[challice]

Homeopathy claim wins preposterous piffle award
December 3, 2012

Bridie Smith
Science and Technology Reporter, The Age

FOR more than 30 years they have regularly scrutinised vitamin supplements, questioned crop circles, tested telepathy and challenged crystal power.
But this year the standout winner of the Australian Skeptics' Bent Spoon award for ''the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle'' went to Fran Sheffield from Homeopathy Plus.
The NSW organisation, which promotes natural remedies for treatment of a variety of ailments and conditions, was gonged for claims made surrounding homeopathy and whooping cough.
On the Homeopathy Plus website, it advises readers to ''hot-foot it to your local homeopath if you are struggling with whooping cough'' after making claims that the vaccine is ineffective against a new strain of the highly contagious bacterial disease.
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''The ACCC investigated them and found that that is not just wrong but that the claims are a gross misrepresentation,'' said the Australian Skeptics executive officer, Tim Mendham.
Last week, the Australian Academy of Science released a booklet aimed at dispelling the myths about the dangers of vaccination and at reversing the falling trend of childhood vaccinations in Australia.
About one in 12 Australian babies is not fully immunised.
Mr Mendham welcomed the release of the booklet, written by the nation's top immunologists, to counter the anti-vaccination lobby.
''Things like UFOs are pretty harmless but when you get to the anti-vaccination groups, you are talking about people's lives,'' he said.
Fairfax Media did not get a response from Fran Sheffield or Homeopathy Plus.

[cinnabubble]

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving magic placebo.

[adl]

Someone just posted in whooping cough & newborn thread that they cured whooping cough with homeopathy .... Could that be Fran????

Very deserving recipient of the Piffle

[BlondieUK]

They should be prosecuted for spreading potentially life threatening information.

[Guest_Dinah_Harris_*]

Good. There should be more public discussion about how they endanger lives and spread dishonest rubbish.
Maybe I'm more paranoid these days, but the number of random people recommending that I don't immunise my children is frightening. Often with no medical training or any idea; they are sprouting off something that they've read or heard.
As I said, frightening.

This post has been edited by Dinah_Harris: 03/12/2012, 06:27 AM

[Bart.]

Haha!

I only wish this news would be more widespread.

[PrizzyII]

I admit I used to just laugh off people that believed in this stuff but its not funny when they're endangering people's lives.
I really think they need to be shut down when they out and out lie, I know my business wouldn't last a day if I was spreading misinformation and endangering people.

[Pooks*potters]

Such a deserving winner.

[flushthetoilet]

Well, that's just mean.

I'm going to put a curse on those bent spoon people. Then they'll be laughing on the other side of their face. Curses work, man!

[Livsh]

They should be prosecuted for spreading potentially life threatening information.

I'm with you... funny awards are one thing, but spreading this sort of rubbish could actually cost lives!