seats and play with the gear shift. Even with the pure water they use, there are some indirect side effects which may cause severe trauma for unsuspecting victims. Most homeopaths oppose vaccinations of any kind thus putting the lives of their trusting patients and relatives at risk. This irresponsible insanity is based on the three fraudulent homeo laws mentioned above.

To wind up, kudos to the Merseyside Skeptics who demonstrated the fallacy of this mode of treatment which gobbles up precious tax payer's money for unscientific treatment based on outdated rituals of the 18th century. It is high time that such a protest be planned in India as well.