Unlike you and me, the State has the power to enforce its opinions. That is, no matter how you slice it, rather more than “not necessarily anything.”
If I make no statements, all of my statements are completely accurate. If I make totally accurate statements that are hidden in the tiniest print, they might as well not be there. The details of labeling (what is “oscillococcinum,” for instance?) involve huge volumes of regulation. Never forget that there are a few regulators drawing Civil Service salaries matched against an industry with hundreds of billions a year at stake and all of the lawyers they can hire. Loopholes don’t have to be large, and as we found with Zicam (totally accurate labeling, if you ignore the minor matter of there being no evidence that the stuff worked) it can take many years to get an enforcement action.
Well, it’s true that without commerce we wouldn’t have these problems, but for someone proposing that we deregulate I would have thought that shutting down commerce completly would be a bit too much.
When I was in my young 20s I believed in homeopathic woo. It was explained by a new ND (Oregon board certifies natropathic physicians like MDs and DOs to practice normal medicine surgery etc) that like very low dose atropine which causes paradoxical bradycardia a homeopathic dose was magic, didnt sound fully false. It sounded good to me as a young paramedic who had only trained for three years and some time volunteering.
Reality is that paradoxical bradycardia has several neurological explanations but it is agreed that homeopathic woo is BS.
Big pharma bought out the crunchy hippie vitamin and garlic places 20-30 years ago, then carpet bombed congress with lobbyists. Big pharma has big money(speech), especially effective when they astroturf as hippies.
Are you saying everyone should get a PhD in pharmacology so they can understand the safety and effectiveness of drugs on the market, in order to make an informed choice? And a PhD in bioengineering so they can understand the safety and effectiveness of the devices used on them or implanted in them? Degrees in statistics? CS? Epidemiology? Is this really realistic? The information given to the FDA in support of new drugs and devices can fill 100’s of volumes, that are studied by teams of scientists before a decision is made.
The FDA employs hundreds of these people, who actually do a reasonable job of assessing safety and effectiveness on behalf of citizens (when not hampered by politics). I try to gather as much information about the drugs I take as I can, but there’s no way I could research them sufficiently to be able to make the kind of informed decisions of safety and effectiveness you’re talking about.
Then the fix for this is to define, by statute, homeopathic remedies only those remedies which have, by weight, no more than 1 microgram of pharmacologically active ingredient. All other remedies with higher concentrations would be classified as non-homeopathic, and if sold as homeopathic remedies, could be taken off the market for mislabelling. There are preparations of arnica montana - gels or creams - which are generally 1X in strength - and these would be reclassified as herbal supplements or preparations, as would similar items which are derived from herbs.
Actually, colds are caused by viruses, and so no OTC remedy will cure them, merely alleviate symptoms. The same sorts of people who believe those claims are the people who besiege their docs for prescriptions for antibiotics - and get them - and wipe out their intestinal flora and select themselves for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We’d be a lot better off if docs just gave these people homeopathic remedies instead.
And as seen recently in New York even the dietary supplements don’t always contain what they say they do and can contain and if you ever look at the recall lists of products some contain things that will if not kill you outright for not paying attention will make you worse off.
Perfect end-run around any future California foie gras bans…
Oscillococcinum contains duck liver as an active ingredient, so they should be able to market foie gras pâté as a homeopathic dilution.
Bonus – they can claim that it Temporarily relieves flu-like symptoms such as body aches, headache, fever, chills and fatigue.
The labeling laws are different for “dietary supplements” and homeopathic stuff. I think that dietary supplements can only use “fuzzy” claims. Whereas, homeopathic “remedies” can outright say that they cure or treat a condition. I think that is why ZiCam uses the homeopathic path even though it is more of a dietary supplement.
Edit 2: difference in labels between a zinc supplement and a homeopathic zinc remedy:
Supplement gives exact ingredients and quantities along with fuzzy claims of helping during the winter season.
Homeopathic gives fuzzy ingredients and very precise claims of effect:
While we don’t know of any antivirals that effectively treat cold viruses, you can buy OTC antivirals. Shiitake mushrooms for instance contains an effective protease inhibitor. Star Anise contains a mild neuraminidase inhibitor from which Tamiflu is derived.
Of course, you’d almost certainly have to take a ridiculous amount to see much benefit, but they really are antivirals.
A huge part of the problem here is the intentional muddying of terminology by the industry selling homeopathic “remedies” and lazy journalism.
Homeopathy is the pseudoscience of magic water. Stop. Water that contains the “energy” of some substance that generally has no known therapeutic value for the problem in question to begin with and then has been diluted out to a point where no molecules of the original substance remain. And the magic part happens when the water becomes a more powerful antidote with each dilution!
So what homeopathy sells is water in very expensive and decorative little vials. They even put labels on them to look like prescriptions.
Homeopathy is NOT naturopathy, herbalism, accupuncture, holistic medicine, or anything besides magic water.
Zinc tablets are not homeopathy - interestingly they ARE remedies with some scientific validity in decreasing the severity of colds!
As a medical professional, I am a fan of getting homeopathy off of shelves everywhere except in the aisle where water is sold. So long as it meets quality standards. That way folks can decide if they want to spend that much a gallon for water that contains “magic”.
Herbal remedies and naturopathic remedies need to meet the same standards as any other OTC drug. That means spending money on actual double blind testing and science to prove efficacy, drug production that meets health and safety standards, and accountability for the actual content and purity of the active ingredients.
Germany has a great model for that.
This is the part of drugs which I find problematic. It is the user who decides what is suitable, not the seller nor the state. This is the forgotten “other side” of the problem of approaching such substances scientifically rather than commercially. When I buy other substances, such as hydrochloric acid or chloroform, all I need to know is what the thing actually contains. The amount, the concentration, what the other inert substances or impurities are. What I don’t need is for sellers to second-guess if I really need it, or if I might prefer something else for my application. And this has worked with hardly any difficulty or controversy in the chemicals/reagents business. It all comes down to accurate labelling and quality control.
I had to dissuade a loved one from buying homeopathic “remedies” once.
It was easy. I barely explained homeopathy and then provided a few references, and we read labels in the store.
Although I never asked for an explanation as to how they came under the spell (out of respect & consideration) I believe it was what probably suckers most people who buy them, I seriously doubt most of that market has any, any idea about the particulars, like crazy dilution levels and mad mad water memory.
It’s just an easy term/concept to market. Ferchristsakes the word “Home” is right there, what could go wrong? And pathy means something or another, right? It MUST be good.
Couple that with how people trust that what they find on teh shelf of the grocery and pharmacy has to have something to do with what it says it is, and you get rich quick.
edit - I don’t know why this is a reply to you @robulus, but whatevs I just click the buttons
I’ve been taking zinc supplements or (more often) ColdEeze for years upon the onset of colds. I’m not sure whether I’m worse off without them, because I’ve been unwilling to endure a cold without them just to find out. I guess that’s how they get you. All I know is that for 7-10 days, everything tastes like a penny.
I had a bad cold in December, bad enough that I wondered if it was really the flu. The ColdEeze did not seem to have been of any help, though I kept thinking it may have been worse without it.
Bonus points to my son who, after learning about Wacky Packages and MAD, pointed at a box of ColdEeze and said “they should call it Cold Wheeze.”
EDIT: I’ve wondered why they call ColdEeze “homeopathic” and I figure it’s become synonymous with “natural remedies,” “herbal (rather, mineral)remedies” etc. The zinc is clearly detectable.
