Quite possible the largest alternative health scam ever.

**Kralizec** · 10-06-2014, 22:03

Practioners of alternative medicine are the worst.
Big Pharma might be overpaid but at least their products have genuine (and usually positive) effects.

Fact: alternative medicine took away one of my friends, a guy that I shared a roof with in college. He kept using homeopathic piss whenever he was ill. I couldn't talk him out of it so I had to put him down.

**Montmorency** · 10-06-2014, 23:06

so I had to put him down.

Did you whisper, "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you"?

**Strike For The South** · 10-06-2014, 23:40

“You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work? - Medicine.”
― Tim Minchin

**Seamus Fermanagh** · 10-07-2014, 05:16

Next you will be telling me that Semmelweis was correct....

**rory_20_uk** · 10-07-2014, 15:23

Companies make things to make a profit? Say it ain't true!!!!

Ever bought a graphics card or a CPU? They sell the same thing at different price points, often by crippling functions on the cheaper models! And they try hard to stop people turning on the features - back in the day one could use a graphite pencil to alter it - no more!

Cars have engines which have been "tuned" differently for different price points - paying hundreds more for a small code!

Any more examples of companies doing despicable things to make money?

The rules on registering a new chemical entity or biological get stricter - often by the year. And guess what? This costs a load of money. Which is increasingly difficult to get back, because governments have made making copies a lot easier with special new legislation on both biosimilars and generics!

Doctors also are very happy to use off lisence - although technically illegal and unethical as it is untested. But if there's money to be saved, why worry? Sure, the drug with an indication spent tens of millions to get that - but the price is higher for reasons we don't care about so we'll use the cheap stuff.

And can you believe it? There is less R&D done in the West than there used to be! Just because the cost of development has increased, interactions with clinicians is stricter by the year and there are pressures on pricing they go and do their work elsewhere...

**a completely inoffensive name** · 10-07-2014, 18:12

Originally Posted by rory_20_uk

And can you believe it? There is less R&D done in the West than there used to be! Just because the cost of development has increased, interactions with clinicians is stricter by the year and there are pressures on pricing they go and do their work elsewhere...

What is the solution? How do you reconcile the public's need for cheap drugs with the fact that making new drugs (regulations or not) is very expensive. Seems to be an unavoidable clash.

**Husar** · 10-07-2014, 18:28

Originally Posted by rory_20_uk

Ever bought a graphics card or a CPU? They sell the same thing at different price points, often by crippling functions on the cheaper models! And they try hard to stop people turning on the features - back in the day one could use a graphite pencil to alter it - no more!

So drugs can be held to the same ethical standards as entertainment devices?

**rory_20_uk** · 10-08-2014, 09:27

Originally Posted by Husar

So drugs can be held to the same ethical standards as entertainment devices?

Yes - or provide massive subsidies to companies that work on drugs to compensate them for the increased standards. Or governments should start manufacturing these drugs that need to be made from an "ethical" standpoint.

What other things should have the same high ethical standpoint?

Water purifiers?
Tents
Solar power - hell why not all renewable technology?
Communication, that's key to a modern society. Invalidate all patents on comunications, fibre optics etc to help others.
Medical training for doctors and other clinical staff? Better set up bursaries for poorer countries - that's ethical.

So, in fact medicines are only one of many things required. Either all are special or none are.