Alternative medicine in Australia

Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia are very concerned about the results of what a U of A press release calls a major new study. More than 3,000 South Australians were surveyed by the University’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The study examined alternative therapy expenditures in the year 2000, compared with a similar study conducted by the same department in 1993. The comparison shows a number of what Professor Alastair MacLennan describes as “worrying trends.” MacLennan, the key investigator of the study, said that “Australians now spend four times as much on unproven therapies as on prescribed pharmaceuticals.”

Which is an amazing statistic. But apparently the professor is under the impression that prescribed pharmaceuticals are “proven.” Granted, they are SUPPOSED to be proven. But as we’ve seen just recently in the e-Alert “Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow?” (10/2/02) about how the FDA fast-tracks the approval of pharmaceuticals at the expense of safety, there is absolutely no guarantee that strict government regulations insures “proven” consumer safety.

Professor MacLennan is concerned that “the public assumes that alternative medicines promote health and are safe, but in many cases their effectiveness and long-term safety remains unknown or has been disproven.” I wonder if he’s aware that the exact same statement could be made of his “proven” pharmaceuticals. (And I expect that N-acetylcysteine would be one of the items the professor would consider unproven.)

To me the truly worrying thing about this survey is the statistic showing that 93% of people in Australia who use alternative medicines would like to see product information on the packaging, just as they receive on pharmaceuticals, along with “evidence” of effectiveness.”

First of all: 93%? That’s simply too high to be believed. It forces us to ask how the question was posed. Perhaps something like, “Would you feel safer taken unproven so-called natural remedies if they cared as much as the drug manufacturers about providing you with full product packaging information and could prove to you that their products were effective. Wouldn’t you like that? Huh? Huh?”

I wonder if this 93% would be even happier under the system that will soon be enforced across the European Union. The EU member countries will have strict product information requirements for dietary supplements, along with the need of a doctor’s prescription to purchase supplements, and with dosages reduced by EU mandate.

I believe that if those 93% knew the whole story or were asked the right question, 93% of THEM would opt to keep their current freedom of choice.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute