Homeopathy Awareness Week: June

As mentioned earlier, it is Homeopathy Awareness Week in the UK. Strangely, it was "World Homeopathy Awareness Week" back in mid-April and Australia apparently had its Homeopathy Awareness Week in late April - early May - it brings to mind that classic Australian saying "couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery!"

Like many other blogs, The Sceptics' Book of Pooh-Pooh is doing its part in raising awareness the craft of dispensing medicine without medicine (homeopathy).

Some time this morning, Dr Rachie, aka Dr Rachael "with an a" Dunlop, aka Maggie, posted an article about a homeopathic website ordered to publish a retraction of "dubious" claims. Go to the Sceptics' Book to see the actual retraction and read the background story: Homeopathy for burns and bird flu? . Once again, some hard work by dedicated sceptics has brought about a result.

Yesterday, Dr Rachie, aka Dr Rachael "with an a" Dunlop, aka Maggie, brought us the story about a push by naturopaths to have their non-medicine treated almost as if it were actually medicine but preferably without all the limitations the government places on real medicine. They call it a "national register" but some sceptics are calling it the legitamising of nonsense. (Naturopathy register in Australia)

Dr Rachie, aka Dr Rachael "with an a" Dunlop, aka Maggie, brings us an update on that story today with letters published in the Herald - one from the good doctor herself and one from Professor David Colquhoun of DC's Improbable Science. A third letter apparently responds to another letter regarding the unfortunate death of Gloria Sam whose homeopathic expert father chose not to treat her eczema with real medicine. Gloria Sam, who died aged nine months, demonstrated how the placebo effect doesn't work on babies with life-threatening ailments, no matter how deep the parents belief in magic might be. (Response to Register for Naturopaths)

Homeopathy Awareness Week (HAW):

Coming as it does, hot on the heels of the Neal's Yard Remedies "hide and seek" saga, in which Neal's Yard refused to answer questions by people who wanted to raise the awareness of homeopathy and other non-medicine - and remembering that Simon Singh vs BCA started in Chiropractic Awareness Week last year - this Homeopathy Awareness Week should be interesting.

Interest in Homeopathy Awareness Week is high and a Google for "homeopathy awareness" currently turns up four skeptical blogs in the first-page results. Ouch! Here's a few blogs that have taken the awareness challenge so far (some from last year):

• Neurologica: Homeopathy Awareness Week
• Skepticblog: Homeopathy Awareness Week (copy of the Neuorlogica article)
• Quackometer: Homeopathy Awareness Week
• jdc325: Homeopathy Awareness Week
• In Defence of Reason: Homeopathy Awareness Week
• A canna' change the laws of physics (1): Homeopathy Awareness Week
• A canna' change the laws of physics (2): Homeopathy Awareness Week
• Zygoma: Homeopathy Awareness Week
• Burning Mind (2008): Homeopathy Awareness Week
• Skepchick: Homeopathy Awareness Week (2008)
• Denialism Blog: Homeopathy Awareness Week (2008)
• Sceptical Rants: Homeopathy Awareness Week (2008)

Awareness Weeks are great when people take them seriously.