Academies: ‘Homeopathy is a washout’

Homeopathy, which some practitioners claim has healing effects even though it uses no medically active ingredients, can cause “significant harm”, a science advisory body has warned.

The European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, a collaboration between the national science academies of EU member states, published a report on 20 September specifically intending to “reinforce criticism of the health and scientific claims made for homeopathic products”.

Drawing together existing analyses of the evidence regarding the effectiveness of homeopathic treatments—whose ingredients are diluted to the point of elimination—Easac concluded that their proposed mechanisms of action are “implausible and inconsistent with established scientific concepts”. There is no robust evidence that homeopathy has benefits beyond the placebo effect, it said.