4 ms·

I hear you, but “ethical failure year is worse than the sale of tobacco” is a stretch. Tobacco killed millions. Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not

I hear you, but “ethical failure year is worse than the sale of tobacco” is a stretch. Tobacco killed millions. Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer. Also I usually find Tylenol PM just fine at my cvs. Along with benedryl, ibuprofen and other routine “real” meds.

catalogia 7y ago
> "Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer." Does that analysis include people who neglect to seek real medical attention because snakeoil crackpottery has lured them into a false sense of security? (I would not expect as many people to be harmed by homeopathy as cigarettes, but nevertheless I don't think you should characterize it as harmless.)
Baeocystin 7y ago
It is 100% fraud, taking advantage of ignorance and selling people false medicine. There is nothing harmless about that. It prevents people from seeking real treatments, and there are real long-term consequences to public health that come along with that.
colejohnson66 7y ago
> Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer. Homeopathic stuff may be harmless, but homeopaths are sometimes actively harming themselves or others by not getting proper treatment.
bbanyc 7y ago
Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless but there was a case in the 2000s where Zicam sold a "homeopathic" nasal spray at a low dilution of zinc (i.e., it actually contained zinc) as a cold remedy. The result: hundreds of people caused permanent damage to their senses of smell. This changed my attitudes towards consumer protection a lot. I thought I was smart enough to tell medicine from snake oil, but Zicam ads had high production values and looked just like ads for Tylenol or NyQuil. It was a far cry from the laughable marketing of that other '00s homeopathic product, HeadOn. (Apply directly to the forehead!) So I thought it was a legit product until the news of the lawsuits came out.
newnewpdro 7y ago
Fleecing ignorant people is not harmless. I'd presume a substantial correlation between ignorance and poverty, the last thing these people need is wasted money on ineffective treatment.

catalogia 7y ago

> "Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer." Does that analysis include people who neglect to seek real medical attention because snakeoil crackpottery has lured them into a false sense of security? (I would not expect as many people to be harmed by homeopathy as cigarettes, but nevertheless I don't think you should characterize it as harmless.)

Baeocystin 7y ago

It is 100% fraud, taking advantage of ignorance and selling people false medicine. There is nothing harmless about that. It prevents people from seeking real treatments, and there are real long-term consequences to public health that come along with that.

colejohnson66 7y ago

> Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer. Homeopathic stuff may be harmless, but homeopaths are sometimes actively harming themselves or others by not getting proper treatment.

bbanyc 7y ago

Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless but there was a case in the 2000s where Zicam sold a "homeopathic" nasal spray at a low dilution of zinc (i.e., it actually contained zinc) as a cold remedy. The result: hundreds of people caused permanent damage to their senses of smell. This changed my attitudes towards consumer protection a lot. I thought I was smart enough to tell medicine from snake oil, but Zicam ads had high production values and looked just like ads for Tylenol or NyQuil. It was a far cry from the laughable marketing of that other '00s homeopathic product, HeadOn. (Apply directly to the forehead!) So I thought it was a legit product until the news of the lawsuits came out.

newnewpdro 7y ago

Fleecing ignorant people is not harmless. I'd presume a substantial correlation between ignorance and poverty, the last thing these people need is wasted money on ineffective treatment.