Homeopathy in New Zealand

Homeopathy practice is unregulated in New Zealand and homeopathic remedies are available at pharmacies, although there are calls to have them removed from sale.[1]

A small-scale survey of homeopathic practitioners of New Zealand in 2008 showed that they all claimed to be able to treat asthma and ear infections, and statements such as "hundreds of remedies for ear infections and asthma" and "homeopaths have a success rate nearing 80%" were made.[2]

Though large scale studies conducted across the world show that homeopathy is a pseudoscience and its remedies have been found to be no more effective than placebo.[3][4][5] The New Zealand Medical Association does not oppose the use of alternative medical practices such as homeopathy if it can be shown that the patient can make an informed choice; however, this stance has been called unethical and may be in contravention of medical regulations.[6]

  1. ^ "Call to remove homeopathics from shops". TVNZ. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
  2. ^ Holt, Shaun (3 October 2008). "The responses of alternative practitioners when approached about common childhood illnesses". The New Zealand Medical Journal. 121 (1283). ISSN 1175-8716. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
  3. ^ Tuomela, R (1987). "Chapter 4: Science, Protoscience, and Pseudoscience". In Pitt, JC; Marcello, P (eds.). Rational Changes in Science: Essays on Scientific Reasoning. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Vol. 98. Springer. pp. 83–101. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-3779-6_4. ISBN 978-94-010-8181-8.
  4. ^ Smith, K (2012). "Homeopathy is unscientific and unethical". Bioethics. 26 (9): 508–12. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2011.01956.x. S2CID 143067523.
  5. ^ Baran, GR; Kiana, MF; Samuel, SP (2014). "Chapter 2: Science, Pseudoscience, and Not Science: How Do They Differ?". Healthcare and Biomedical Technology in the 21st Century. Springer. pp. 19–57. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-8541-4_2. ISBN 978-1-4614-8540-7. within the traditional medical community it is considered to be quackery
  6. ^ Holt, Shaun; Gilbey, Andrew; Colquhoun; David; Baum, Michael; Ernst, Edzard (15 April 2011). "Call for doctors not to practice homeopathy or refer to homeopaths". New Zealand Medical Journal. 124 (1332): 87–88. ISSN 1175-8716. PMID 21747430.