"The Government has ignored the Committee’s detailed consideration of the licensing of homeopathic products as medicines. It has acknowledged that “there will be an assumption that if the NHS is offering homeopathic treatments then they will be efficacious” and that homeopathic products can be licensed with no requirement for evidence that they treat any condition at all. However, the Government has put forward a weak point about ‘patient choice’ instead of considering what to do about these problems. At a time when PCTs are reviewing expenditure on ineffective treatments, this is perverse. We urge them to go back and give proper consideration to this part of the Committee’s report. In the meantime, we recommend a warning on the label of homeopathic products telling people that the product is licensed without any evidence that it works." (26th July 2010)

“It is good to hear that politicians in Germany are now openly discussing not only removing the protections that force insurance companies to pay for homeopathy, but actually banning insurance companies from paying for it. This would be similar to the BMA proposed ban on NHS support for homeopathy…With homeopathy the science could not be more clear, and recent exhaustive reviews, like Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy, have shown that it simply does not work.” Steven Novella MD, Science Based Medicine (21st July 2010)

As Germany's government looks to fine-tune the country’s costly health care system, some government experts are suggesting that insurers stop covering homeopathy…Jürgen Windeler, who will assume leadership of Germany’s medicines assessment body in September 2010, says that the dearth of proof surrounding homeopathy’s effectiveness is well-documented enough to “not require further research”. The Local (a German-English publication) (10 July 2010)

Video compilation (9:19 mins)

“With the recent announcement from BUPA that, in light of the BMA's position on homeopathy, the company intend to address their current practice of covering homeopathic remedies in their healthcare policies, the 10:23 Campaign calls for the government to follow the reccommendations of their own experts and rid the NHS of this unproven and unscientific modality.” 1023 Website (4th July 2010)

"Currently at Bupa, some of our policies cover complementary therapies, including homeopathy. However, in light of the doctors' vote at the BMA conference, we will be reviewing our position on homeopathy." BUPA (2nd July 2010)

Professor David Colquhoun, DC Science (22nd February 2010)

Including Richard Dawkins (The Enemies of Reason), Dara Ó Briain (Talks Funny), James Randi (Live at Princeton), Ben Goldacre (Science.TV), Mitchell & Webb (Homeopathic A&E), BBC’s Horizon (Horizon Tests Homeopathy), Tim Minchin (Storm), Australian Sketpics (Homeopathy does not work), and Crispian Jago (If homeopathy works, I’ll drink my own…). Round up at the 1023 website.

Homeopathy cartoon strip.

4:32 mins video segment. (13th April 2010)

“The cat is clearly out of the bag. Homeopathy is a 200 year old pre-scientific system of pure pseudoscience. Modern attempts to explain how it might work have failed, and the clinical evidence shows (no surprise) that it does not work…The public has been largely unaware of these facts, thinking that “homeopathic” was equivalent to “natural” and that they were getting herbs or some plant-based treatment. Like any cult, information is the enemy of homeopathy. The more the public, and regulators, understand about homeopathy the more ridiculous it seems…Homeopaths are now in the desperate situation of shouting “ignore that man behind the curtain.” They have decided to attack the messengers – skeptics. But in so doing they are just making the situation worse for themselves, as their attempts to explain homeopathy and discredit their critics are indistinguishable from drunken rants.” Steven Novella, Neurologica Blog (26th February 2010)

A look at simple copying machines, dial based machines, the McGurk Electrical Services MKIV Remedy Maker, the Sulis Instruments Remedy Maker Mk3, computer controlled machines, and other oddities. The Land That Tim Forgot blogspot (8th April 2010)

"When humans are afflicted with sickness and misery, when they are searching for a cure, sometimes reason is shoved aside in desperation…I'm not here to savage homeopathy, ridicule its users, and then offer no substantive comment…I certainly understand what it's like to be struck by an illness, mental or physical, and want to find a cure. But just because something gives one hope doesn't mean it works…In short, homeopathy is water.” Eric Mang, Rabble blogs (26th March 2010)

“The campaign was focussed on Boots, the UK’s biggest pharmacy chain, in particular the fact that Boots sell homeopathic pills and regularly gives appallingly bad advice about all forms of quackery that they stock…The campaign was a success because it got good coverage in the newspapers, radio and TV. Boots, rather like vice-chancellors, seems to be uninterested in reason or morals…” Professor David Colquhoun, DC Science (4th February 2010)

Report and Proceedings of the Committee. (2010)

Minutes of Evidence. (30th November 2009)

The Minutes of Oral Evidence taken before the Science and Technology Committee, (Science and Technology Sub-Committee). Members present: Mr Phil Willis (in the Chair), Mr Tim Boswell, Dr Evan Harris, Dr Brian Iddon, Ian Stewart, and Graham Stringer. (25th November 2009)

Written Evidence. (November 2009)

This lecture, presented in a required course on non-prescription products, was given to students who were in their final year of a Bachelor of Science program. It is heavily laden with facts whose goal is to achieve cognitive learning. However, it also attempts to influence the students’ attitudes, in order to facilitate their growth as caring professionals who can retain a firm scientific and ethical grounding in their practice. The topic is one seldom covered in non-prescription product courses. W. Steven Pray, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Vol. 60, No. 2 (1996) [pdf]

“To put homeopathy in a medicinal context, if you wanted to consume a normal 500mg paracetamol dose you would need ten million billion homeopathic pills. Where each pill is the same mass as the Milky Way galaxy. There is actually not enough matter in the entire known Universe to make the homeopathic equivalent of a single paracetamol pill.” Matt Parker, School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London. Times Typepad (20th January 2010)