Friday, January 22, 2010

Homeopathy by the (mind-boggling) numbers

Times Online - Eureka Zone - WBLG: Homeopathy by the (mind-boggling) numbers: "I have just purchased a packet of Boots-brand 84 arnica homeopathic 30C Pills for GBP5.09, which Boots proudly claim is only 6.1p per pill. Their in-store advice tells me that arnica is good for treating “bruising and injuries”, which gives the impression that this is a very cost-effective health-care option.

Unlike most medication, it didn’t list the actual dose of the active ingredient that each pill contains, so I checked the British Homeopathic Association website. On their website it nonchalantly states that to make a homeopathic remedy, they start with the active ingredient and then proceed to dilute it to 1 per cent concentration. Then they dilute that new solution again, so there is now only 0.01 per cent of the original ingredients. For my 30C pills this diluting is repeated thirty times, which means that the arnica is one part in a million billion billion billion billion billion billion."

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