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			{{Short description|Pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine}}
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			{{for|the journal|Homeopathy (journal){{!}}''Homeopathy'' (journal)}}
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			{{Infobox alternative medicine
			| name = Homeopathy
			| synonyms = Homoeopathy
			| pronounce = {{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-homeopathy.ogg|ˌ|h|oʊ|m|i|ˈ|ɒ|p|ə|θ|i}}
			| image = Saxonia Museum fuer saechsische Vaterlandskunde III 19.jpg
			| image_size = 250
			| alt = Samuel Hahnemann
			| caption = ], originator of homeopathy
			| claims = "Like cures like", dilution increases potency, disease caused by ]s
			| topics = ]
			| orig-date = 1796
			| origprop = ]
			| laterprop = {{Plain list|
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			}}
			| seealso = ], ]
			| MeshID = D006705
			}}
			{{Alternative medical systems|fringe}}
			'''Homeopathy''' or '''homoeopathy''' is a ]<ref>{{multiref
	*** This article has been the subject of edit wars, and has been placed on probation. ***
			|1=
	*** Please discuss major changes on the talk page before making them. ***
			|2={{cite book |author=Tuomela, R |title=Rational Changes in Science |chapter=Science, Protoscience, and Pseudoscience |publisher=Springer |year=1987 |isbn=978-94-010-8181-8 |veditors=Pitt JC, Marcello P |series=Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science |volume=98 |pages=83–101 |doi=10.1007/978-94-009-3779-6_4 |author-link=Raimo Tuomela|issn = 0068-0346}}
	-->
			<br /><br />
	{{Quote box |width=33% |quote= Homeopathy: coined in German from ] ''hómoios-'' ''{{lang|el|ὅμοιος}}-'' "like-" + ''páthos'' ''{{lang|el|πάθος}}'' "suffering" |source=] }}
			|3={{cite journal |vauthors=Mukerji N, Ernst E |title=Why homoeopathy is pseudoscience |journal=Synthese |date=14 September 2022 |volume=200 |issue=5 |eissn=1573-0964 |doi=10.1007/s11229-022-03882-w |pmid=|s2cid=252297716 |url= |doi-access=free}}
	{{Alternative medical systems}}
			<br /><br />
	'''Homeopathy''' (also spelled '''homoeopathy'''<ref>{{cite book|title=The Hutchinson Encyclopedia|year=1998|publisher=Helicon Publishing
			|4={{cite book |vauthors=Baran GR, Kiana MF, Samuel SP |title=Healthcare and Biomedical Technology in the 21st Century |chapter=Science, Pseudoscience, and Not Science: How do They Differ? |publisher=Springer |year=2014 |pages=19–57 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-8541-4_2 |isbn=978-1-4614-8540-7 |quote=within the traditional medical community it is considered to be quackery }}
			<br /><br />
	|edition=Eleventh|year=1998|isbn=1-85986-202-0|accessdate=23 September 2010|page=506}}</ref> or '''homœopathy''') is a form of ], first proposed by German physician ] in 1796, in which practitioners use highly<ref name="pmid12492603" /><ref name=inquiry_cfm/> diluted preparations.<!--ALTERNATE ENDING OF PREVIOUS SENTENCE: "... which are claimed to cure diseases whose symptoms are similar to the symptoms caused by ingestion of the original preparation." PROBABLY TOO LONG, SO CURRENT WORDING IN NEW SENTENCE WAS CHOSEN.--> Based on an '']''<ref name=Kirk/> ]<ref name=Renouard>, P. V. Renouard, M.D., p. 580</ref> formulated by Hahnemann, which he called the ''law of similars'', preparations which cause certain symptoms in healthy individuals are given in diluted form to patients exhibiting similar symptoms. ] are prepared by ] with shaking by forceful striking, which homeopaths term ''succussion,'' after each dilution under the assumption that this increases the effect. Homeopaths call this process ''potentization''. Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.<ref name="Dynamization and Dilution">{{citation |contribution=Dynamization and Dilution |title=Complementary and Alternative Medicine |publisher=] Department of Pharmacology |url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm |accessdate=2009-03-24}}.</ref><!-- Also: <ref name=SmithHM /><ref name="homsim" /> -->
			|5={{cite book |author=Ladyman J |veditors=Pigliucci M, Boudry M |year=2013 |pages=48–49 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |chapter=Chapter 3: Towards a Demarcation of Science from Pseudoscience |title=Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem |quote=Yet homeopathy is a paradigmatic example of pseudoscience. It is neither simply bad science nor science fraud, but rather profoundly departs from scientific method and theories while being described as scientific by some of its adherents (often sincerely). |isbn=978-0-226-05196-3}}}}</ref> system of ]. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician ]. Its practitioners, called '''homeopaths''' or homeopathic physicians,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homeopathic Physician Licensure |url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/rpt/2010-R-0315.htm |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=OLR Research Report}}</ref> believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people; this doctrine is called '']'', or "like cures like".<ref name="Hahnemann" /> Homeopathic preparations are termed ''remedies'' and are made using ]. In this process, the selected substance is repeatedly diluted until the final product is chemically indistinguishable from the ]. Often not even a single molecule of the original substance can be expected to remain in the product.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homeopathy |url=https://www.rpharms.com/resources/quick-reference-guides/homeopathy |access-date=2019-11-17 |website=]}}</ref> Between each dilution homeopaths may hit and/or shake the product, claiming this makes the diluent "remember" the original substance after its removal. Practitioners claim that such preparations, upon oral intake, can treat or cure disease.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-18 |title=Homeopathy |url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/homeopathy/ |access-date=2019-11-10 |website=nhs.uk |language=en}}</ref>
	Apart from the symptoms, homeopaths use aspects of the patient's physical and psychological state in recommending ''remedies''.<ref name="Organon_5th_5+217">{{citation |author=]|title =] |year =1833 |edition=5th |at=aphorisms 5 and 217 |isbn=0879832282}}.</ref> Homeopathic reference books known as ''repertories'' are then consulted, and a ''remedy'' is selected based on the totality of symptoms. Homeopathic ''remedies'' are, with rare exceptions, considered safe<ref name=pmid14705842>
	{{citation
	|author=Chakraborti D, Mukherjee SC, Saha KC, Chowdhury UK, Rahman MM, Sengupta MK
	|title=Arsenic toxicity from homeopathic treatment
	|year=2003
	|journal=Clin Toxicol
	|volume=47
	|issue=1
	|pages=963–967
	|pmid=14705842
	}}</ref> though homeopathy has been criticized for putting patients at risk due to advice against ] such as ]s,<ref name="pmid8554846">
	{{citation
	|author=], White AR
	|title=Homoeopathy and immunization
	|year=1995
	|journal=Br J Gen Pract
	|volume =45
	|issue =400
	|pages =629–630
	|pmid =8554846
	|pmc =1239445
	}}.</ref>
	anti-]l drugs,<ref name=malaria2/> and ].<ref name = "minimum-67-4">
	{{citation
	|title =Critical review of ''The Science of Homeopathy''
	|url =http://www.minimum.com/reviews/science-homeopathy.htm
	|year =1978
	|journal =Br Homeopath J
	|volume =67
	|issue =4
	|author =Campbell A
	}}.</ref><!-- This is a sample of the refs found in the main section-->
			All relevant scientific knowledge about physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology contradicts homeopathy.<ref>{{multiref
	Homeopathy's efficacy beyond the ] is unsupported by the collective weight of ] and ] evidence.<ref name="pmid12492603">{{Citation |author=Ernst E|title=A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01699.x|pmid=12492603|year=2002|journal=Br J Clin Pharmacol|volume=54|issue=6|pages=577–582|pmc=1874503 |postscript=.}}</ref><ref name=inquiry_cfm>UK Parliamentary Committee Science and Technology Committee - </ref><ref name=nhsdirect>{{citation|url=http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Homeopathy/Pages/Issues.aspx|contribution=Homeopathy - Issues|accessdate =2009-07-30|publisher =]}}</ref><ref name=pmid17285788>{{Citation |author=Altunç U, Pittler MH, Ernst E|title=Homeopathy for childhood and adolescence ailments: systematic review of randomized clinical trials|doi=10.4065/82.1.69|year=2007|journal=Mayo Clin Proc|volume=82|issue=1|pages=69–75|pmid=17285788|url=http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/82/1/69.full|quote=However, homeopathy is not totally devoid of risks ... it may delay effective treatment or diagnosis. |postscript=.}}</ref><ref name="shang"/> While some individual studies have positive results, ]s of published trials fail to demonstrate efficacy conclusively.<ref name="pmid1825800"/><ref name=pmid9310601>{{ Citation |author=Linde K, Clausius N, Ramirez G ''et al.''|title=Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials|journal=Lancet |volume=350 |issue=9081 |pages=834–43 |year=1997 |pmid=9310601 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(97)02293-9 |postscript=. }}</ref><ref name="Linde1999"/><ref name="pmid10853874">{{Citation |author=Boissel J, Cucherat M, Haugh MC, Gooch M |title=Evidence of clinical efficacy of homeopathy. A meta-analysis of clinical trials. HMRAG. Homeopathic Medicines Research Advisory Group |journal=Eur J Clin Pharmacol |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=27–33 |year=2000 |pmid=10853874 |postscript=.}}</ref><ref name="mathie03">{{Citation |author=Mathie RT |year=2003 |title=The research evidence base for homeopathy: a fresh assessment of the literature |journal=Homeopathy |volume=92 |issue=2|pages=84–91 |pmid=12725250 |doi=10.1016/S1475-4916(03)00006-7 |postscript=. }}</ref> Furthermore, higher quality ] tend to report less positive results,<ref name="Linde1999"/><ref name="Caulfield2005" /> and most positive studies have not been replicated or show methodological problems that prevent them from being considered unambiguous evidence of homeopathy's efficacy.<ref name="pmid12492603" /><ref name=pmid17285788 /><ref name="Time19951125">{{citation |author=Toufexis A, Cole W, Hallanan DB |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983466,00.html |title=Is homeopathy good medicine? |journal=] |date=25 September 1995}}</ref><ref name="pmid11416076"/> A 2010 inquiry into the evidence base for homeopathy conducted by the United Kingdom's ] concluded that homeopathy is no more effective than placebo.<ref name=inquiry_cfm/>
			|1=
			|2={{cite journal |last1=Shang |first1=Aijing |last2=Huwiler-Müntener |first2=Karin |last3=Nartey |first3=Linda |last4=Jüni |first4=Peter |last5=Dörig |first5=Stephan |last6=Sterne |first6=Jonathan AC |last7=Pewsner |first7=Daniel |last8=Egger |first8=Matthias |title=Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy |journal=The Lancet |volume=366 |pages=726–32 |year=2005 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2 |pmid=16125589 |issue=9487|s2cid=17939264 }}
	Depending on the dilution, homeopathic ''remedies'' may not contain any ] molecules,<ref name="Ernst2005"/> and for such ''remedies'' to have ] would violate fundamental principles of science.<ref name="shang">
			<br /><br />
	{{citation
			|3={{cite journal|last=Ernst|first=E.|date=December 2012|title=Homeopathy: a critique of current clinical research|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/homeopathy_a_critique_of_current_clinical_research|journal=]|volume=36|issue=6}}
	|author =Shang A, Huwiler-Müntener K, Nartey L, Jüni P, Dörig S, Sterne JA, Pewsner D, Egger M
			<br /><br />
	|title =Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy
			|4={{cite web|title=Homeopathy|url=http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/homeopathy|access-date=October 12, 2014|publisher=American Cancer Society|archive-date=March 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316003948/http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/homeopathy}}
	|doi =10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2
			<br /><br />
	|year =2005
			|5=UK Parliamentary Committee Science and Technology Committee.
	|journal =]
			<br /><br />
	|volume =366
			|6={{cite journal|last1=Grimes|first1=D.R.|year=2012|title=Proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are physically impossible|journal=Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies|volume=17|issue=3|pages=149–55|doi=10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01162.x}}
	|issue =9487
			<br /><br />
	|pages =726–732
			|7={{cite web|date=September 2017|title=Homeopathic products and practices: assessing the evidence and ensuring consistency in regulating medical claims in the EU|url=http://www.easac.eu/fileadmin/PDF_s/reports_statements/EASAC_Homepathy_statement_web_final.pdf|access-date=1 October 2017|work=European Academies' Science Advisory Council|page=1|quote=... we agree with previous extensive evaluations concluding that there are no known diseases for which there is robust, reproducible evidence that homeopathy is effective beyond the placebo effect.}}
	|pmid =16125589
			<br /><br />
	}}</ref><ref name=NatureWhenToBelieve/> Modern homeopaths have proposed that ] that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, there are no verified observations nor scientifically plausible physical mechanisms for such a phenomenon.<ref name=NatureWhenToBelieve>
			|8={{cite book
	{{citation
			|author=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
	|title =When to believe the unbelievable
			|title=Homoeopathy and its kindred delusions: Two lectures delivered before the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
	|doi =10.1038/333787a0
			|url=https://archive.org/details/64340260R.nlm.nih.gov
	|year =1988
	|journal =]
	|volume =333
	|issue =6176
	|pages =787
	}}</ref><ref name="delusion"/> The lack of convincing ] supporting homeopathy's efficacy<ref name="Adler"/> and its use of ''remedies'' lacking active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be described as ], ],<ref name="NSBattitudes">
	{{citation
	|author =National Science Board
	|year =2002
	|title =Science and engineering indicators 2002
	|chapter =Science Fiction and Pseudoscience
	|url =http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
	|place =Arlington, Virginia
	|publisher =National Science Foundation Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
	}}</ref><ref name=Holmes>
	{{citation
	|author=]
	|title=Homoeópathy and its kindred delusions: Two lectures delivered before the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
	|location=Boston		|location=Boston
	|year=1842		|year=1842
			|author-link=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr
	}} as reprinted in
			}} as reprinted in
	{{Citation
			{{cite book
	|author=]
			|author=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
	|title=Currents and Counter-currents in Medical Science
			|title=Currents and counter-currents in medical science
	|year=1861		|year=1861
	|publisher=Ticknor and Fields		|publisher=Ticknor and Fields
	|pages=72–188		|pages=72–188
	|url=http://books.google.com/?id=c8MNAAAAYAAJ		|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011611362
	|oclc=1544161		|oclc=1544161
			|ol=14731800M
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid17719708">
			|author-link=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr
	{{citation
			}}
	|author =Wahlberg A
			}}</ref> Homeopathic remedies are typically ] inert, and have no effect on any known disease.<ref name="shang" /><ref name="pmid124926032">{{cite journal|last1=Ernst|first1=E.|author-link=Edzard Ernst|year=2002|title=A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy|journal=British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology|volume=54|issue=6|pages=577–82|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01699.x|pmc=1874503|pmid=12492603}}</ref><ref name="inquiry_4504">{{cite web|date=February 22, 2010|title=Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy – Science and Technology Committee|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmsctech/45/4504.htm|access-date=April 5, 2014|publisher=] Science and Technology Committee}}</ref> Its theory of disease, centered around principles Hahnemann termed ], is inconsistent with subsequent identification of viruses and bacteria as ]. Clinical trials have been conducted and generally demonstrated no objective effect from homeopathic preparations.<ref name="Caulfield20053">{{cite journal|last1=Caulfield|first1=Timothy|author-link=Timothy Caulfield|last2=Debow|first2=Suzanne|year=2005|title=A systematic review of how homeopathy is represented in conventional and CAM peer reviewed journals|journal=BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine|volume=5|page=12|doi=10.1186/1472-6882-5-12|pmc=1177924|pmid=15955254 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="sbm-fun">{{Cite news|last=Gorski|first=David|authorlink= David Gorski|date=October 13, 2008|title=Fun with homeopaths and meta-analyses of homeopathy trials|language=en-US|website=Science-Based Medicine|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/fun-with-homeopaths-and-meta-analyses-of-homeopathy-trials/|access-date=2019-11-09}}</ref><ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|206|date=November 2012}}<ref name="Ernst20102">{{cite journal|last1=Ernst|first1=E.|author-link1=Edzard Ernst|year=2010|title=Homeopathy: What does the "best" evidence tell us?|url=https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2010/192/8/homeopathy-what-does-best-evidence-tell-us|journal=Medical Journal of Australia|volume=192|issue=8|pages=458–60|doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03585.x|pmid=20402610|s2cid=42180344}}</ref> The fundamental ] has led to it being characterized within the scientific and medical communities as ] and ].<ref name="Baran2014">{{cite book |vauthors=Baran GR, Kiana MF, Samuel SP |title=Healthcare and Biomedical Technology in the 21st Century |chapter=Science, Pseudoscience, and Not Science: How do They Differ? |publisher=Springer |year=2014 |pages=19–57 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-8541-4_2 |isbn=978-1-4614-8540-7 |quote=within the traditional medical community it is considered to be quackery }}</ref><ref name="Walport-Nonsense">{{cite news|last1=Collins|first1=Nick|date=April 18, 2013|title=Homeopathy is nonsense, says new chief scientist|work=]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10003680/Homeopathy-is-nonsense-says-new-chief-scientist.html|access-date=September 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420234704/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10003680/Homeopathy-is-nonsense-says-new-chief-scientist.html|archive-date=April 20, 2013}}</ref><ref name="oxcompus">{{cite book|author=Paul S. Boyer|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00paul_0|title=The Oxford companion to United States history|year=2001|isbn=978-0-19-508209-8|page=|publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=After 1847, when regular doctors organized the American Medical Association (AMA), that body led the war on "quackery", especially targeting dissenting medical groups such as homeopaths, who prescribed infinitesimally small doses of medicine. Ironically, even as the AMA attacked all homeopathy as quackery, educated homeopathic physicians were expelling untrained quacks from their ranks.|access-date=January 15, 2013|url-access=registration}}</ref>
	|title =A quackery with a difference—New medical pluralism and the problem of 'dangerous practitioners' in the United Kingdom
	|doi =10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.07.024
	|year =2007
	|journal =Soc Sci Med
	|volume =65
	|issue =11
	|pages =2307–2316
	|pmid =17719708
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid14676179"/><ref name=Ernst/> and a "cruel deception".<ref name=Janes/>
			Homeopathy achieved its greatest popularity in the 19th century. It was introduced to the United States in 1825, and the first American homeopathic school opened in 1835. Throughout the 19th century, dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States. During this period, homeopathy was able to appear relatively successful, as other forms of treatment could be harmful and ineffective. By the end of the century the practice began to wane, with the last exclusively homeopathic medical school in the United States closing in 1920. During the 1970s, homeopathy made a significant comeback, with sales of some homeopathic products increasing tenfold. The trend corresponded with the rise of the ], and may be in part due to ], an irrational aversion to synthetic chemicals, and the longer consultation times homeopathic practitioners provided.
	The ] is highly variable from country to country. There are no specific legal regulations concerning its use in some countries, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In several countries, homeopathy is covered by the national insurance coverage to different extents, while in some it is fully integrated into the national health care system. In many countries, the laws that govern the regulation and testing of conventional drugs do not apply to homeopathic ''remedies''.<ref name=WHO>
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2943e/
	|title =Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review
	|year =2001
	|publisher =]
	|isbn =978-9241545488
	}}.</ref><!-- This is the chief reference for the main section below.-->
			In the 21st century, a series of ] have shown that the therapeutic claims of homeopathy lack scientific justification. As a result, national and international bodies have recommended the withdrawal of government funding for homeopathy in healthcare. National bodies from Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France, as well as the ] and the ] have all concluded that homeopathy is ineffective, and recommended against the practice receiving any further funding.<ref name="Conversation-NHMRC">{{cite news |url=http://theconversation.com/no-evidence-homeopathy-is-effective-nhmrc-review-25368 |title=No evidence homeopathy is effective: NHMRC review |work=The Conversation |date=April 8, 2014 |last=Musgrave|first=I |access-date=January 10, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Swiss make New Year's regulations |date=January 2012 |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-make-new-year-s-regulations/31867422 |publisher=Swiss Info |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Homeopathic remedies are 'nonsense and risk significant harm' say 29 European scientific bodies|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeopathy-nonsense-risk-harm-29-european-academies-science-advisory-council-remedies-a7963786.html|access-date=October 10, 2017|newspaper=The Independent|date=September 23, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-02-07|title=Memorandum #2. Homeopathy as pseudoscience|url=http://klnran.ru/en/2017/02/memorandum02-homeopathy/|access-date=June 25, 2019|website=]}}</ref> The ] no longer provides funding for homeopathic remedies and asked the ] to add homeopathic remedies to the list of forbidden prescription items.<ref>{{cite news|date=July 21, 2017|title=NHS to ban homeopathy and herbal medicine, as 'misuse of resources'|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/21/nhs-ban-homeopathy-herbal-medicine-misuse-resources/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/21/nhs-ban-homeopathy-herbal-medicine-misuse-resources/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=July 21, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="TNHS">{{cite news|last1=Donnelly|first1=Laura|date=5 June 2018|title=High Court backs NHS decision to stop funding homeopathy|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/06/05/high-court-backs-nhs-decision-stop-funding-homeopathy/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/06/05/high-court-backs-nhs-decision-stop-funding-homeopathy/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=26 August 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="bbc-blacklist">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34744858 |title=Homeopathy 'could be blacklisted' |last=Gallagher |first=James |date=2015-11-13 |work=BBC News |access-date=2017-12-05 |language=en-GB}}</ref> France removed funding in 2021,<ref name="GuardianFrance">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/10/france-to-stop-reimbursing-patients-for-homeopathic-treatment |title=France to stop reimbursing patients for homeopathy |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=2019-07-10 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2019-07-30 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="FranceEndFunding2021">{{cite web |url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/medicament/homeopathie/homeopathie-2021-signe-la-fin-du-remboursement_4240961.html |title=Homéopathie: 2021 signe la fin du remboursement |publisher=France Info | date=January 2021 | access-date=18 November 2023 }}</ref> while Spain has also announced moves to ban homeopathy and other pseudotherapies from health centers.<ref name="El Pais 2019-07-30">{{Cite news |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/11/14/inenglish/1542203925_514487.html |title=Spain moves to ban pseudo-therapies from universities and health centers |last=Güell |first=Oriol |date=2018-11-14 |work=El País |access-date=2019-07-30 |language=en |issn=1134-6582}}</ref>
	==General philosophy==
	]. The "15C" dilution shown here contains no ]s of the original herb.]]
	Homeopathy is a ] philosophy which interprets diseases and sickness as caused by disturbances in a hypothetical ] or ]. It sees these disturbances as manifesting themselves as unique symptoms. Homeopathy maintains that the vital force has the ability to react and adapt to internal and external causes, which homeopaths refer to as the ''law of susceptibility''. The law of susceptibility implies that a negative state of mind can attract hypothetical disease entities called ''miasms'' to invade the body and produce symptoms of diseases.<ref>
	{{citation
	|url =http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/cause.htm
	|accessdate =2009-07-31
	|author =
	|contribution=Cause of disease
	|publisher =Creighton University School of Medicine
	}}.</ref> However, Hahnemann rejected the notion of a disease as a separate thing or invading entity<!-- This was referenced to "Outline of the Organon", which makes no apparent sense.--> and insisted that it was always part of the "living whole".<ref name="Organon_5th+6th">
	{{citation
	|author =Hahnemann S
	|title =The Organon of the Healing Art
	|year =1833/1921
	|edition =5th/6th
	|isbn =0879832282
	}}.</ref>
			==History==
	===Hahnemann's "Law of similars"===
			Homeopathy was created in 1796 by ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Loudon|first=Irvine|date=December 2006|title=A brief history of homeopathy|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine|volume=99|issue=12|pages=607–610|doi=10.1177/014107680609901206|issn=0141-0768|pmc=1676328|pmid=17139061}}</ref> Hahnemann rejected the mainstream medicine of the late 18th century as irrational and inadvisable, because it was largely ineffective and often harmful.<ref name="Lasagna">
	Hahnemann observed from his experiments with ] bark, used as a treatment for ], that the effects he experienced from ingesting the bark were similar to the symptoms of malaria. He therefore decided that cure proceeds through similarity, and that treatments must be able to produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease being treated.<ref name="homhist1"/> Through further experiments with other substances, Hahnemann conceived of the ''law of similars'', otherwise known as "let like be cured by like" ({{lang-la|]}})<ref>With "curentur" the phrase is in the ], and is the form given by Hahnemann and officially used in homeopathy. The similar phrase {{lang-la|similia similibus curantur}} is in the indicative, translated as "like cures like", and was used by ] in the 16th century.</ref><ref>1911 Britannica</ref> as a fundamental healing principle. He believed that by inducing a disease through use of drugs, the artificial symptoms empowered the vital force to neutralise and expel the original disease and that this artificial disturbance would naturally subside when the dosing ceased.<ref name="homhist1"/> It is based on the belief that a substance that in large doses will produce symptoms of a specific disease will, in extremely small doses, cure it.
			{{cite book
			|author =Lasagna L
			|title =The doctors' dilemmas
			|location =New York
			|publisher =Collier Books
			|year =1970
			|orig-date =1962
			|page =33
			|isbn =978-0-8369-1669-0
			}}</ref><ref name="isbn0-393-06661-4">{{cite book |author1=Edzard Ernst |author-link1=Edzard Ernst|author2=Singh, Simon |author-link2=Simon Singh|title=Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-393-06661-6 |title-link=Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine }}</ref> He advocated the use of single drugs at lower doses and promoted an immaterial, ] view of how living organisms function.<ref name="Pray2003">{{cite book|author=W. Steven Pray|title=a History of Nonprescription Product Regulation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uadgq04eLr0C&pg=PA192|access-date=January 21, 2013|date=August 1, 2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7890-1538-9|page=192}}</ref> The term ''homeopathy'' was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in 1807.<ref>
			{{cite journal|author=Dean ME|year=2001|title=Homeopathy and "the progress of science"|url=http://www.shpltd.co.uk/dean-homeopathy.pdf|journal=Hist Sci|volume=39|issue=125 Pt 3|pages=255–83|bibcode=2001HisSc..39..255E|doi=10.1177/007327530103900301|pmid=11712570|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101084902/http://www.shpltd.co.uk/dean-homeopathy.pdf|archive-date=January 1, 2006|access-date=March 31, 2009|s2cid=23943688}}
			</ref> He also coined the expression "]", which was used to pejoratively refer to traditional Western medicine.<ref name="Whorton2004">{{cite book|author=Whorton JC|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RU0DndWVSPoC&pg=PA18|title=Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America|publisher=]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-19-517162-4|location=New York|pages=18, 52}}</ref>
			===Concept===
	Hahnemann's law of similars is an "'']''" "]",<ref name=Renouard/> in other words an unproven assertion made by Hahnemann, and not a true ].<ref name=Kirk>, Editor Edward C. Kirk, D.D.S., Vol. XXXVI, p. 1031-1032</ref>
			], Washington, D.C., with the inscription ''Similia Similibus Curentur'' – "Like cures Like"]]
			Hahnemann conceived of homeopathy while translating a medical treatise by the Scottish physician and chemist ] into German. Being sceptical of Cullen's theory that ] cured ] because it was bitter, Hahnemann ingested some bark specifically to investigate what would happen. He experienced fever, shivering and ]: symptoms similar to those of malaria itself. From this, Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases that they treat.<ref name="UllmanReichenberg-Ullman1994">{{cite book|author1=Robert W. Ullman|author2=Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman|title=The patient's guide to homeopathic medicine |url=https://archive.org/details/patientsguidetoh00robe |url-access=registration|access-date=January 24, 2013|date=October 1, 1994|publisher=Picnic Point Press|isbn=978-0-9640654-2-0|pages=–2}}</ref> This led to the name ''"homeopathy"'', which comes from the {{langx|grc|ὅμοιος}} ''hómoios'', "-like" and {{lang|el|πάθος}} ''páthos'', "suffering".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Merrell|first1=Woodson C.|last2=Shalts|first2=Edward|date=2002|title=Homeopathy|journal=The Medical Clinics of North America|volume=86|issue=1|pages=47–62|doi=10.1016/s0025-7125(03)00071-3|issn=0025-7125|pmid=11795090}}</ref>
			The doctrine that those drugs are effective which produce symptoms similar to the symptoms caused by the diseases they treat, called "the law of similars", was expressed by Hahnemann with the Latin phrase '']'', or "like cures like".<ref name="Hahnemann" /> Hahnemann's law of similars is unproven and does not derive from the ].<ref name="Kirk">{{cite journal|date=December 1894|editor2=John Hugh McQuillen|editor3=George Jacob Ziegler|editor4=James William White|editor5=Edward Cameron Kirk|editor6=Lovick Pierce Anthony|title=A wail from the waste-basket|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/dencos/acf8385.0036.001/1050:349?didno=ACF8385.0036.001;rgn=full+text;view=image|journal=]|type=editorial|volume=36|issue=12|pages=1030–32|editor=J. D. White}}</ref> An account of the effects of eating cinchona bark noted by ], published in 1861, failed to reproduce the symptoms Hahnemann reported.<ref name="Holmes" />{{rp|128}} Subsequent scientific work showed that cinchona cures malaria because it contains ], which kills the '']'' parasite that causes the disease; the mechanism of action is unrelated to Hahnemann's ideas.<ref name="Atwood-BTTF1">{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/homeopathy-and-evidence-based-medicine-back-to-the-future-part-i/ |title=Homeopathy and evidence-based medicine: back to the future |publisher=] |date=January 4, 2008 |access-date=September 9, 2013 |last=Atwood |first=Kimball}}</ref>
	===Miasms and disease===
	In 1828, Hahnemann introduced the concept of ''miasms''; underlying causes for many known diseases.<ref name="Hahnemann_Chronic">
	{{citation
	|author =Hahnemann S
	|title =Die chronischen Krankheiten, ihre eigenthümliche Natur und homöopathische Heilung
	|url =http://books.google.com/?id=Xfk3AAAAMAAJ
	|location =] and ]
	|publisher =Arnoldische Buchhandlung
	|year =1828
	}}.</ref>
	A miasm is often defined by homeopaths as an imputed "peculiar morbid derangement of vital force".<ref name="Organon_5th_29">
	{{citation
	|author =Hahnemann S
	|title =The Organon of the Healing Art
	|year =1833
	|edition =5th
	|at =aphorism 29
	|isbn =0879832282
	}}.</ref>
	Hahnemann associated each miasm with specific diseases, with each miasm seen as the root cause of several diseases. According to Hahnemann, initial exposure to miasms causes local symptoms, such as skin or venereal diseases, but if these symptoms are suppressed by medication, the cause goes deeper and begins to manifest itself as diseases of the internal organs.<ref name="miasms"/> Homeopathy maintains that treating diseases by directly opposing their symptoms, as is sometimes done in conventional medicine, is ineffective because all "disease can generally be traced to some latent, deep-seated, underlying chronic, or inherited tendency".<ref>
	{{citation
	|url =http://homeoint.org/cazalet/ward/historycase.htm
	|author =Ward JW
	|contribution=Taking the History of the Case
	|publisher =Pacific Coast Jnl of Homeopathy, July 1937
	|accessdate =2007-10-22
	}}.</ref> The underlying imputed miasm still remains, and deep-seated ailments can only be corrected by removing the deeper disturbance of the vital force.<ref name=homphilo>
	{{citation
	|contribution=Cause of Disease in homeopathy
	|publisher =Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
	|url =http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/cause.htm
	|accessdate =2007-07-23
	}}.</ref>
			====Provings====
	Hahnemann's miasm theory remains disputed and controversial within homeopathy even in modern times. In 1978, ], then a consultant physician at The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, criticised statements by ] claiming that ], when treated with antibiotics, would develop into secondary and tertiary syphilis with involvement of the central nervous system.<ref name = "minimum-67-4"/> This conflicts with scientific studies, which indicate that ] treatment produces a complete cure of syphilis in more than 90% of cases.<ref name="Birnbaum">{{citation
			Hahnemann began to test what effects various substances may produce in humans, a procedure later called "homeopathic proving". These tests required subjects to test the effects of ingesting substances by recording all their symptoms as well as the ancillary conditions under which they appeared.<ref name="Haehl1922">{{cite book|author=Richard Haehl|title=Samuel Hahnemann: His Life and Work: Based on Recently Discovered State Papers, Documents, Letters, Etc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q80gR6OxDVsC&pg=PA101|access-date=January 24, 2013|year=1922|publisher=B. Jain Publishers|isbn=978-81-7021-693-3|page=101}}</ref> He published a collection of provings in 1805, and a second collection of 65 preparations appeared in his book, ''Materia Medica Pura'' (1810).<ref name="Kirschmann2004">{{cite book|author=Anne Taylor Kirschmann|title=A vital force: women in American homeopathy |url=https://archive.org/details/vitalforcewomeni0000kirs|url-access=registration|access-date=January 28, 2013|year=2004|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-3320-9|page=}}</ref>
	|author =Birnbaum NR, Goldschmidt RH, Buffett WO
	|title =Resolving the common clinical dilemmas of syphilis
	|url =http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2233.html
	|journal =Am Fam Physician
	|volume =59
	|issue =8
	|pages =2233–40, 2245–6
	|year =1999
	|pmid =10221308
	}}.</ref>
	Campbell described this as "a thoroughly irresponsible statement which could mislead an unfortunate layman into refusing orthodox treatment".<ref name = "minimum-67-4"/>
			As Hahnemann believed that large doses of drugs that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, he advocated for extreme dilutions. A technique was devised for making dilutions that Hahnemann claimed would preserve the substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects.<ref name="Dynamization and Dilution">{{cite web |title=Dynamization and dilution |work=Complementary and Alternative Medicine |publisher=] Department of Pharmacology |url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020826082134/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm |archive-date=August 26, 2002 |access-date=March 24, 2009}}</ref> Hahnemann believed that this process enhanced "the spirit-like medicinal powers of the crude substances".<ref name="Organon_5th_269">{{cite book |author=Hahnemann S |title=The organon of the healing art |year=1833 |publisher=Keats Pub. |edition=5th |at=aphorism 269 |isbn=978-0-87983-228-5}}.
	Originally Hahnemann presented only three miasms, of which the most important was "psora" (Greek for ''itch''), described as being related to any itching diseases of the skin, supposed to be derived from suppressed ], and claimed to be the foundation of many further disease conditions. Hahnemann believed psora to be the cause of such diseases as ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Hahnemann_Chronic"/> Since Hahnemann's time, other miasms have been proposed, some replacing one or more of psora's proposed functions, including ] miasms and ] miasms.<ref name=miasms>
			{{cite book |author=Hahnemann S |title=The organon of the healing art |publication-date=1921 |year=1842 |publisher=Keats Pub. |edition=6th |at=aphorism 270 |isbn=978-0-87983-228-5}}</ref> He gathered and published an overview of his new medical system in his book, '']'' (1810), with a sixth edition published in 1921 that homeopaths still use today.<ref name="homhist1">
	{{citation
			{{cite web |title=History of Homeopathy |publisher=Creighton University Department of Pharmacology |url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/history.htm |access-date=July 23, 2007 |date=July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705095116/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/history.htm |archive-date=July 5, 2007}}</ref>
	|title=Classical homeopathy
	|contribution=Miasms in homeopathy
			====Miasms and disease====
	|url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/homeopathy_advice/Theory/Intermediate/miasm.html
			In the ''Organon'', Hahnemann introduced the concept of "miasms" as the "infectious principles" underlying chronic disease<ref name="ClarkeClarke2001">{{cite book |author=John Henry Clarke |title=Homeopathy explained |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUGIWuo4qc8C&pg=PA22 |access-date=January 12, 2013 |date=January 1, 2001 |publisher=Nanopathy |pages=22–|id=GGKEY:JWCD56EF80T }}</ref> and as "peculiar morbid derangement of vital force".<ref name="Grimes2012">{{cite journal
	|author=King S
			|author=Grimes, D. R.
	|accessdate=2009-03-25
			|title=Proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are physically impossible
			|journal=]
			|date=2012
			|volume=17
			|issue=3
			|page=154|doi=10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01162.x
			}}</ref> Hahnemann associated each miasm with specific diseases, and thought that initial exposure to miasms causes local symptoms, such as skin or venereal diseases. His assertion was that if these symptoms were suppressed by medication, the cause went deeper and began to manifest itself as diseases of the internal organs.<ref name="miasms" /> Homeopathy maintains that treating diseases by directly ], as is sometimes done in conventional medicine, is ineffective because all "disease can generally be traced to some latent, deep-seated, underlying chronic, or inherited tendency".<ref>
			{{cite journal
			|url =http://homeoint.org/cazalet/ward/historycase.htm
			|author =Ward JW
			|title=Taking the history of the case
			|journal=Pacific Coast Journal of Homeopathy
			|date=July 1937
			|access-date =October 22, 2007
			}}</ref> The underlying imputed miasm still remains, and deep-seated ailments can be corrected only by removing the deeper disturbance of the vital force.<ref name="homphilo">
			{{cite web
			|title=Cause of disease in homeopathy
			|publisher=Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
			|url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/cause.htm
			|access-date=July 23, 2007
			|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231160035/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/cause.htm
			|archive-date=December 31, 2009
	}}</ref>		}}</ref>
			Hahnemann's ] for miasms originally presented only three local symptoms: psora (the itch), ] (venereal disease) or ] (fig-wart disease).<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Homoeopathy |volume=13 |page=645 |first=William Tod |last=Helmuth}}</ref> Of these the most important was ''psora'', described as being related to any itching diseases of the skin and was claimed to be the foundation of many further disease conditions. Hahnemann believed it to be the cause of such diseases as ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Hahnemann_Chronic">
	The theory of miasms has been criticized as an explanation developed by Hahnemann to preserve the system of homeopathy in the face of treatment failures, and for being inadequate to cover the many hundreds of sorts of diseases, as well as for failing to explain disease predispositions as well as ], environmental factors and the unique disease history of each patient.<ref>], 2004, p. 148-9.</ref>
			{{cite book
			|author =Hahnemann S
			|title =Die chronischen Krankheiten, ihre eigenthümliche Natur und homöopathische Heilung
			|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Xfk3AAAAMAAJ
			|location =] and ]
			|publisher =Arnoldische Buchhandlung
			|year =1828
			}}{{Page needed|date=March 2011}}</ref> Since Hahnemann's time, other miasms have been proposed, some replacing illnesses previously attributed to the psora, including ] and ] miasms.<ref name="miasms">
			{{cite web
			|work = Classical homeopathy
			|title = Miasms in homeopathy
			|url = http://homepage.ntlworld.com/homeopathy_advice/Theory/Intermediate/miasm.html
			|author = King S
			|access-date = March 25, 2009
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090307120146/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/homeopathy_advice/Theory/Intermediate/miasm.html
			|archive-date = March 7, 2009
			}}</ref>
			Hahnemann's miasm theory remains disputed and controversial within homeopathy even in modern times. The theory of miasms has been criticized as an explanation developed to preserve the system of homeopathy in the face of treatment failures, and for being inadequate to cover the many hundreds of sorts of diseases, as well as for failing to explain disease predispositions, as well as ], environmental factors, and the unique disease history of each patient.<ref name="Shelton">{{cite book |last=Shelton |first=JW |year=2004 |title=Homeopathy: How it really works |url=https://archive.org/details/homeopathyhowitr0000shel |url-access=registration |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-59102-109-4}}</ref>{{rp|148–9|date=November 2012}}
	==Homeopathic ''remedies''==
	].]]
			===19th century: rise to popularity and early criticism===
	''Remedy'' is a technical term in homeopathy that refers to a substance prepared with a particular procedure and intended for treating patients; it is not to be confused with the generally-accepted use of the word, which means "a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieves pain".<ref>Definition of "remedy at </ref> Homeopathic practitioners rely on two types of reference when prescribing ''remedies'': ] and repertories. A homeopathic ''Materia medica'' is a collection of "drug pictures", organised alphabetically by ''remedy'', that describes the symptom patterns associated with individual ''remedies''. A homeopathic repertory is an index of disease symptoms that lists ''remedies'' associated with specific symptoms.<ref name=elixris><!-- replace this by something less commercial! -->
			]'', an 1857 painting by Alexander Beydeman, showing historical figures and personifications of homeopathy observing the ] of the 19th century]]Homeopathy achieved its greatest popularity in the 19th century. It was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Hans Birch Gram, a student of Hahnemann.<ref name="Miller">{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Miller |title=America's alternative religions |publisher=State University of New York Press, Albany |date=1995 |pages= |isbn=978-0-7914-2397-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/americasalternat00mill/page/80 }}</ref> The first homeopathic school in the United States opened in 1835 and the ] was established in 1844. Throughout the 19th century, dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States,<ref name="Julian">{{cite web
	{{citation
	|url=http://www.elixirs.com/medica.htm		|url = http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeopathy_pro/homeopathy_1825_1849.html
			|title = Homeopathy Timeline
	|contribution=Materia medica: remedy information
	|accessdate =2007-07-24		|access-date = July 23, 2007
			|website= Whole Health Now
	|author =Jones K
			|archive-date = December 15, 2018
	}}.</ref>
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181215122834/http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeopathy_pro/homeopathy_1825_1849.html
			}}</ref> and by 1900, there were 22 homeopathic colleges and 15,000 practitioners in the United States.<ref name="Time19951125" />
			Because medical practice of the time relied on treatments which were often ineffective and harmful, patients of homeopaths often had better outcomes than those being treated by medical practitioners.<ref name="pmid8885813">{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=E. |last2=Kaptchuk |first2=TJ |title=Homeopathy revisited |journal=Archives of Internal Medicine |volume=156 |issue=19 |pages=2162–4 |year=1996 |pmid=8885813 |doi=10.1001/archinte.156.19.2162}}</ref> Though ineffective, homeopathic preparations are rarely detrimental, thus users are less likely to be harmed by the treatment that is supposed to be helping them.<ref name="homhist1" /> The relative success of homeopathy in the 19th century may have led to the abandonment of the ineffective and harmful treatments of ] and purging and begun the move towards more effective, ].<ref name="kaufmanm">
	Homeopathy uses many animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its ''remedies''. Examples include '']'' (arsenic oxide), ''Natrum muriaticum'' (] or table salt), '']'' (the venom of the ]), '']'', and ''Thyroidinum'' (]). Homeopaths also use treatments called ''nosodes'' (from the Greek ''nosos'', disease) made from diseased or pathological products such as fecal, urinary, and respiratory discharges, blood, and tissue.<ref name="pmid16322800"/> Homeopathic ''remedies'' prepared from healthy specimens are called ''sarcodes''.
			{{cite book
			|author =Kaufman M
			|title =Homeopathy in America: The rise and fall of a medical heresy
			|publisher =]
			|year =1971
			|isbn =978-0-8018-1238-5
			}}{{Page needed|date=March 2011}}</ref> One reason for the growing popularity of homeopathy was its apparent success in treating people suffering from infectious disease epidemics.<ref>
			{{cite book
			|author =Coulter HL
			|year =1973
			|title =Divided Legacy
			|pages =II:544–46; III:267–70, 298–305
			|location =Berkeley
			|publisher =North Atlantic
			|oclc =9538442
			}}</ref> During 19th-century epidemics of diseases such as ], death rates in homeopathic hospitals were often lower than in conventional hospitals, where the treatments used at the time were often harmful and did little or nothing to combat the diseases.<ref>Death rates in conventional hospitals were typically two- to eight-fold higher than in homeopathic hospitals for patients with these infectious diseases; see
			{{cite book
			|title =The logic of figures or comparative results of homeopathic and other treatments
			|author =Bradford TL
			|publisher =Kessinger
			|year =2007
			|orig-date =1900
			|isbn =978-1-4304-8892-7
			}}{{Page needed|date=March 2011}}</ref>
			Even during its rise in popularity, homeopathy was criticized by scientists and physicians. ], physician to ], said in 1843 that the extremely small doses of homeopathy were regularly derided as useless and considered it "an outrage to human reason".<ref name="John_Forbes">
	Some modern homeopaths have considered more esoteric bases for ''remedies'', known as ''imponderables'' because they do not originate from a material but from ] presumed to have been "captured" by alcohol or lactose.<!--See next two sources, and the rest of the journal issue they came from for more information--> Examples include ]s<ref>
			{{cite book
	{{citation
	|author =Lee J, Thompson E		|author =Forbes J
	|title =X-ray drug picture		|title =Homeopathy, allopathy and young physic
			|location =London
			|year =1846
			}}</ref> ] said in 1853 of the highly diluted drugs: "No poison, however strong or powerful, the billionth or decillionth of which would in the least degree affect a man or harm a fly."<ref>
			{{cite book
			|author =Simpson JY
			|title =Homoeopathy, its tenets and tendencies, theoretical, theological and therapeutical
			|location =Edinburgh
			|publisher =Sutherland & Knox
			|year =1853
			|page =11
			}}</ref> Nineteenth-century American physician and author ] was also a vocal critic of homeopathy and published an essay entitled '']'' (1842).<ref name="Holmes" /> The members of the French Homeopathic Society observed in 1867 that some leading homeopaths of Europe not only were abandoning the practice of administering infinitesimal doses but were also no longer defending it.<ref>
			{{cite journal
			|title =Homœopathists vs homœopathy
			|editor =Allen JA
			|journal =Chic Med J
			|pages =268–69
			|year =1867
			|volume =24
			|issue =6
			|pmid =37412875
			|pmc =9801777
			|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=R08VAAAAYAAJ&q=leading+europe+abandoning&pg=PA268
			}}</ref> The last school in the United States exclusively teaching homeopathy closed in 1920.<ref name="homhist1" />
			=== Revival in the 20th century ===
			According to academics {{Interlanguage link|Paul U. Unschuld|lt=|de||WD=}} and ], the ] regime in Germany was fond of homeopathy, and spent large sums of money on researching its mechanisms, but without gaining a positive result.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ernst|first=Edzard|title=Standing up for the truth about homeopathy and Nazi medicine|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/standing-up-for-the-truth-about-homeopathy-and-nazi-medicine-1.2138835|access-date=2020-10-26|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref> Unschuld also states that homeopathy never subsequently took root in the ], but remained more deeply established in European thinking.<ref name="Unschuld2009">{{cite book|author=Paul Ulrich Unschuld|title=What Is Medicine?: Western and Eastern Approaches to Healing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bPMTlS1pzEUC&pg=PA171|access-date=September 7, 2013|date=August 9, 2009|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-94470-1|page=171}}</ref> In the United States, the '']'' of 1938 (sponsored by ], a ] from ] and homeopathic physician) recognized homeopathic preparations as drugs. In the 1950s, there were only 75 solely homeopathic practitioners in the U.S.<ref>
			{{cite news
			|title =Homeopathic Hassle
			|url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891760,00.html
			|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081214115339/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891760,00.html
			|archive-date =December 14, 2008
			|magazine =]
			|date =August 20, 1956
			}}</ref> By the mid to late 1970s, homeopathy made a significant comeback and the sales of some homeopathic companies increased tenfold.<ref name="rader">
			{{cite news
			|date =March 1, 1985
			|publisher =FDA Consumer Magazine
			|author =Rader WM
			|url =http://www.homeowatch.org/history/fdac1.html
			|title =Riding the coattails of homeopathy's revival
			}}</ref>
			Some homeopaths credit the revival to Greek homeopath ], who conducted a "great deal of research to update the scenarios and refine the theories and practice of homeopathy" in the 1970s,<ref name="pmid12614092">{{Cite journal |volume=138 |issue=5 |pages=393–99 |last=Jonas |first=WB |author2=TJ Kaptchuk |author3=K Linde |title=A critical overview of homeopathy |journal=Annals of Internal Medicine |year=2003 |doi=10.7326/0003-4819-138-5-200303040-00009|pmid=12614092 |s2cid=22787732 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Andrew |last=Lockie |title=Encyclopedia of Homeopathy |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediahome00lock_433 |url-access=limited |publisher=] |year=2000 |location=New York |edition=1st |page= |isbn=978-0-7566-1871-1 }}</ref> but Ernst and ] consider it to be linked to the rise of the ].<ref name="isbn0-393-06661-4" /> ] has argued that the increased popularity of homeopathy in recent times may be due to the comparatively long consultations practitioners are willing to give their patients, and to a ], which people think are the basis of homeopathic preparations.<ref name="Hood2009">{{cite book|author=Bruce M. Hood|title=SuperSense|url=https://archive.org/details/supersensewhyweb00hood|url-access=registration|access-date=September 7, 2013|date=April 7, 2009|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-186793-4|page=}}</ref>
			Towards the end of the century opposition to homeopathy began to increase again; with ], the President of the ], saying that "Homeopathy is a fraud perpetrated on the public with the government's blessing, thanks to the abuse of political power of Sen. Royal S. Copeland."<ref>{{cite web|author=William T. Jarvis|author-link=William T. Jarvis|title=Response to Isadora Stehlin "Homeopathy: real medicine or empty promises?" (originally published in ''FDA Consumer'' April 1997)|date=December 15, 2001|url=http://www.homeowatch.org/articles/fdac2.html}}</ref>
			===21st century: renewed criticism===
			Since the beginning of the 21st century, a series of ] have further shown that the therapeutic claims of homeopathy lack scientific justification.<ref name="champe">{{cite journal |last1=Crockett |first1=Chambers |title=Death by homeopathy: issues for civil, criminal and coronial law and for health service policy |pmid=22558899 |journal=Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=454–78 |year=2012 }}</ref> This had led to a decrease or suspension of funding by many governments. In a 2010 report, the ] recommended that homeopathy should no longer receive ] (NHS) funding due its lack of scientific credibility;<ref name="champe" /> NHS funding for homeopathy ceased in 2017.<ref name="TNHS" /> They also asked the ] in the UK to add homeopathic remedies to the list of forbidden prescription items.<ref name="bbc-blacklist" />
			In 2015, the ] of Australia found that "there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Australian report |url=https://www.hri-research.org/resources/homeopathy-the-debate/the-australian-report-on-homeopathy/ |website=HRI Research |access-date=13 August 2018|date=April 6, 2017 }}</ref> The federal government only ended up accepting three of the 45 recommendations made by the 2018 review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Abusson|first1=Kate|date=3 May 2018|title=Pharmacies avoid homeopathy ban as government parks recommendations|work=Sydney Morning Herald|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pharmacies-avoid-homeopathy-ban-as-government-parks-recommendations-20180503-p4zd94.html|access-date=13 August 2018}}</ref> The same year the US ] (FDA) held a hearing requesting public comment on the regulation of homeopathic drugs.<ref name="Science42115">{{cite news|author1=Kelly Servick|date=April 21, 2015|title=FDA takes new look at homeopathy|work=Science|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/fda-takes-new-look-homeopathy|access-date=April 23, 2015|quote=Under FDA guidelines issued in 1988, a company can sell homeopathic products over the counter without demonstrating their safety or efficacy, and―unlike dietary supplements―their packaging can include claims about treating specific conditions, as long as they are "self-limiting" and not chronic. Such conditions include sprains, colds, or allergies.}}</ref> In 2017 the FDA announced it would strengthen regulation of homeopathic products.<ref name="Frazier FDA to Reg">{{cite journal|last1=Frazier|first1=Kendrick|author-link=Kendrick Frazier|date=2018|title=FDA to Regulate Some Homeopathic Products; CFI Hails Move|journal=]|volume=42|issue=2|page=12}}</ref>
			The American non-profit ] (CFI) filed a lawsuit in 2018 against the ] pharmacy for consumer fraud over its sale of homeopathic medicines.<ref name="CVS">{{cite press release|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=CENTER FOR INQUIRY SUES CVS FOR FRAUD OVER SALE OF HOMEOPATHIC FAKE MEDICINE|url=https://centerforinquiry.org/press_releases/cfi-sues-cvs/|publisher=Center for Inquiry|date=9 July 2018|access-date=9 July 2018}}</ref> It claimed that CVS was selling homeopathic products on an easier-to-obtain basis than standard medication.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bellamy|first1=Jann|title=CVS sued for deceiving consumers in sale of homeopathic remedies|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/cvs-sued-for-deceiving-consumers-in-sale-of-homeopathic-remedies/|access-date=22 January 2019|website=Science Based Medicine|date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> In 2019, CFI brought a similar lawsuit against ] for "committing wide-scale consumer fraud and endangering the health of its customers through its sale and marketing of homeopathic medicines".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Fidalgo|first=Paul|date=September 2019|title=CFI sues Walmart for fraud for selling homeopathic fake medicine|magazine=]|location=Amherst, NY|publisher=Center for Inquiry}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Vyse|first1=Stuart|author-link=Stuart Vyse|title=What Should Become of a Monument to Pseudoscience?|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/what-should-become-of-a-monument-to-pseudoscience/|access-date=2 December 2019|website=Skeptical Inquirer|date=July 10, 2019|publisher=Center for Inquiry}}</ref> They also conducted a survey in which they found consumers felt ripped off when informed of the lack of evidence for the efficacy of homeopathic remedies, such as those sold by Walmart and CVS.<ref name="CFISurvey SI 2019">{{cite journal|last1=Frazier|first1=Kendrick|authorlink= Kendrick Frazier|date=2019|title=CFI survey on Homeopathy: Consumers feel scammed by Walmart and CVS|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=43|issue=6|page=7}}</ref><ref name="CFI 2019 Survey">{{cite web|last1=Fidalgo|first1=Paul|title=CONSUMERS FEEL "SCAMMED" BY WALMART AND CVS OVER HOMEOPATHIC FAKE MEDICINE, SURVEY SHOWS|url=https://centerforinquiry.org/press_releases/consumers-feel-scammed-by-walmart-and-cvs-over-homeopathic-fake-medicine/|access-date=9 November 2019|website=Center for Inquiry|date=September 17, 2019}}</ref>
			In 2021, the French healthcare minister phased out social security reimbursements for homeopathic drugs.<ref name="GuardianFrance" /><ref name="FranceEndFunding2021" /> France has long had a stronger belief in the virtues of homeopathic drugs than many other countries and the world's biggest manufacturer of alternative medicine drugs, ], is located in that country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-health-homeopathy/france-will-end-healthcare-refunds-for-homeopathic-drugs-idUSKCN1U42B6 |title=France will end healthcare refunds for homeopathic drugs |website=] |date=July 9, 2019}}</ref> Spain has also announced moves to ban homeopathy and other pseudotherapies.<ref name="El Pais 2019-07-30" /> In 2016, the ] cancelled its master's degree in Homeopathy citing "lack of scientific basis", after advice from the Spanish Ministry of Health.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ansede|first1=Manuel|date=March 4, 2016|title=La Universidad de Barcelona fulmina su máster de homeopatía|newspaper=El País|url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/01/ciencia/1456856774_534268.html}}</ref> Shortly afterwards the ] announced the elimination of its Masters in Homeopathy.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 7, 2016|title=El Máster de Homeopatía de la Universidad de Valencia cancela su edición para el próximo curso.|url=http://www.abc.es/sociedad/abci-master-homeopatia-universidad-valencia-cancela-edicion-para-proximo-curso-201604072200_noticia.html|publisher=Diario ABC}}</ref>
			==Preparations and treatment==
			{{see also|List of homeopathic preparations}}]]]
			Homeopathic preparations are referred to as "homeopathic remedies".<ref name="Consumer Reports">{{cite news |date=December 21, 2015 |title=Homeopathic drugs: No better than placebos? |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/homeopathic-drugs-no-better-than-placebos/2015/12/18/037b3976-7750-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html |access-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref> Practitioners rely on two types of reference when prescribing: '']'' and repertories. A homeopathic ''materia medica'' is a collection of "drug pictures", organized alphabetically. A homeopathic repertory is a quick reference version of the ''materia medica'' that indexes the symptoms and then the associated remedies for each. In both cases different compilers may dispute particular inclusions in the references.<ref>Jonas: Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (c) 2005, Elsevier</ref> The first symptomatic homeopathic ''materia medica'' was arranged by Hahnemann. The first homeopathic repertory was Georg Jahr's ''Symptomenkodex'', published in German in 1835, and translated into English as the ''Repertory to the more Characteristic Symptoms of Materia Medica'' in 1838. This version was less focused on disease categories and was the forerunner to later works by ].<ref name="pmid16322800">{{cite journal|last1=Bellavite|first1=Paolo|last2=Conforti|first2=Anita|last3=Piasere|first3=Valeria|last4=Ortolani|first4=Riccardo|year=2005|title=Immunology and Homeopathy. 1. Historical Background|journal=Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine|volume=2|issue=4|pages=441–52|doi=10.1093/ecam/neh141|pmc=1297514|pmid=16322800}}</ref><ref>
			{{cite book|author=Mathur KN|title=Prinzipien der homöopathischen Verschreibung: Synopsis weltweiter klinischer Erfahrungen|publisher=Georg Thieme Verlag|year=2003|isbn=978-3-8304-9021-0|pages=122–23|language=de|oclc=76518035}}</ref> There are over 118 repertories published in English, with Kent's being one of the most used.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Repertories today and yesterday|url=http://www.homeopathycenter.org/homeopathy-today/repertories-today-and-yesterday|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414063600/http://www.homeopathycenter.org/homeopathy-today/repertories-today-and-yesterday|archive-date=April 14, 2017|access-date=2020-08-31|website=National Center for Homeopathy}}</ref>
			=== Consultation ===
			Homeopaths generally begin with a consultation, which can be a 10–15 minute appointment or last for over an hour, where the patient describes their ]. The patient describes the "modalities", or if their symptoms change depending on the weather and other external factors.<ref name="Vickers 1115–11182">{{Cite journal|last1=Vickers|first1=Andrew|last2=Zollman|first2=Catherine|date=1999-10-23|title=Homoeopathy|journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal|volume=319|issue=7217|pages=1115–1118|doi=10.1136/bmj.319.7217.1115|issn=0959-8138|pmc=1116906|pmid=10531108}}</ref> The practitioner also solicits information on mood, likes and dislikes, physical, mental and emotional states, life circumstances, and any physical or emotional illnesses.<ref name="Stehlin">
			{{cite web|author=Stehlin I|year=1996|title=Homeopathy: Real medicine or empty promises?|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v30/ai_18979004/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924121418/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v30/ai_18979004/|archive-date=September 24, 2009|access-date=October 1, 2007|publisher=U.S. ]}}</ref> This information (also called the "symptom picture") is matched to the "drug picture" in the ''materia medica'' or repertory and used to determine the appropriate homeopathic remedies. In classical homeopathy, the practitioner attempts to match a single preparation to the totality of symptoms (the ''simlilum''), while "clinical homeopathy" involves combinations of preparations based on the illness's symptoms.<ref name="pmid12614092" />
			=== Preparation ===
			]'', a homeopathic remedy in pill form]]Homeopathy uses animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its preparations, generally referring to them using ] names.<ref name="WHO Safety">{{Cite web|title=Safety issues in the preparation of homeopathic medicines|url=https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/traditional/Homeopathy.pdf|website=World Health Organization}}</ref> Examples include '']'' (arsenic oxide), ''natrum muriaticum'' (] or table salt), '']'' (the venom of the ]), '']'', and ''thyroidinum'' (]). Homeopaths say this is to ensure accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FAQs|url=https://www.theaahp.org/consumer-information/faqs/|access-date=2020-08-31|website=The American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists|language=en}}</ref> In the USA the common name must be displayed, although the Latin one can also be present.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> Homeopathic pills are made from an inert substance (often sugars, typically lactose), upon which a drop of liquid homeopathic preparation is placed and allowed to evaporate.<ref name="Ernst2005">{{cite journal|last1=Ernst|first1=E|year=2005|title=Is homeopathy a clinically valuable approach?|url=http://www.dcscience.net/ernst-tips-sept-2005.pdf|journal=Trends in Pharmacological Sciences|volume=26|issue=11|pages=547–48|citeseerx=10.1.1.385.5505|doi=10.1016/j.tips.2005.09.003|pmid=16165225}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sagar|first1=SM|year=2007|title=Homeopathy: Does a teaspoon of honey help the medicine go down?|journal=Current Oncology|volume=14|issue=4|pages=126–27|doi=10.3747/co.2007.150|pmc=1948865|pmid=17710203}}</ref>
			Isopathy is a therapy derived from homeopathy in which the preparations come from diseased or pathological products such as fecal, urinary and respiratory discharges, blood, and tissue.<ref name="pmid16322800" /> They are called nosodes (from the Greek ''nosos'', disease) with preparations made from "healthy" specimens being termed "sarcodes". Many so-called "homeopathic vaccines" are a form of isopathy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kayne SB|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=2006|isbn=978-0-443-10160-1|edition=2|page=171}}</ref> Tautopathy is a form of isopathy where the preparations are composed of drugs or ]s that a person has consumed in the past, in the belief that this can reverse the supposed lingering damage caused by the initial use.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Owen|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZ72uQy385wC&q=Tautopathy&pg=PA56|title=Principles and Practice of Homeopathy: The Therapeutic and Healing Process|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-443-10089-5|page=56|language=en}}</ref> There is no convincing scientific evidence for isopathy as an effective method of treatment.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lack|first1=Caleb W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Miy2CwAAQBAJ&q=isopathy+pseudoscience&pg=PA206|title=Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains|last2=Rousseau|first2=Jacques|date=2016-03-08|publisher=Springer Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8261-9426-8|page=206|language=en}}</ref>
			Some modern homeopaths use preparations they call "imponderables" because they do not originate from a substance but some other phenomenon presumed to have been "captured" by alcohol or ].<!--See next two sources, and the rest of the journal issue they came from for more information--> Examples include ]s<ref>
			{{cite journal
			|vauthors=Lee J, Thompson E |title =X-ray drug picture
	|journal =The Homeopath		|journal =The Homeopath
	|volume =26		|volume =26
Line 213:		Line 271:
	|pages =43–48		|pages =43–48
	|year =2007		|year =2007
	|publisher =]
	|location =Northampton
	|issn =0263-3256		|issn =0263-3256
	}}.</ref>		}}</ref> and ].<ref>
			{{cite journal
	and ].<ref>
			|vauthors=Lee J, Thompson E |title =Postironium – the vastness of the universe knocks me off my feet
	{{citation
	|author =Lee J, Thompson E
	|title =Postironium - the vastness of the universe knocks me off my feet
	|journal =The Homeopath		|journal =The Homeopath
	|volume =26		|volume =26
Line 226:		Line 280:
	|pages =49–54		|pages =49–54
	|year =2007		|year =2007
	|publisher =The Society of Homeopaths
	|issn =0263-3256		|issn =0263-3256
			}}</ref> Another derivative is ], where an electric bio-energy of therapeutic value is supposedly extracted from plants. Popular in the late nineteenth century, electrohomeopathy is extremely pseudo-scientific.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kempf|first1=EJ|year=1906|title=European Medicine: A Résumé of Medical Progress During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries|journal=Medical Library and Historical Journal|volume=4|issue=1|pages=86–100|pmc=1692573|pmid=18340908}}</ref> In 2012, the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh, India, handed down a decree stating that electrohomeopathy was quackery and no longer recognized it as a system of medicine.<ref name="toie">{{cite news|date=5 March 2012|title=Electro-homeopathy clinics to be sealed after Holi|work=]|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Holi-Electro-homeopathy-clinics-to-be-sealed-after-the-festival/articleshow/12140070.cms|access-date=13 August 2018}}</ref>
	}}.</ref>
	Recent ventures by homeopaths into even more esoteric substances include ] (prepared from collected rainwater).<ref>
			Other minority practices include paper preparations, in which the terms for substances and dilutions are written on pieces of paper and either pinned to the patients' clothing, put in their pockets, or placed under glasses of water that are then given to the patients. ], the use of ] such as ]s, can also be used to manufacture preparations. Such practices have been strongly criticized by classical homeopaths as unfounded, speculative, and verging upon magic and superstition.<ref>
	{{citation
			{{cite web
	|url =http://www.maryenglish.co.uk/stormremedy1.html
	|contribution=The homeopathic proving of 'Tempesta' the storm
	|accessdate =2007-07-24
	|author =English M
	}}.</ref>
	Today there are about 3,000 different ''remedies'' commonly used in homeopathy.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}
	Some homeopaths also use techniques that are regarded by other practitioners as controversial. These include ''paper remedies'', where the substance and dilution are written on a piece of paper and either pinned to the patient's clothing, put in their pocket, or placed under a glass of water that is then given to the patient, as well as the use of ] to prepare ''remedies''. Such practices have been strongly criticised by classical homeopaths as unfounded, speculative, and verging upon magic and superstition.<ref>
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.askdrshah.com/images/lancet.pdf		|url =http://www.askdrshah.com/images/lancet.pdf
			|title=Call for introspection and awakening
	|format =PDF
	|contribution=Call for introspection and awakening
	|publisher =Life Force Center		|publisher =Life Force Center
	|accessdate =2007-07-24		|access-date =July 24, 2007
	|author =Shah R		|author =Shah R
			|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070202082349/http://www.askdrshah.com/images/lancet.pdf |archive-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Barwell">
	}}.</ref><ref name="Barwell">
			{{cite journal
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.homeopathy.ac.nz/editorials/2000/vol-20-no-3-june-2000-the-wo-wo-effect/		|url = http://www.homeopathy.ac.nz/editorials/2000/vol-20-no-3-june-2000-the-wo-wo-effect/
	|title =The wo-wo effect		|title = The wo-wo effect
	|accessdate =2009-04-02		|access-date = April 2, 2009
	|author =Barwell B		|author = Barwell B
	|journal =Homoeopathica		|journal = Homoeopathica
	|volume =20		|volume = 20
	|issue =3		|issue = 3
	|year =2000		|year = 2000
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090726180731/http://www.homeopathy.ac.nz/editorials/2000/vol-20-no-3-june-2000-the-wo-wo-effect/
	}}.</ref>
			|archive-date = July 26, 2009
			|df = mdy-all
			}}</ref> Flower preparations are produced by placing flowers in water and exposing them to sunlight. The most famous of these are the ], which were developed by ].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vanhaselen|first1=R|year=1999|title=The relationship between homeopathy and the Dr Bach system of flower remedies: A critical appraisal|journal=British Homoeopathic Journal|volume=88|issue=3|pages=121–27|doi=10.1054/homp.1999.0308|pmid=10449052}}</ref>
	===Preparation===		=== Dilutions ===
			{{Main|Homeopathic dilutions}}
	] used for grinding insoluble solids into homeopathic ''remedies'' including quartz and oyster shells.]]
			]'' (wolf's bane) D6, i.e. the nominal dilution is one ] (10<sup>'''-6'''</sup>).]]Hahnemann claimed that undiluted doses caused reactions, sometimes dangerous ones, and thus that preparations be given at the lowest possible dose.<ref name="Kayne 53">
	In producing ''remedies'' for diseases, homeopaths use a process called ''dynamisation'' or ''potentisation'' whereby a substance is diluted with alcohol or ] and then vigorously shaken by ten hard strikes against an elastic body in a process called ''succussion''. While Hahnemann advocated using ] similar to those of the disease being treated, he found that material doses would intensify the symptoms and exacerbate the condition, sometimes causing what amounted to dangerous toxic reactions. He therefore specified that the substances be diluted. Hahnemann believed that the process of succussion activated the vital energy of the diluted substance.<ref>
			{{cite book|author=Kayne SB|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC&q=homeopathic%20proving%20method&pg=PA53|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=2006|isbn=978-0-443-10160-1|edition=2|page=53}}</ref> A solution that is more dilute is described as having a higher "potency", and thus are claimed to be stronger and deeper-acting.<ref>
	{{citation
			{{cite web|title=Glossary of Homeopathic Terms|url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/Glossary.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016234338/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/glossary.htm|archive-date=October 16, 2012|access-date=February 15, 2009|publisher=Creighton University Department of Pharmacology|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The general method of dilution is ], where solvent is added to part of the previous mixture, but the "Korsakovian" method may also be used. In the Korsakovian method, the vessel in which the preparations are manufactured is emptied, refilled with solvent, with the volume of fluid adhering to the walls of the vessel deemed sufficient for the new batch.<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|270|date=January 2015}} The Korsakovian method is sometimes referred to as K on the label of a homeopathic preparation.<ref>{{cite web|date=January 22, 2011|title=Homeopathy: Diluted out of existence?|url=http://www.scilogs.com/in_scientio_veritas/homeopathy-diluted-out-of-existence/|access-date=June 15, 2015|publisher=scilogs.com/in_scientio_veritas}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Homeopathic Medicine Potency or Dilution|url=http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821064849/http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|archive-date=August 21, 2015|access-date=June 15, 2015|publisher=ritecare.com}}</ref> Another method is Fluxion, which dilutes the substance by continuously passing water through the vial.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Winston|first=Julian|date=1989-04-01|title=A brief history of potentizing machines|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000707858980050X|journal=British Homoeopathic Journal|language=en|volume=78|issue=2|pages=59–68|doi=10.1016/S0007-0785(89)80050-X|s2cid=71942187 |issn=0007-0785}}</ref> Insoluble solids, such as ], ], and ], are diluted by grinding them with lactose ("]").<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|23}}
	|author= Kayne SB
	|year=2006
	|url=http://books.google.com/?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC&pg=PA52&dq=homeopathic+proving+method
	|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice
	|edition=2
	|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences
	|pages=53
	|isbn= 9780443101601
	}}.</ref> For this purpose, Hahnemann had a saddle maker construct a special wooden striking board covered in leather on one side and stuffed with horsehair.<ref>
	{{citation
	|url=http://www.igm-bosch.de/english/f10.htm
	|contribution=Online Museum
	|publisher=The Institute for the History of Medicine
	|accessdate=2007-10-22
	|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071012150206/http://igm-bosch.de/english/f10.htm |archivedate = October 12, 2007}}.</ref><ref name="Williams_2002">
	{{citation
	|author=Williams N
	|date=26 November 2002
	|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathy.shtml
	|contribution=Homeopathy: The test
	|title=]
	|accessdate =2007-01–26
	}} ().</ref> Insoluble solids, such as ] and ] shell, are diluted by grinding them with ] ('']'').
			Three main ] dilution scales are in regular use in homeopathy. Hahnemann created the "centesimal" or "C scale", diluting a substance by a factor of 100 at each stage. There is also a decimal dilution scale (notated as "X" or "D") in which the preparation is diluted by a factor of 10 at each stage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|title=Homeopathic Medicine Potency or Dilution|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821064849/http://www.ritecare.com/homeopathic/guide_potency.asp|archive-date=August 21, 2015|access-date=June 15, 2015}}</ref> The centesimal scale was favoured by Hahnemann for most of his life, although in his last ten years Hahnemann developed a quintamillesimal (Q) scale which diluted the drug 1 part in 50,000.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adler|first1=U. C.|last2=Adler|first2=M. S.|date=2006|title=Hahnemann's experiments with 50 millesimal potencies: a further review of his casebooks|journal=Homeopathy|volume=95|issue=3|pages=171–181|doi=10.1016/j.homp.2006.03.003|issn=1475-4916|pmid=16815521|s2cid=3760829 }}</ref> A 2C dilution works out to one part of the original substance in 10,000 parts of the solution. In standard chemistry, this produces a substance with a concentration of 0.01% (]). A 6C dilution ends up with the original substance diluted by a factor of 100<sup>−6</sup> (one part in one trillion). The end product is usually so diluted as to be indistinguishable from the diluent (pure water, sugar or alcohol).<ref name="Dynamization and Dilution" /><ref name="homsim">
	===Dilutions===
			{{cite web
	{{Main|Homeopathic dilutions}}
			|title = Similia similibus curentur (Like cures like)
			|publisher = Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
			|url = http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/similia.htm
			|access-date = August 20, 2007
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070808051756/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/similia.htm
			|archive-date = August 8, 2007
			|df = mdy-all
			}}</ref> The greatest dilution reasonably likely to contain at least one molecule of the original substance is approximately 12C.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Page 3|title=Alternative Medicine: Homeopathy-A Review|url=http://www.ijopjournal.com/File_Folder/57-69.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903231608/http://www.ijopjournal.com/File_Folder/57-69.pdf|archive-date=September 3, 2015|access-date=August 10, 2015|publisher=International Journal of Pharmacotherapy|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
			Hahnemann advocated dilutions of 1 part to 10<sup>60</sup> or 30C.<ref name="Organon_6th_128">
	Three ]ic potency scales are in regular use in homeopathy. Hahnemann created the ''centesimal'' or ''C scale'', diluting a substance by a factor of 100 at each stage. The centesimal scale was favored by Hahnemann for most of his life. A 2C dilution requires a substance to be diluted to one part in one hundred, and then some of that diluted solution diluted by a further factor of one hundred. This works out to one part of the original substance in 10,000 parts of the solution.<ref>
			{{cite book
	In standard chemistry, this produces a substance with a concentration of 0.01%, measured by the ] method.</ref>
	A 6C dilution repeats this process six times, ending up with the original material diluted by a factor of 100<sup>−6</sup>=10<sup>−12</sup> (one part in one trillion)(1/1,000,000,000,000). Higher dilutions follow the same pattern. In homeopathy, a solution that is more dilute is described as having a higher potency, and more dilute substances are considered by homeopaths to be stronger and deeper-acting remedies.<ref>
	{{citation
	|contribution=Glossary of Homeopathic Terms
	|publisher =Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
	|url =http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/Glossary.htm
	|accessdate =2009-02-15
	}}</ref> The end product is often so diluted that it is indistinguishable from the dilutant (pure water, sugar or alcohol).<ref name="Dynamization and Dilution" /><ref name=SmithHM>
	{{citation
	|author=Smith T
	|title=Homeopathic Medicine
	|publisher=Healing Arts Press
	|year=1989
	|pages=14–15
	}}</ref><ref name="homsim">
	{{citation
	|contribution=Similia similibus curentur (Like cures like)
	|publisher =Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
	|url =http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/similia.htm
	|accessdate =2007-08-20
	}}</ref>
	Hahnemann advocated 30C dilutions for most purposes (that is, dilution by a factor of 10<sup>60</sup>).<ref name="Organon_6th_128">
	{{citation
	|author =Hahnemann S		|author =Hahnemann S
	|title =The Organon of the Healing Art		|title =The Organon of the Healing Art
	|year =1921		|year =1921
			|publisher =Keats Pub.
	|edition =6th		|edition =6th
	|at =aphorism 128		|at =aphorism 128
	|isbn =0879832282		|isbn =978-0-87983-228-5
			}}</ref> Hahnemann regularly used dilutions of up to 30C but opined that "there must be a limit to the matter".<ref name="Haehl1922" />{{rp|322|date=January 2015}} To counter the reduced potency at high dilutions he formed the view that vigorous shaking by striking on an elastic surface – a process termed ''succussion'' – was necessary.<ref name="Kayne 53" /> Homeopaths are unable to agree on the number and force of strikes needed, and there is no way that the claimed results of succussion can be tested.<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|67–69|date=January 2015}}
	}}</ref> In Hahnemann's time it was reasonable to assume that ''remedies'' could be diluted indefinitely, as the concept of the atom or molecule as the ] was just beginning to be recognized. The greatest dilution that is reasonably likely to contain one molecule of the original substance is 12C.
			Critics of homeopathy commonly emphasize the dilutions involved in homeopathy, using analogies.<ref name="Appendix2">For further discussion of homeopathic dilutions and the mathematics involved, see ].</ref> One mathematically correct example is that a 12C solution is equivalent to "a pinch of salt in both the North and South Atlantic Oceans".<ref name="Bambridge">
	] (wolf's bane) D6, i.e. the nominal dilution is one ] (10<sup>'''-6'''</sup>).]]
			{{cite book|author=Bambridge AD|title=Homeopathy investigated|publisher=Diasozo Trust|year=1989|isbn=978-0-948171-20-8|location=], England}}</ref><ref name="Andrews">
	Some homeopaths developed a decimal scale (D or X), diluting the substance to ten times its original volume each stage. The D or X scale dilution is therefore half that of the same value of the C scale; for example, "12X" is the same level of dilution as "6C". Hahnemann never used this scale but it was very popular throughout the 19th century and still is in Europe. This potency scale appears to have been introduced in the 1830s by the American homeopath, ].<ref name=Dudgeon>
			{{cite web|author=Andrews P|year=1990|title=Homeopathy and Hinduism|url=http://www.watchman.org/na/homeopth.htm|publisher=]|periodical=The Watchman Expositor|volume=7|issue=3}}</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Robert ED
	|title =Lectures on the theory & practice of homeopathy
	|year =1853
	|location =London
	|pages =526–7
	|url =http://books.google.com/?id=UKZ_lqlWPhUC
	|format =PDF
	|isbn =81-7021-311-8
	|publisher =B. Jain
	}}</ref> In the last ten years of his life, Hahnemann also developed a quintamillesimal (Q) or LM scale diluting the drug 1 part in 50,000 parts of diluent.<ref>
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.simillimum.com/education/little-library/the-works-of-great-homoeopaths/ham/article04.php
	|contribution=Hahnemann's advanced methods
	|accessdate =2007-08-04
	|author =Little D
	|title =Simillimum.com
	}}</ref> A given dilution on the Q scale is roughly 2.35 times its designation on the C scale. For example a ''remedy'' described as "20Q" has about the same concentration as a "47C" ''remedy''.<ref>
	If a dilution is designated as q on the Q scale, and c on the C scale, c/q=log<sub>10</sub>(50,000)/2=2.349485.</ref>
	{| class="wikitable"
	|-
	! X Scale
	! C Scale
	! Ratio
	! Note
	|-
	| Ø
	| Ø
	| 1:1
	| mother tincture <ref>{{citation|title=A Guide to the Methdologies of Homeopathy|author=Ian Watson|page=xi|url=http://books.google.com/?id=-Fc0aOvaO6UC|year=2004|isbn=0 9517657 6 0|publisher=Cutting Edge Publications}}</ref> (undiluted)
	|-
	| 1X
	| —
	| 1:10
	| described as low potency
	|-
	| 2X
	| 1C
	| 1:100
	| called ''higher'' potency than 1X by homeopaths
	|-
	| 6X
	| 3C
	| 10<sup>−6</sup>
	|
	|-
	| 8X
	| 4C
	| 10<sup>−8</sup>
	| allowable concentration of arsenic in U.S. drinking water<ref name = "Arsenic">
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic/index.html
	|contribution=Arsenic in drinking water
	|publisher =]
	}}.</ref>
	|-
	| 12X
	| 6C
	| 10<sup>−12</sup>
	|-
	| 24X
	| 12C
	| 10<sup>−24</sup>
	| ] if one ] of the original substance was used.
	|-
	| 60X
	| 30C
	| 10<sup>−60</sup>
	| Dilution advocated by Hahnemann for most purposes;<ref name="Organon_6th_128"/> patient would need to consume 10<sup>41</sup> pills (a billion times the mass of the Earth), or 10<sup>34</sup> gallons of liquid ''remedy'' (10 billion times the volume of the Earth) to consume a single molecule of the original substance<ref>], 2004, p. 272.</ref>
	|-
	| 400X
	| 200C
	| 10<sup>−400</sup>
	| Dilution of popular homeopathic flu ''remedy'' ]
	|-
	|colspan=4|Note: the "X scale" is also called "D scale". 1X = 1D, 2X = 2D, etc.
	|}
	]'']]
	Critics and advocates of homeopathy alike commonly attempt to illustrate the dilutions involved in homeopathy with analogies.<ref name="Appendix">For further discussion of homeopathic dilutions and the mathematics involved, see ].</ref> Hahnemann is reported to have joked that a suitable procedure to deal with an epidemic would be to empty a bottle of poison into ], if it could be succussed 60 times.<ref name=Bambridge>
	{{citation
	|title =Homeopathy investigated
	|author =Bambridge AD
	|publisher =Diasozo Trust
	|location =]
	|year =1989
	|isbn =0-94817120-0
	}}</ref><ref name=Andrews>
	{{citation
	|title =Homeopathy and Hinduism
	|url =http://www.watchman.org/na/homeopth.htm
	|author =Andrews P
	|periodical =The Watchman Expositor
	|publisher =]
	|volume =7
	|issue =3
	|year =1990
	}}</ref>
	Another example given by a critic of homeopathy states that a 12C solution is equivalent to a "pinch of salt in both the North and South Atlantic Oceans",<ref name=Bambridge/><ref name=Andrews/> which is approximately correct.<ref>
	A 12C solution produced using ] (also called ''natrum muriaticum'' in homeopathy) is the equivalent of dissolving 0.36&nbsp;mL of table salt, weighing about 0.77&nbsp;g, into a volume of water the size of the Atlantic Ocean, since the volume of the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas is 3.55×10<sup>8</sup>&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> or 3.55×10<sup>20</sup>&nbsp;L :		A 12C solution produced using ] (also called ''natrum muriaticum'' in homeopathy) is the equivalent of dissolving 0.36&nbsp;mL of table salt, weighing about 0.77&nbsp;g, into a volume of water the size of the Atlantic Ocean, since the volume of the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas is 3.55×10<sup>8</sup>&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> or 3.55×10<sup>20</sup>&nbsp;L :
			{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J0TAAAAYAAJ&q=355+x+106+km3+in+the+whole|title=The geology of the Atlantic Ocean|vauthors=Emery KO, Uchupi E|publisher=Springer|year=1984|isbn=978-0-387-96032-6}}</ref> One-third of a ] of some original substance diluted into all the water on Earth would produce a preparation with a concentration of about 13C.<ref name="Appendix2" /><ref>The volume of all water on earth is about 1.36×10<sup>9</sup>&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup>:
	{{citation
			{{cite web
	|url =http://books.google.com/?id=6J0TAAAAYAAJ&q=355+x+106+km3+in+the+whole&dq=355+x+106+km3+in+the+whole
			|url = http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterdistribution.html
	|title =The geology of the Atlantic Ocean
	|author =Emery KO, Uchupi E		|title = Earth's water distribution
			|website= ]
	|publisher =Springer
	|year =1984		|date = August 28, 2006
			|access-date = March 14, 2008
	|isbn =0-38796032-5
			|archive-date = June 29, 2012
	}}</ref>
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120629055146/http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterdistribution.html
	One third of a ] of some original substance diluted into all the water on earth would produce a ''remedy'' with a concentration of about 13C.<ref>
			}}</ref><ref>Gleick PH, ''Water resources'', In
	The volume of all water on earth is about 1.36×10<sup>9</sup>&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup>:
			{{cite book
	{{citation
	|url =http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterdistribution.html
	|contribution=Earth's water distribution
	|title =Water Science for Schools
	|publisher =]
	|date =28 August 2006
	|isbn =0078254027
	}}</ref><ref name="Appendix"/><ref>Gleick PH, ''Water resources'', In
	{{citation
	|title =Encyclopedia of climate and weather		|title =Encyclopedia of climate and weather
	|editor1 =Schneider SH		|editor1 =Schneider SH
Line 450:		Line 356:
	|year =1996		|year =1996
	|pages =817–823		|pages =817–823
	}})</ref> A popular homeopathic treatment for the ] is a 200C dilution of duck liver, marketed under the name '']''. As there are only about 10<sup>80</sup> atoms in the entire ], a dilution of one molecule in the observable universe would be about 40C. Oscillococcinum would thus require 10<sup>320</sup> more universes to simply have one molecule in the final substance.<ref>{{Citation		}}</ref> ] points out that a 200C dilution of duck liver, marketed under the name ], would require 10<sup>320</sup> universes worth of molecules to contain just one original molecule in the final substance.<ref>{{cite book
	|title =Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science		|title =Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science
			|url =https://archive.org/details/superstitionbeli00park
			|url-access =limited
	|author =Robert L. Park		|author =Robert L. Park
			|author-link =Robert L. Park
	|publisher =Princeton University Press		|publisher =Princeton University Press
	|location =
	|year =2008		|year =2008
			|pages =–46
	|pages =145–146
			|isbn=978-0-691-13355-3}}</ref> The high dilutions characteristically used are often considered to be the most controversial and implausible aspect of homeopathy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=P |title=The Memory of Water: a scientific heresy? |journal=Homeopathy |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=141–2 |year=2007 |pmid=17678808 |doi=10.1016/j.homp.2007.05.008|s2cid=3737723 }}</ref>
	|isbn=0691133557}}</ref>
	The high dilutions characteristically used are often considered to be the most controversial and implausible aspect of homeopathy.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Fisher P
	|title =The Memory of Water: a scientific heresy?
	|journal =Homeopathy
	|volume =96
	|issue =3
	|pages =141–142
	|year =2007
	|pmid =17678808
	|doi =10.1016/j.homp.2007.05.008
	}}</ref>
	====Dilution debate====
	Not all homeopaths advocate extremely high dilutions. Many of the early homeopaths were originally doctors and generally used lower dilutions such as "3X" or "6X", rarely going beyond "12X". The split between lower and higher dilutions followed ideological lines. Those favoring low dilutions stressed ] and a strong link to conventional medicine, while those favoring high dilutions emphasised vital force, miasms and a ] interpretation of disease.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Wheeler CE
	|title =Dr. Hughes: Recollections of some masters of homeopathy
	|publisher =Health through homeopathy
	|year =1941
	}}</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Bodman F
	|title =The Richard Hughes memorial lecture
	|publisher =BHJ
	|year =1970
	|pages =179–193
	}}</ref>
	Some products with such relatively lower dilutions continue to be sold, but like their counterparts, they have not been conclusively demonstrated to have any effect beyond the placebo effect.<ref name="CR">
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health-fitness/drugs-supplements/headon-9-07/overview/0709_headache_ov_1.htm
	|title =ConsumerReportsHealth.org
	|contribution=HeadOn: Headache drug lacks clinical data
	|accessdate =2009-03-25
	|publisher =]
	}}</ref><ref name="randi06">
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-07/072806academic.html#i15
	|contribution=Analysis of Head On
	|title =James Randi's Swift
	|accessdate =2006-07-27
	}}</ref>
	===Provings===		===Provings===
			Homeopaths claim that they can determine the properties of their preparations by following a method which they call "proving".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dantas |first1=F |last2=Fisher |first2=P |last3=Walach |first3=H |last4=Wieland |first4=F |last5=Rastogi |first5=D |last6=Teixeira |first6=H |last7=Koster |first7=D |last8=Jansen |first8=J |last9=Eizayaga |first9=J |title=A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic pathogenetic trials published from 1945 to 1995 |journal=Homeopathy |volume=96 |issue=1 |pages=4–16 |year=2007 |pmid=17227742 |doi=10.1016/j.homp.2006.11.005|s2cid=3689226 }}</ref> As performed by Hahnemann, provings involved administering various preparations to healthy volunteers. The volunteers were then observed, often for months at a time. They were made to keep extensive journals detailing all of their symptoms at specific times throughout the day. They were forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, spices, or wine for the duration of the experiment; playing chess was also prohibited because Hahnemann considered it to be "too exciting", though they were allowed to drink beer and encouraged to exercise in moderation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bradford|first1=Thomas Lindsley|title=The Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann|date=1895|publisher=Boericke & Tafel|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-1-330-00150-9|pages=–04|url=https://archive.org/details/lifelettersofdrs00brad|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref> At first Hahnemann used undiluted doses for provings, but he later advocated provings with preparations at a 30C dilution,<ref name="Organon_6th_128" /> and most modern provings are carried out using ultra-dilute preparations.<ref>
	Hahnemann experimented on himself and others for several years before using ''remedies'' on patients. His experiments did not initially consist of giving ''remedies'' to the sick, because he thought that the most similar ''remedy'', by virtue of its ability to induce symptoms similar to the disease itself, would make it impossible to determine which symptoms came from the ''remedy'' and which from the disease itself. Therefore, sick people were excluded from these experiments. The method used for determining which ''remedies'' were suitable for specific diseases was called ''proving'', after the original German word ''Prüfung'', meaning "test". A homeopathic proving is the method by which the profile of a homeopathic ''remedy'' is determined.<ref>
			{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC&q=homeopathic+proving+method&pg=PA52|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice|author=Kayne SB|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=2006|isbn=978-0-443-10160-1|edition=2|page=52}}</ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Dantas F, Fisher P, Walach H ''et al.''
	|title =A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic pathogenetic trials published from 1945 to 1995
	|journal =Homeopathy
	|volume =96
	|issue =1
	|pages =4–16
	|year =2007
	|pmid =17227742
	|doi =10.1016/j.homp.2006.11.005
	}}.</ref>
	At first Hahnemann used material doses for provings, but he later advocated proving with ''remedies'' at a 30C dilution,<ref name = "Organon_6th_128"/> and most modern provings are carried out using ultradilute ''remedies'' in which it is highly unlikely that any of the original molecules remain.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author= Kayne SB
	|year=2006
	|url=http://books.google.com/?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC&pg=PA52&dq=homeopathic+proving+method
	|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice
	|edition=2
	|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences
	|pages=52
	|isbn= 9780443101601
	}}.</ref> During the proving process, Hahnemann administered ''remedies'' to healthy volunteers, and the resulting symptoms were compiled by observers into a ''drug picture''. The volunteers were observed for months at a time and made to keep extensive journals detailing all of their symptoms at specific times throughout the day. They were forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, spices, or wine for the duration of the experiment; playing chess was also prohibited because Hahnemann considered it to be "too exciting", though they were allowed to drink beer and encouraged to exercise in moderation. After the experiments were over, Hahnemann made the volunteers take an oath swearing that what they reported in their journals was the truth, at which time he would interrogate them extensively concerning their symptoms.
	Provings have been described as important in the development of the ], due to their early use of simple control groups, systematic and quantitative procedures, and some of the first application of ] in medicine.<ref>		Provings are claimed to have been important in the development of the ], due to their early use of simple control groups, systematic and quantitative procedures, and some of the first application of ] in medicine.<ref>
			{{cite book
	{{citation
	|author=Cassedy JH		|author=Cassedy JH
	|title=American Medicine and Statistical Thinking, 1800–1860		|title=American Medicine and Statistical Thinking, 1800–1860
	|publisher=iUniverse		|publisher=iUniverse
	|year =1999		|year=1999
	|isbn=978-1-58348428-9		|isbn=978-1-58348-428-9
	}}.</ref> The lengthy records of self-experimentation by homeopaths have occasionally proven useful in the development of modern drugs: For example, evidence that ] might be useful as a treatment for ] was discovered by looking through homeopathic provings, though homeopaths themselves never used it for that purpose at that time.<ref name="pmid2866851">		}}{{Page needed|date=March 2011}}</ref> The lengthy records of ] by homeopaths have occasionally proven useful in the development of modern drugs: For example, evidence that ] might be useful as a treatment for ] was discovered by looking through homeopathic provings, though homeopaths themselves never used it for that purpose at that time.<ref name="pmid2866851">
			{{cite journal
	{{citation
	|author=Fye WB		|author=Fye WB
	|title=Nitroglycerin: a homeopathic remedy		|title=Nitroglycerin: a homeopathic remedy
Line 541:		Line 385:
	|volume=73		|volume=73
	|issue=1		|issue=1
	|pages=21–9		|pages=21–29
	|year=1986		|year=1986
	|pmid=2866851		|pmid=2866851
			|doi=10.1161/01.CIR.73.1.21
	|url=http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/73/1/21.pdf
			|doi-access=free
	|format=PDF
			}}</ref> The first recorded provings were published by Hahnemann in his 1796 ''Essay on a New Principle''.<ref>
	}}.</ref>
			{{cite journal
	The first recorded provings were published by Hahnemann in his 1796 ''Essay on a New Principle''.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Hahnemann S		|author=Hahnemann S
	|title=Versuch über ein neues Prinzip zur Auffindung der Heilkräfte der Arzneisubstanzen, nebst einigen Blicken auf die bisherigen		|title=Versuch über ein neues Prinzip zur Auffindung der Heilkräfte der Arzneisubstanzen, nebst einigen Blicken auf die bisherigen
	|journal=Hufelands Journal		|journal=]
			|editor=C. W. Hufelands
	|language=German
			|language=de
	|volume=II		|volume=II
	|issue=3		|issue=3
	|year =1796		|year=1796
			}}</ref> His ''Fragmenta de Viribus'' (1805)<ref>
	}}.</ref>
			{{cite book
	His ''Fragmenta de Viribus'' (1805)<ref>
	{{citation
	|title=Fragmenta de Viribus medicamentorum Positivis		|title=Fragmenta de Viribus medicamentorum Positivis
	|author=Hahnemann S		|author=Hahnemann S
	|language=Latin		|language=la
	|location=Leipzig		|location=Leipzig
	|publisher=
	|year=1805		|year=1805
	}}.</ref> contained the results of 27 provings, and his 1810 ''Materia Medica Pura'' contained 65.<ref>		}}</ref> contained the results of 27 provings, and his 1810 ''Materia Medica Pura'' contained 65.<ref>
			{{cite book
	{{citation
	|title=Materia medica pura; sive, Doctrina de medicamentorum viribus in corpore humano sano observatis; e Germanico sermone in Latinum conversa.		|title=Materia medica pura; sive, Doctrina de medicamentorum viribus in corpore humano sano observatis; e Germanico sermone in Latinum conversa
	|author=Hahnemann S, Stapf E, Gross G, de Brunnow EG		|vauthors=Hahnemann S, Stapf E, Gross G, de Brunnow EG |language=la
	|language=Latin
	|location=Dresden		|location=Dresden
	|publisher=Arnold		|publisher=Arnold
	|year=1826-1828		|year=1826–1828
	|oclc=14840659		|oclc=14840659
			}}</ref> For James Tyler Kent's 1905 ''Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica'', 217 preparations underwent provings and newer substances are continually added to contemporary versions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kent|first=James Tyler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-ArAQAAMAAJ|title=Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica|date=1905|publisher=Boericke & Tafel|isbn=978-0-7222-9856-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kent|first=James Tyler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RZtEPAAACAAJ|title=Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Together With Kent's "New Remedies" Incorporated and Arranged in One Alphabetical Order|date=2020-03-31|publisher=B. Jain Publishers (P) Limited|isbn=978-81-319-0259-2|language=en}}</ref>
	}}.</ref>
	For ]'s 1905 ''Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica'', 217 ''remedies'' underwent provings and newer substances are continually added to contemporary versions.
			Though the proving process has superficial similarities with clinical trials, it is fundamentally different in that the process is subjective, not ], and modern provings are unlikely to use pharmacologically active levels of the substance under proving.<ref name="Creighton">{{cite web |url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/science/validity.htm |title=Are the principles of Homeopathy scientifically valid? |publisher=Creighton University School of Medicine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816233729/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/science/validity.htm |archive-date=August 16, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> As early as 1842, Oliver Holmes had noted that provings were impossibly vague, and the purported effect was not repeatable among different subjects.<ref name="Holmes" />
	===Repertory===
	]
			== Evidence and efficacy ==
	Homeopaths generally begin with detailed examinations of their patients' histories, including questions regarding their physical, mental and emotional states, their life circumstances and any physical or emotional illnesses. The homeopath then attempts to translate this information into a complex formula of mental and physical symptoms, including likes, dislikes, innate predispositions and even body type.<ref name=Stehlin>
			{{main|Evidence and efficacy of homeopathy}}
	{{citation
			Outside of the ] community, scientists have long considered homeopathy a sham<ref name="aaci2">{{cite journal|last1=Caulfield|first1=Timothy|last2=Rachul|first2=Christen|year=2011|title=Supported by science?: What Canadian naturopaths advertise to the public|journal=Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology|volume=7|issue=1 |page=14|doi=10.1186/1710-1492-7-14|pmc=3182944|pmid=21920039|quote=Within the non-CAM scientific community, homeopathy has long been viewed as a sham|author-link1=Timothy Caulfield |doi-access=free }}</ref> or a ],<ref name="Tuomela p83-101">{{cite book |author=Tuomela, R |title=Rational Changes in Science |chapter=Science, Protoscience, and Pseudoscience |publisher=Springer |year=1987 |isbn=978-94-010-8181-8 |veditors=Pitt JC, Marcello P |series=Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science |volume=98 |pages=83–101 |doi=10.1007/978-94-009-3779-6_4 |author-link=Raimo Tuomela|issn = 0068-0346}}</ref><ref name="Why">{{cite journal |vauthors=Mukerji N, Ernst E |title=Why homoeopathy is pseudoscience |journal=Synthese |date=14 September 2022 |volume=200 |issue=5 |eissn=1573-0964 |doi=10.1007/s11229-022-03882-w |pmid=|s2cid=252297716 |url= |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Baran20142">{{cite book|vauthors=Baran GR, Kiana MF, Samuel SP|title=Healthcare and Biomedical Technology in the 21st Century |chapter=Science, Pseudoscience, and Not Science: How do They Differ? |publisher=Springer|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4614-8540-7|pages=19–57|doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-8541-4_2|quote=within the traditional medical community it is considered to be quackery}}</ref><ref name="Ladyman2">{{cite book|author=Ladyman J|title=Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-226-05196-3|veditors=Pigliucci M, Boudry M|pages=48–49|chapter=Chapter 3: Towards a Demarcation of Science from Pseudoscience|quote=Yet homeopathy is a paradigmatic example of pseudoscience. It is neither simply bad science nor science fraud, but rather profoundly departs from scientific method and theories while being described as scientific by some of its adherents (often sincerely).}}</ref> and the medical community regards it as ].<ref name="Baran20142" /> There is an overall absence of sound ] of therapeutic efficacy, which is consistent with the lack of any ] pharmacological ] or mechanism.<ref name="pmid124926032" /> Proponents argue that homeopathic medicines must work by some, as yet undefined, biophysical mechanism.<ref name="Vickers 1115–11182" /> No homeopathic preparation has been shown to be different from ].<ref name="pmid124926032" />
	|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v30/ai_18979004/
	|contribution=Homeopathy: Real medicine or empty promises?
	|accessdate=2007-10-01
	|author=Stehlin I
	|year=1996
	|publisher=U.S. ]
	}}.</ref>
			=== Lack of scientific evidence ===
	From these symptoms, the homeopath chooses how to treat the patient. A compilation of reports of many homeopathic provings, supplemented with clinical data, is known as a ''homeopathic materia medica''. But because a practitioner first needs to explore the ''remedies'' for a particular symptom rather than looking up the symptoms for a particular ''remedy'', the ''homeopathic repertory'', which is an index of symptoms, lists after each symptom those ''remedies'' that are associated with it. Repertories are often very extensive and may include data extracted from multiple sources of ''materia medica''. There is often lively debate among compilers of repertories and practitioners over the veracity of a particular inclusion.
			The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy<ref name="Adler2">{{Cite news|author=Adler J|date=February 4, 2004|title=No way to treat the dying|magazine=]|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/105581}}</ref> and its use of preparations without active ingredients have led to characterizations of homeopathy as pseudoscience and quackery,<ref name="Dearden2">{{cite news|last=Dearden|first=Lizzie|date=February 7, 2017|title=Russian Academy of Sciences says homeopathy is dangerous 'pseudoscience' that does not work|newspaper=]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-academy-of-sciences-homeopathy-treaments-pseudoscience-does-not-work-par-magic-a7566406.html|access-date=February 7, 2017}}</ref><ref name="pmid146761792">{{cite journal|last1=Atwood|first1=KC|year=2003|title="Neurocranial restructuring" and homeopathy, neither complementary nor alternative|journal=Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery|volume=129|issue=12|pages=1356–57|doi=10.1001/archotol.129.12.1356|pmid=14676179}}</ref><ref name="NdububaQuack2">{{cite journal|last1=Ndububa|first1=VI|year=2007|title=Medical quackery in Nigeria; why the silence?|journal=Nigerian Journal of Medicine|volume=16|issue=4|pages=312–17|doi=10.4314/njm.v16i4.37328|pmid=18080586|doi-access=free}}</ref> or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst".<ref name="Ernst2">{{cite journal|last1=Ernst|first1=E|last2=Pittler|first2=MH|year=1998|title=Efficacy of homeopathic arnica: a systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials|journal=Archives of Surgery|volume=133|issue=11|pages=1187–90|doi=10.1001/archsurg.133.11.1187|pmid=9820349|doi-access=free}}</ref> The ] considers homeopathy a "dangerous 'pseudoscience' that does not work", and "urges people to treat homeopathy 'on a par with magic{{'"}}.<ref name="Dearden2" /> The Chief Medical Officer for England, ], has stated that homeopathic preparations are "rubbish" and do not serve as anything more than placebos.<ref>{{cite news|last=Silverman|first=Rosa|title=Homeopathy is 'rubbish', says chief medical officer|work=]|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9822744/Homeopathy-is-rubbish-says-chief-medical-officer.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126102237/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9822744/Homeopathy-is-rubbish-says-chief-medical-officer.html|archive-date=January 26, 2013|access-date=January 24, 2013|issn=0307-1235|oclc=49632006}}</ref> In 2013, ], the UK ] and head of the ] said "homeopathy is nonsense, it is non-science."<ref name="Collins2">{{cite news|author=Nick Collins|date=April 18, 2013|title=Homeopathy is nonsense, says new chief scientist|work=]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10003680/Homeopathy-is-nonsense-says-new-chief-scientist.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420234704/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10003680/Homeopathy-is-nonsense-says-new-chief-scientist.html|archive-date=April 20, 2013}}</ref> His predecessor, ], also said that homeopathy "has no underpinning of scientific basis" and is being "fundamentally ignored" by the Government.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Richard|date=April 9, 2013|title=Homeopathy on the NHS is 'mad' says outgoing scientific adviser|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9982234/Homeopathy-on-the-NHS-is-mad-says-outgoing-scientific-adviser.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9982234/Homeopathy-on-the-NHS-is-mad-says-outgoing-scientific-adviser.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2020-10-28|website=The Telegraph|language=en-GB}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
			Jack Killen, acting deputy director of the ], says homeopathy "goes beyond current understanding of chemistry and physics". He adds: "There is, to my knowledge, no condition for which homeopathy has been proven to be an effective treatment."<ref name="Adler2" /> ] says that homeopaths who misrepresent scientific evidence to a ] public, have "... walled themselves off from academic medicine, and critique has been all too often met with avoidance rather than argument".<ref name="Goldacre20072">{{cite journal|last1=Goldacre|first1=Ben|year=2007|title=Benefits and risks of homoeopathy|journal=The Lancet|volume=370|issue=9600|pages=1672–73|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61706-1|pmid=18022024|s2cid=43588927}}</ref> Homeopaths often prefer to ignore ] in favour of ] positive results, such as by promoting a particular ] (one which Goldacre describes as "little more than a customer-satisfaction survey") as if it were more informative than a series of randomized controlled trials.<ref name="Goldacre20072" />
	The first symptomatic index of the homeopathic materia medica was arranged by Hahnemann. Soon after, one of his students ], created the ''Therapeutic Pocket Book'', another homeopathic repertory.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Boger CM, von Bönninghausen CMF, Bradford TL
	|title=Boenninghausen's characteristics, materia medica & repertory : with word index
	|year=1999
	|edition=reprint
	|location=New Delhi
	|publisher=B. Jain
	|isbn=8170212073
	|oclc=46785916
	}}.</ref>
	The first such homeopathic repertory was Georg Jahr's ''Symptomenkodex'', published in German (1835), which was then first translated to English (1838) by Constantine Hering as the ''Repertory to the more Characteristic Symptoms of Materia Medica''. This version was less focused on disease categories and would be the forerunner to Kent's later works.<ref name="pmid16322800">
	{{citation
	|author =Bellavite P, Conforti A, Piasere V, Ortolani R
	|title =Immunology and homeopathy. 1. Historical background
	|journal =Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
	|volume =2
	|issue =4
	|pages =441–52
	|year =2005
	|pmid =16322800
	|pmc =1297514
	|url =http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/2/4/441
	|doi =10.1093/ecam/neh141
	}}.</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Mathur KN
	|title =Prinzipien der homöopathischen Verschreibung: Synopsis weltweiter klinischer Erfahrungen
	|publisher =Georg Thieme Verlag
	|year =2003
	|pages =122–123
	|isbn =3830490216
	|oclc =76518035
	|language =German
	}}.</ref>
	It consisted of three large volumes. Such repertories increased in size and detail as time progressed.
			In an article entitled "Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?"<ref name="Baum_&_Ernst2">{{cite journal|last1=Baum|first1=Michael|last2=Ernst|first2=Edzard|year=2009|title=Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?|journal=The American Journal of Medicine|volume=122|issue=11|pages=973–74|doi=10.1016/j.amjmed.2009.03.038|pmid=19854319|quote=Homeopathy is among the worst examples of faith-based medicine... These axioms are not only out of line with scientific facts but also directly opposed to them. If homeopathy is correct, much of physics, chemistry, and pharmacology must be incorrect... To have an open mind about homeopathy or similarly implausible forms of alternative medicine (e.g., Bach Flower remedies, spiritual healing, crystal therapy) is, therefore, not an option}}</ref> published in the '']'', ] and ]{{spaced ndash}}writing to other physicians{{spaced ndash}}wrote that "Homeopathy is among the worst examples of faith-based medicine... These axioms are not only out of line with scientific facts but also directly opposed to them. If homeopathy is correct, much of physics, chemistry, and pharmacology must be incorrect...".
	Some diversity in approaches to treatments exists among homeopaths. ''Classical homeopathy'' generally involves detailed examinations of a patient's history and infrequent doses of a single ''remedy'' as the patient is monitored for improvements in symptoms, while ''clinical homeopathy'' involves combinations of ''remedies'' to address the various symptoms of an illness.<ref name=pmid12614092/>
			=== Plausibility of dilutions ===
	==Related modalities==
			]: the "15C" dilution shown here means the original solution was diluted to 1/10<sup>30</sup> of its original strength.]]
	===Isopathy===
			The exceedingly low concentration of homeopathic preparations, which often lack even a single ] of the diluted substance,<ref name="Ernst2005" /> has been the basis of questions about the effects of the preparations since the 19th century.<ref name="GrimesFACT">{{cite journal|last1=Grimes|first1=D.R.|year=2012|title=Proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are physically impossible|journal=Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies|volume=17|issue=3|pages=149–55|doi=10.1111/j.2042-7166.2012.01162.x}}</ref> The laws of chemistry give this dilution limit, which is related to the ], as being roughly equal to 12C homeopathic dilutions (1 part in 10<sup>24</sup>).<ref name="Appendix2" /><ref name="Sbarrett2">{{cite web|author=Barrett S|date=December 28, 2004|title=Homeopathy: the ultimate fake|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html|access-date=July 25, 2007|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="dynam2">{{cite web|author=Faziola L|title=Dynamization and dilution|url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm|access-date=July 24, 2007|work=Homeopathy Tutorial|publisher=Creighton University School of Medicine|archive-date=August 26, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020826082134/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm}}</ref> ] and the ] groups have highlighted the lack of ]s by taking large 'overdoses'.<ref name="Jones2">Sam Jones, , '']'', January 29, 2010</ref> None of the hundreds of demonstrators in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US were injured and "no one was cured of anything, either".<ref name="Jones2" />
	Isopathy is a therapy derived from homeopathy and was invented by Johann Joseph Wilhelm Lux in the 1830s. Isopathy differs from homeopathy in general in that the ''remedies'', known as "nosodes", are made up either from things that cause the ], or from products of the disease, such as ].<ref name="pmid16322800"/><ref>{{citation
	|url =http://www.homeoinfo.com/08_non-classical_topics/is_it_homeopathy/isopathy.php
	|contribution=Isopathy
	|author =Hoff D
	|accessdate =2009-03-26
	|publisher =homeoinfo.com
	|title =Classical homeopathy information
	}}</ref> Many so-called "homeopathic vaccines" are a form of isopathy.<ref>{{citation
	|author= Kayne SB
	|year=2006
	|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=w2IFcHJYTSYC
	|title=Homeopathic pharmacy: theory and practice
	|edition=2
	|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences
	|page=171
	|isbn= 9780443101601}}</ref>
			Modern advocates of homeopathy have proposed a concept of "]", according to which water "remembers" the substances mixed in it, and transmits the effect of those substances when consumed. This concept is inconsistent with the current understanding of matter, and water memory has never been demonstrated to have any detectable effect, biological or otherwise.<ref name="NatureWhenToBelieve2">{{cite journal|author=Maddox J|year=1988|title=When to believe the unbelievable|journal=Nature|type=editorial|volume=333|issue=6176|pages=1349–56|bibcode=1988Natur.333Q.787.|doi=10.1038/333787a0|pmid=<!--none-->|s2cid=4369459|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="delusion2">{{cite journal|last1=Maddox|first1=J|last2=Randi|first2=J|last3=Stewart|first3=W|year=1988|title="High-dilution" experiments a delusion|journal=Nature|volume=334|issue=6180|pages=287–91|bibcode=1988Natur.334..287M|doi=10.1038/334287a0|pmid=2455869|s2cid=9579433}}</ref> Existence of a ] in the absence of any true active ingredient is inconsistent with the ] and the observed ]s characteristic of therapeutic drugs.<ref name="Levy2">{{cite journal|last1=Levy|first1=G|year=1986|title=Kinetics of drug action: An overview|journal=Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology|volume=78|issue=4 Pt 2|pages=754–61|doi=10.1016/0091-6749(86)90057-6|pmid=3534056}}</ref> Homeopaths contend that their methods produce a therapeutically active preparation, selectively including only the intended substance, though in reality any water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout its history, and homeopaths cannot account for the selected homeopathic substance being isolated as a special case in their process.<ref name="Smith20122">{{cite journal|author=Smith K|year=2012|title=Homeopathy is Unscientific and Unethical|journal=Bioethics|volume=26|issue=9|pages=508–12|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8519.2011.01956.x|s2cid=143067523|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1035885 }}</ref>
	===Flower ''remedies''===
	Flower ''remedies'' can be produced by placing flowers in water and exposing them to sunlight. The most famous of these are the ], which were developed by the physician and homeopath ]. Although the proponents of these ''remedies'' share homeopathy's vitalist world-view and the ''remedies'' are claimed to act through the same hypothetical "vital force" as homeopathy, the method of preparation is different. Bach flower ''remedies'' are prepared in "gentler" ways such as placing flowers in bowls of sunlit water, and the ''remedies'' are not succussed.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =van Haselen RA
	|title =The relationship between homeopathy and the Dr Bach system of flower remedies: a critical appraisal
	|journal =Br Homeopath J
	|volume =88
	|issue =3
	|pages =121–7
	|year =1999
	|pmid =10449052
	|doi =10.1054/homp.1999.0308
	}}.</ref>
	There is no convincing scientific or clinical evidence for flower ''remedies'' being effective.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Ernst E
	|title ="Flower remedies": a systematic review of the clinical evidence
	|journal =Wien Klin Wochenschr
	|volume =114
	|issue =23–24
	|pages =963–6
	|year =2002
	|pmid =12635462
	}}.</ref>
			Practitioners also hold that higher dilutions produce stronger medicinal effects. This idea is also inconsistent with observed dose-response relationships, where effects are dependent on the concentration of the active ingredient in the body.<ref name="Levy2" /> Some contend that the phenomenon of ] may support the idea of dilution increasing potency,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Oberbaum, M|author2=Singer, SR|author3=Samuels, N.|date=Jul 2010|title=Hormesis and homeopathy: bridge over troubled waters|journal=Hum Exp Toxicol|volume=29|issue=7|pages=567–71|doi=10.1177/0960327110369777|pmid=20558608|s2cid=8107797|doi-access=free|bibcode=2010HETox..29..567O }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Khuda-Bukhsh|first1=Anisur Rahman|date=2003|title=Towards understanding molecular mechanisms of action of homeopathic drugs: an overview|journal=Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry|volume=253|issue=1/2|pages=339–45|doi=10.1023/A:1026048907739|pmid=14619985|s2cid=10971539}}</ref> but the dose-response relationship outside the zone of hormesis declines with dilution as normal, and nonlinear pharmacological effects do not provide any credible support for homeopathy.<ref name="Smith20122" />
	===Veterinary use===
	The idea of using homeopathy as a treatment for other animals, termed ''veterinary homeopathy'', dates back to the inception of homeopathy; Hahnemann himself wrote and spoke of the use of homeopathy in animals other than humans.<ref name=Saxton2007>
	{{citation
	|author =Saxton JG
	|year =2007
	|title =The diversity of veterinary homeopathy
	|journal =Homeopathy
	|volume =96
	|issue =1
	|pages =3
	|doi =10.1016/j.homp.2006.11.010
	|pmid =17227741
	}}.</ref>
	The FDA has not approved homeopathic products as veterinary medicine in the U.S. In the UK, ]s who use homeopathy belong to the ] and/or to the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons. Animals may only be treated by qualified veterinary surgeons in the UK and some other countries. Internationally, the body that supports and represents homeopathic veterinarians is the International Association for Veterinary Homeopathy. The use of homeopathy in veterinary medicine is controversial, as there has been little scientific investigation and current research in the field is not of a high enough standard to provide reliable data.<ref name=Hektoen>
	{{citation
	|author =Hektoen L
	|title =Review of the current involvement of homeopathy in veterinary practice and research
	|journal =Vet Rec
	|volume =157
	|issue =8
	|pages =224–9
	|year =2005
	|pmid =16113167
	}}.</ref>
	Other studies have also found that giving animals placebos can play active roles in influencing pet owners to believe in the effectiveness of the treatment when none exists.<ref name=Hektoen/>
			===Efficacy===
	==Medical and scientific analysis==
			{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width:40%;"
	{{Infobox Pseudoscience
			|+ Explanations for efficacy of homeopathic preparations:<ref name="Shelton" />{{rp|155–167|date=November 2012}}<ref name="BrienRheumatology">{{cite journal |url= |title=Homeopathy has clinical benefits in rheumatoid arthritis patients that are attributable to the consultation process but not the homeopathic remedy: a randomized controlled clinical trial |author1=Brien S |author2=Lachance S |author3=Prescott P |author4=McDermott C |author5=Lewith G |journal=Rheumatology |date=June 2011 |volume=50 |issue=6 |pages=1070–82 |doi=10.1093/rheumatology/keq234 |pmid=21076131 |pmc=3093927}}</ref>
	|topics=], ]
			|-
	|claims=Proponents claim that illnesses can be treated with specially prepared extreme dilutions of a substance that produces symptoms similar to the illness. Homeopathic ''remedies'' rarely contain any atom or molecule of the substance in the ''remedy''.
			| The ]
	|origyear=1807
			| The intensive consultation process and expectations for the homeopathic preparations may cause the effect
	|origprop=]
			|-
	|currentprop='''Organizations:''' ], ], ], ], ]<p>'''Individuals:''' ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
			| Therapeutic effect of the consultation
	}}
			| The care, concern, and reassurance a patient experiences when opening up to a compassionate caregiver can have a positive effect on the patient's well-being.
	Homeopathy's efficacy is unsupported by the collective weight of modern scientific research. The extreme dilutions used in homeopathic preparations usually leave none of the original material in the final product. The modern mechanism proposed by homeopaths, ], is considered implausible in that short-range order in water only persists for about 1 ].<ref name=Teixeira>{{citation
			|-
	|author =Teixeira J
			| Unassisted ]
	|title =Can water possibly have a memory? A sceptical view
			| Time and the body's ability to heal without assistance can eliminate many diseases of their own accord.
	|journal =Homeopathy
			|-
	|volume =96
			| Unrecognized treatments
	|issue =3
			| An unrelated food, exercise, environmental agent, or treatment for a different ailment, may have occurred.
	|pages =158–162
			|-
	|year =2007
			| ]
	|doi =10.1016/j.homp.2007.05.001
			| Since many diseases or conditions are cyclical, symptoms vary over time and patients tend to seek care when discomfort is greatest; they may feel better anyway but because of the timing of the visit to the homeopath they attribute improvement to the preparation taken.
	|pmid =17678811
			|-
	}}.</ref><ref name=Milgrom/> ] without active ingredients is inconsistent with the observed ]s of conventional drugs,<ref name=Levy>{{citation
			| Non-homeopathic treatment
	|author =Levy G
			| Patients may also receive standard medical care at the same time as homeopathic treatment, and the former is responsible for improvement.
	|title =Kinetics of drug action: an overview
			|-
	|journal =J Allergy Clin Immunol
			| Cessation of unpleasant treatment
	|volume =78
			| Often homeopaths recommend patients stop getting medical treatment such as surgery or drugs, which can cause unpleasant side-effects; improvements are attributed to homeopathy when the actual cause is the cessation of the treatment causing side-effects in the first place, but the underlying disease remains untreated and still dangerous to the patient.
	|issue =4 Pt 2
			|}
	|pages =754–61
	|year =1986
	|pmid =3534056
	|doi =10.1016/0091-6749(86)90057-6
	}}.</ref> leaving only non-specific ]<ref name=nhsdirect /><ref name=Sbarrett/><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Ernst E
	|title =Placebo: new insights into an old enigma
	|journal =Drug Discov Today
	|volume =12
	|issue =9–10
	|pages =413–8
	|year =2007
	|pmid =17467578
	|doi =10.1016/j.drudis.2007.03.007
	}}.</ref> or various novel explanations. The proposed rationale for these extreme dilutions – that the water contains the "]" or "vibration" from the diluted ingredient – is counter to the laws of ] and ], such as the ].<ref name=Teixeira/> The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy<ref name="Adler"/> and its use of ''remedies'' without active ingredients have led to characterizations as pseudoscience and quackery,<ref name="NSBattitudes" /><ref name="pmid17719708" /><ref name="pmid14676179">
	{{citation
	|author =Atwood KC
	|year =2003
	|title ='Neurocranial Restructuring' and Homeopathy, Neither Complementary nor Alternative (Letters to the Editor)
	|journal =Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck
	|volume =129
	|issue =12
	|pages =1356–1357
	|pmid =14676179
	|doi =10.1001/archotol.129.12.1356
	}}.</ref><ref name="NdububaQuack">
	{{citation
	|author =Ndububa VI
	|year =2007
	|url =http://www.find-health-articles.com/rec_pub_18080586-medical-quackery-nigeria-silence.htm
	|title =Medical quackery in Nigeria; why the silence?
	|journal =Niger J Med
	|volume =16
	|issue =4
	|pages =312–317
	|pmid =18080586
	}} {{Dead link|date=July 2010}}.</ref> or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst."<ref name=Ernst>
	{{citation
	|author =Ernst E, Pittler MH
	|title =Efficacy of homeopathic arnica: a systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials
	|journal =Arch Surg
	|volume =133
	|issue =11
	|pages =1187–90
	|year =1998
	|pmid =9820349
	|doi =10.1001/archsurg.133.11.1187
	}}.</ref>
	Use of homeopathy may delay or replace effective<!--This is what the sources say--> medical treatment, worsening outcomes or exposing the patients to increased risk.<ref name="pmid8554846" /><ref name=malaria2/><ref name = "minimum-67-4" /><ref name=pmid17285788/><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Malik IA, Gopalan S
	|title =Use of CAM results in delay in seeking medical advice for breast cancer
	|journal =Eur J Epidemiol
	|volume =18
	|issue =8
	|pages =817–822
	|year =2003
	|doi =10.1023/A:1025343720564
	|quote =CAM use was associated with delay in seeking medical advice (OR: 5.6; 95% CI: 2.3, 13.3) and presentation at an advanced stage of disease.
	|pmid =12974558
	}}.</ref>
			No individual homeopathic preparation has been unambiguously shown by research to be different from placebo.<ref name="pmid124926032" /> The ] quality of the early primary research was low, with problems such as weaknesses in ] and reporting, small ], and ]. Since better quality trials have become available, the evidence for efficacy of homeopathy preparations has diminished; the highest-quality trials indicate that the preparations themselves exert no intrinsic effect.<ref name="Caulfield20053" /><ref name="Shelton2">{{cite book|last=Shelton|first=JW|url=https://archive.org/details/homeopathyhowitr0000shel|title=Homeopathy: How it really works|publisher=]|year=2004|isbn=978-1-59102-109-4|location=Amherst, New York|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|206|date=November 2012}}<ref name="Linde19992">{{cite journal|last1=Linde|first1=K|last2=Scholz|first2=M|last3=Ramirez|first3=G|last4=Clausius|first4=N|last5=Melchart|first5=D|last6=Jonas|first6=WB|year=1999|title=Impact of study quality on outcome in placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy|journal=Journal of Clinical Epidemiology|volume=52|issue=7|pages=631–36|doi=10.1016/S0895-4356(99)00048-7|pmid=10391656}}</ref> A review conducted in 2010 of all the pertinent studies of "best evidence" produced by the ] concluded that this evidence "fails to demonstrate that homeopathic medicines have effects beyond placebo."<ref name="Ernst20102" />
	Referring specifically to homeopathy, the ] Science and Technology Committee has stated:
	{{quote|
	In the Committee’s view, homeopathy is a placebo treatment and the Government should have a policy on prescribing placebos. The Government is reluctant to address the appropriateness and ethics of prescribing placebos to patients, which usually relies on some degree of patient deception. Prescribing of placebos is not consistent with informed patient choice-which the Government claims is very important-as it means patients do not have all the information needed to make choice meaningful.
			In 2009, the United Kingdom's ] Science and Technology Committee concluded that there was no compelling evidence of effect other than placebo.<ref name="inquiry_cfm">UK Parliamentary Committee Science and Technology Committee. </ref> The Australian ] completed a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of homeopathic preparations in 2015, in which it concluded that "there were no health conditions for which there was reliable evidence that homeopathy was effective."<ref name="NHMRC2">{{cite book|author1=National Health and Medical Research Council|url=https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/cam02|title=NHMRC statement on homeopathy and NHMRC information paper – Evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy for treating health conditions|date=2015|publisher=National Health and Medical Research Council|isbn=978-1-925129-29-8|location=Canberra|page=16|quote=There is no reliable evidence that homoeopathy is effective for treating health conditions.|author1-link=National Health and Medical Research Council|access-date=August 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419065845/https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/cam02|archive-date=April 19, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) published its official analysis in 2017 finding a lack of evidence that homeopathic products are effective, and raising concerns about quality control.<ref name="EASAC2017">{{cite web|date=September 2017|title=Homeopathic products and practices: assessing the evidence and ensuring consistency in regulating medical claims in the EU|url=http://www.easac.eu/fileadmin/PDF_s/reports_statements/EASAC_Homepathy_statement_web_final.pdf|access-date=1 October 2017|work=European Academies' Science Advisory Council|page=1|quote=... we agree with previous extensive evaluations concluding that there are no known diseases for which there is robust, reproducible evidence that homeopathy is effective beyond the placebo effect.}}</ref> In contrast a 2011 book was published, purportedly financed by the Swiss government, that concluded that homeopathy was effective and cost efficient.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bonhöft|first1=Gudrun|title=Homeopathy in healthcare: effectiveness, appropriateness, safety, costs.|last2=Matthiessen|first2=Peter|publisher=Springer|year=2012}}</ref> Although hailed by proponents as proof that homeopathy works,<ref name="ShawMisconduct2">{{cite journal|author=Shaw, David|date=May 2012|title=The Swiss report on homeopathy: a case study of research misconduct|journal=]|volume=142|pages=w13594|doi=10.4414/smw.2012.13594|pmid=22653406|doi-access=free}}</ref> it was found to be scientifically, logically and ethically flawed, with most authors having a ].<ref name="ShawMisconduct2" /> The ] later released a statement saying the book was published without the consent of the Swiss government.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gurtner, Felix|date=December 2012|title=The report "Homeopathy in healthcare: effectiveness, appropriateness, safety, costs" is not a "Swiss report"|journal=]|volume=142|pages=w13723|doi=10.4414/smw.2012.13723|pmid=23255156|doi-access=free}}</ref>
	Beyond ethical issues and the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship, prescribing pure placebos is bad medicine. Their effect is unreliable and unpredictable and cannot form the sole basis of any treatment on the NHS.<ref name=inquiry_cfm/>}}
			], essential tools to summarize evidence of therapeutic efficacy,<ref name="PRISMA2">{{cite journal|last1=Liberati|first1=A|last2=Altman|first2=DG|last3=Tetzlaff|first3=J|last4=Mulrow|first4=C|last5=Gøtzsche|first5=PC|last6=Ioannidis|first6=J PA|last7=Clarke|first7=M|last8=Devereaux|first8=PJ|last9=Kleijnen|first9=J|last10=Moher|first10=D|year=2009|title=The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration|journal=PLOS Medicine|volume=6|issue=7|pages=e1000100|doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000100|pmc=2707010|pmid=19621070|doi-access=free}}</ref> and ]s have found that the methodological quality in the majority of randomized trials in homeopathy have shortcomings and that such trials were generally of lower quality than trials of conventional medicine.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jonas|first1=WB|last2=Anderson|first2=RL|last3=Crawford|first3=CC|last4=Lyons|first4=JS|date=2001|title=A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic clinical trials|journal=BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine|volume=1|page=12|doi=10.1186/1472-6882-1-12|pmc=64638|pmid=11801202 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="pmid114160762">{{cite journal|last1=Linde|first1=K|last2=Jonas|first2=WB|last3=Melchart|first3=D|last4=Willich|first4=S|year=2001|title=The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture|journal=International Journal of Epidemiology|volume=30|issue=3|pages=526–31|doi=10.1093/ije/30.3.526|pmid=11416076|author-link1=Klaus Linde|doi-access=free}}</ref> A major issue has been ], where positive results are more likely to be published in journals.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Jeffrey D. Scargle|year=2000|title=Publication Bias: The "file-drawer problem" in scientific inference|url=http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_14_1_scargle.pdf|journal=]|volume=14|issue=2|pages=94–106|arxiv=physics/9909033|bibcode=1999physics...9033S|access-date=January 19, 2011|archive-date=January 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122021757/http://scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_14_1_scargle.pdf}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2020}}<ref name="pmid160607222">{{cite journal|last1=Ioannidis|first1=John P. A.|year=2005|title=Why most published research findings are false|journal=PLOS Medicine|volume=2|issue=8|pages=e124|doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124|pmc=1182327|pmid=16060722 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="pmid18258002">{{cite journal|last1=Kleijnen|first1=J|last2=Knipschild|first2=P|last3=Ter Riet|first3=G|year=1991|title=Clinical trials of homoeopathy|journal=BMJ|volume=302|issue=6772|pages=316–23|doi=10.1136/bmj.302.6772.316|pmc=1668980|pmid=1825800}}</ref> This has been particularly marked in alternative medicine journals, where few of the published articles (just 5% during the year 2000) tend to report ]s.<ref name="Goldacre20072" /> A systematic review of the available systematic reviews confirmed in 2002 that higher-quality trials tended to have less positive results, and found no convincing evidence that any homeopathic preparation exerts clinical effects different from placebo.<ref name="pmid124926032" /> The same conclusion was also reached in 2005 in a meta-analysis published in ''The Lancet''. A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis found that the most reliable evidence did not support the effectiveness of non-individualized homeopathy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mathie|first1=Robert T.|last2=Ramparsad|first2=Nitish|last3=Legg|first3=Lynn A.|last4=Clausen|first4=Jürgen|last5=Moss|first5=Sian|last6=Davidson|first6=Jonathan R. T.|last7=Messow|first7=Claudia-Martina|last8=McConnachie|first8=Alex|date=March 24, 2017|title=Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of non-individualised homeopathic treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis|journal=Systematic Reviews|volume=6|issue=1|page=63|doi=10.1186/s13643-017-0445-3|issn=2046-4053|pmc=5366148|pmid=28340607 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
	The ] of the United States' ] states:
			Health organizations, including the UK's ],<ref name="nhs_choices2">{{cite web|title=Health A-Z -- Homeopathy|url=http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Homeopathy/Pages/Introduction.aspx|access-date=April 22, 2013|publisher=National Health Service}}</ref> the ],<ref name="amapseudo2">{{cite web|author=AMA Council on Scientific Affairs|year=1997|title=Alternative medicine: Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A–97)|url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614085504/http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml|archive-date=June 14, 2009|access-date=March 25, 2009|publisher=]}}</ref> the ],<ref name="Weissmann2">{{cite journal|last1=Weissmann|first1=G|year=2006|title=Homeopathy: Holmes, Hogwarts, and the Prince of Wales|journal=The FASEB Journal|volume=20|issue=11|pages=1755–58|doi=10.1096/fj.06-0901ufm|pmid=16940145|s2cid=9305843|doi-access=free}}</ref> and the ] of Australia,<ref name="NHMRC2" /> have issued statements saying that there is no good-quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment for any health condition.<ref name="nhs_choices2" /> In 2009, ] official ] criticized the use of homeopathy to treat ]; similarly, another WHO spokesperson argued there was no evidence homeopathy would be an effective treatment for ].<ref>{{cite news|date=August 20, 2009|title=Homeopathy not a cure, says WHO|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8211925.stm|access-date=October 20, 2014}}</ref> They warned against the use of homeopathy for serious conditions such as ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mashta|first=O|date=August 24, 2009|title=WHO warns against using homoeopathy to treat serious diseases|journal=BMJ|volume=339|issue=aug24 2|pages=b3447|doi=10.1136/bmj.b3447|pmid=19703929|s2cid=9303173}}</ref> The ] and the ] recommend that no one use homeopathic treatment for disease or as a preventive health measure.<ref name="toxicfive2">{{cite web|author1=American College of Medical Toxicology|author1-link=American College of Medical Toxicology|author2=American Academy of Clinical Toxicology|author2-link=American Academy of Clinical Toxicology|date=February 2013|title=Five things physicians and patients should question|url=http://www.choosingwisely.org/doctor-patient-lists/american-college-of-medical-toxicology-and-the-american-academy-of-clinical-toxicology/|access-date=December 5, 2013|work=]: an initiative of the ]|publisher=American College of Medical Toxicology and American Academy of Clinical Toxicology}}, which cites {{cite journal|last1=Woodward|first1=KN|date=May 2005|title=The potential impact of the use of homeopathic and herbal remedies on monitoring the safety of prescription products|journal=Human & Experimental Toxicology|volume=24|issue=5|pages=219–33|doi=10.1191/0960327105ht529oa|pmid=16004184|bibcode=2005HETox..24..219W |s2cid=34767417}}</ref> These organizations report that no evidence exists that homeopathic treatment is effective, but that there is evidence that using these treatments produces harm and can bring indirect health risks by delaying conventional treatment.<ref name="toxicfive2" />
	{{quote|
	Homeopathy is a controversial area of ] because a number of its key concepts are not consistent with established laws of science (particularly chemistry and physics). Critics think it is implausible that a remedy containing a miniscule amount of an active ingredient (sometimes not a single molecule of the original compound) can have any biological effect—beneficial or otherwise. For these reasons, critics argue that continuing the scientific study of homeopathy is not worthwhile. Others point to observational and anecdotal evidence that homeopathy does work and argue that it should not be rejected just because science has not been able to explain it.<ref>http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/#contoversies</ref>}}
			===Purported effects in other biological systems===
	===High dilutions===
			While some articles have suggested that homeopathic solutions of high dilution can have statistically significant effects on organic processes including the growth of ]<ref>{{cite book
	The extremely high dilutions in homeopathy have been a main point of criticism. Homeopathic ''remedies'' are usually diluted to the point where there are no molecules from the original solution left in a dose of the final ''remedy''.<ref name=Milgrom>
	{{citation
	|author=Milgrom LR
	|title=Conspicuous by its absence: the memory of water, macro-entanglement, and the possibility of homeopathy
	|journal=Homeopathy
	|volume=96
	|issue=3
	|pages=209–19
	|year=2007
	|pmid=17678819
	|doi=10.1016/j.homp.2007.05.002
	}}.</ref> Homeopaths believe that the methodical dilution of a substance, beginning with a 10% or lower solution and working downwards, with shaking after each dilution, produces a therapeutically active ''remedy'', in contrast to therapeutically inert water.
	Since even the longest-lived ] structures in liquid water at room temperature are only stable for a few ]s,<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Teixeira J, Luzar A, Longeville S
	|title=Dynamics of hydrogen bonds: how to probe their role in the unusual properties of liquid water
	|journal=J Phys Condens Matter
	|volume=18
	|pages=S2353–S2362
	|year=2006
	|doi =10.1088/0953-8984/18/36/S09
	}}.</ref>
	critics have concluded that any effect that might have been present from the original substance can no longer exist.<ref name="Weissmann">
	{{citation
	|author=Weissmann G
	|title=Homeopathy: Holmes, Hogwarts, and the Prince of Wales
	|journal=FASEB J
	|volume=20
	|issue=11
	|pages=1755–8
	|year=2006
	|pmid=16940145
	|url=http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/full/20/11/1755
	|doi=10.1096/fj.06-0901ufm
	}}.</ref> No evidence of stable clusters of water molecules was found when homeopathic ''remedies'' were studied using ].<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Anick DJ
	|title=High sensitivity 1H-NMR spectroscopy of homeopathic remedies made in water
	|journal=BMC Complement Altern Med
	|volume=4
	|issue=15
	|pages=15
	|year=2004
	|pmid=15518588
	|doi=10.1186/1472-6882-4-15
	|pmc=534805
	}}.</ref>
	Furthermore, since water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout its history, critics point out that water is therefore an extreme dilution of almost any conceivable substance. By drinking water one would, according to this interpretation, receive treatment for every imaginable condition.<ref>
	{{citation
	|contribution=Horizon's homeopathic coup, Cuzco's altitude, more funny sites, the clangers, overdue, Orbito nabbed in Padua, Randi a zombie?, Stellar guests at amazing meeting, and great new Shermer books!
	|author=]
	|title=Swift, Online Newsletter of the JREF
	|date=29 November 2002
	|publisher=James Randi Educational Foundation
	|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/112902.html
	|accessdate =2006-09-20
	}}.</ref>
	Practitioners of homeopathy contend that higher dilutions produce stronger medicinal effects. This idea is inconsistent with the observed ]s of conventional drugs, where the effects are dependent on the concentration of the active ingredient in the body.<ref name=Levy/> This dose-response relationship has been confirmed in multitudinous experiments on organisms as diverse as nematodes,<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Boyd WA, Williams PL
	|title=Comparison of the sensitivity of three nematode species to copper and their utility in aquatic and soil toxicity tests
	|journal=Environ Toxicol Chem
	|volume=22
	|issue=11
	|pages=2768–74
	|year=2003
	|pmid =14587920
	|doi=10.1897/02-573
	}}.</ref> rats,<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Goldoni M, Vettori MV, Alinovi R, Caglieri A, Ceccatelli S, Mutti A
	|title=Models of neurotoxicity: extrapolation of benchmark doses ''in vitro''
	|journal=Risk Anal
	|volume=23
	|issue =3
	|pages=505–14
	|year=2003
	|pmid=12836843
	|doi =10.1111/1539-6924.00331
	}}.</ref> and humans.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author=Yu HS, Liao WT, Chai CY
	|title=Arsenic carcinogenesis in the skin
	|journal=J Biomed Sci
	|volume=13
	|issue=5
	|pages=657–66
	|year=2006
	|pmid=16807664
	|doi=10.1007/s11373-006-9092-8
	}}.</ref>
	Physicist ], former executive director of the ], has noted that
	<!--- Please do not change the following direct quote, even if you think it would be an improvement.
	BEGIN DIRECT QUOTE -->{{cquote|since the least amount of a substance in a solution is one molecule, a 30C solution would have to have at least one molecule of the original substance dissolved in a minimum of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules of water. This would require a container more than 30,000,000,000 times the size of the Earth.<ref name=Sbarrett />}}<!-- END DIRECT QUOTE --><!-- A similarly worded statement in page 56 of Park RL, "Voodoo science: the road from foolishness to fraud" Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0198604432 -->
	Park has also noted that "to expect to get even one molecule of the 'medicinal' substance allegedly present in 30X pills, it would be necessary to take some two billion of them, which would total about a thousand tons of lactose plus whatever impurities the lactose contained".
	The laws of chemistry state that there is a limit to the dilution that can be made without losing the original substance altogether.<ref name="Ernst2005">
	{{citation
	|author=Ernst E
	|title=Is homeopathy a clinically valuable approach?
	|journal=Trends Pharmacol Sci
	|volume=26
	|issue=11
	|pages=547–8
	|year=2005
	|pmid=16165225
	|doi=10.1016/j.tips.2005.09.003
	}}.</ref>
	This limit, which is related to ], is roughly equal to homeopathic potencies of 12C or 24X (1 part in 10<sup>24</sup>).<ref name="Appendix" /><ref name=Sbarrett>
	{{citation
	|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html
	|contribution=Homeopathy: the ultimate fake
	|accessdate =2007-07-25
	|author=Barrett S
	|date=28 December 2004
	|title=Quackwatch
	|publisher=]
	}}.</ref><ref name=dynam>
	{{citation
	|url=http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm
	|author=Faziola L
	|contribution=Dynamization and dilution
	|publisher=Creighton University School of Medicine
	|title=Homeopathy Tutorial
	|accessdate =2007-07-24
	}}.</ref>
	Scientific tests run by both the ]'s ] and ] '']'' programs were unable to differentiate homeopathic dilutions from ], even when using tests suggested by homeopaths themselves.<ref name="Williams_2002"/><ref name="Stossel">
	{{citation
	|author =]
	|title =Homeopathic remedies – can water really remember?
	|periodical =]
	|publisher =]
	|year =2008
	|url =http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=124309
	|accessdate =2008-01-22
	}}.</ref>
	===Research on medical effectiveness===
	]]]
	The effectiveness of homeopathy has been in dispute since its inception. One of the earliest double blind studies concerning homeopathy was sponsored by the British government during World War II in which volunteers tested the effectiveness of homeopathic ''remedies'' against diluted mustard gas burns.<ref name="Mustard">{{Citation
	|publisher=British Homoeopathic Society
	|journal=Br Homeopath J
	|year=1943
	|title=Report on mustard gas experiments
	|pages=12
	|volume=33
	|issue=1 |url=http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/trial_records/20th_Century/1940s/brit_homeo_soc/brit_homeo_soc_kp.html
	}}</ref> The methodological quality of the research base is generally low, with such problems as weaknesses in design or reporting, small sample size, and selection bias. No individual preparation has been unambiguously demonstrated to be different from a ].<ref name="pmid12492603" /><ref name="nccamnih">{{Citation
	|url =http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/
	|title =Questions and answers about homeopathy
	|publisher = ]
	|accessdate =2008-02-08
	}}</ref> Further, as the quality of the trials become better, the evidence for homeopathy preparations being effective diminishes, and the highest-quality trials show that the ''remedies'' themselves have no effect.<ref name="Linde1999"/><ref name="Caulfield2005" /><ref>], 2004, p. 206.</ref> Abstract concepts within theoretical physics have been invoked to suggest explanations of how or why ''remedies'' might work, including ],<ref>{{cite web|title=Homeopathy - Issues|url=http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Homeopathy/Pages/Issues.aspx|work=Homeopathy|publisher=]|accessdate=23 September 2010|date=23/06/2009}}</ref> the ] and ]. However, the explanations are offered by nonspecialists within the field, and often include speculations which are incorrect in their application of the concepts and not supported by actual experiments.<ref>], 2004, p. 255-6.</ref>
	===Meta-analyses===
	], in which large groups of studies are analysed and conclusions drawn based on the results as a whole, have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of homeopathy. Early meta-analyses investigating homeopathic ''remedies'' showed slightly positive results among the studies examined, but such studies have warned that it was impossible to draw firm conclusions due to low methodological quality and difficulty in controlling for ] in the studies reviewed.<ref name="pmid1825800">{{Citation |author=Kleijnen J, Knipschild P, ter Riet G |title=Clinical trials of homoeopathy |journal=BMJ |volume=302 |issue=6772 |pages=316–23 |year=1991 |month=February |pmid=1825800 |pmc=1668980 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.302.6772.316|url= |postscript=.}}</ref><ref name=pmid9310601/><ref name="pmid11416076"/> One of the positive meta-analyses, by Linde, et al.,<ref name=pmid9310601/> was later qualified by the authors, who wrote:
	<blockquote>The evidence of bias weakens the findings of our original meta-analysis. Since we completed our literature search in 1995, a considerable number of new homeopathy trials have been published. The fact that a number of the new high-quality trials...have negative results, and a recent update of our review for the most "original" subtype of homeopathy (classical or individualized homeopathy), seem to confirm the finding that more rigorous trials have less-promising results. It seems, therefore, likely that our meta-analysis at least overestimated the effects of homeopathic treatments.<ref name=Linde1999>{{Citation |author=Linde K, Scholz M, Ramirez G, Clausius N, Melchart D, Jonas WB |title=Impact of study quality on outcome in placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy |journal=J Clin Epidemiol |volume=52 |issue=7 |pages=631–6 |year=1999 |month=July |pmid=10391656 |doi= 10.1016/S0895-4356(99)00048-7|url= |postscript=.}}</ref></blockquote>
	In 2001, a meta-analysis of clinical trials on the effectiveness of homeopathy concluded that earlier clinical trials showed signs of major weakness in methodology and reporting, and that homeopathy trials were less randomized and reported less on dropouts than other types of trials.<ref name="pmid11416076">{{Citation |author=Linde K, Jonas WB, Melchart D, Willich S |title=The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture |journal=Int J Epidemiol |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=526–31 |year=2001 |month=June |pmid=11416076 |doi= 10.1093/ije/30.3.526|url= |postscript=.}}</ref>
	In 2002, a review of systematic reviews found that higher-quality trials tended to have less positive results, to the point that those results were clinically irrelevant. Also, when taking collectively all the systematic reviews, there was no convincing evidence that any homeopathic ''remedy'' had better effects than placebo, and current evidence did not allow to recommend its usage in clinical treatment.<ref name="pmid12492603" />
	In 2005, a systematic review of the representation of homeopathy in the medical literature suggested that mainstream journals had a ] against clinical trials of homeopathy that showed positive results, and the opposite was the case for ] journals. The authors suggested that this could be due to an involuntary bias, or otherwise a submission bias, in which positive trials tend to be sent to CAM journals and negatives ones to mainstream journals.<ref name="Caulfield2005" /> Reviews in all journals approached the subject in an apparently impartial manner, though most of the reviews published in CAM journals made no mention of the plausibility of homeopathy, whereas 9 out of 10 reviews in mainstream journals mentioned a lack of plausibility of homeopathy in the introduction.<ref name="Caulfield2005">{{Citation |author=Caulfield T, DeBow S |title=A systematic review of how homeopathy is represented in conventional and CAM peer reviewed journals |journal=BMC Complement Altern Med |volume=5 |issue= |pages=12 |year=2005 |pmid=15955254 |pmc=1177924 |doi=10.1186/1472-6882-5-12 |url= |postscript=.}}</ref>
	In 2005, '']'' medical journal published a meta-analysis of 110 placebo-controlled homeopathy trials and 110 matched medical trials based upon the ]'s ], or PEK. The study concluded that its findings were compatible with the notion that the clinical effects of homeopathy are nothing more than placebo effects.<ref name="shang" />
	A 2006 meta-analysis of six trials evaluating homeopathic treatments to reduce ] side effects following ] and ] found "encouraging but not convincing" evidence in support of homeopathic treatment. Their analysis concluded that there was "insufficient evidence to support clinical efficacy of homeopathic therapy in cancer care".<ref name="pmid16376071">{{Citation |author=Milazzo S, Russell N, Ernst E |title=Efficacy of homeopathic therapy in cancer treatment |journal=Eur. J. Cancer |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=282–9 |year=2006 |month=February |pmid=16376071 |doi=10.1016/j.ejca.2005.09.025 |url= |postscript=.}}</ref>
	A 2007 systematic review of homeopathy for children and adolescents found that the evidence for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and childhood diarrhea was mixed. No difference from placebo was found for adenoid vegetation, asthma, or upper respiratory tract infection. Evidence was not sufficient to recommend any therapeutic or preventative intervention.<ref name=pmid17285788 />
	The ] found insufficient clinical evidence to evaluate the efficacy of homeopathic treatments for asthma<ref name="asthma">{{Citation |author=McCarney RW, Linde K, Lasserson TJ |title=Homeopathy for chronic asthma |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume= |issue=1 |pages=CD000353 |year=2004 |pmid=14973954 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD000353.pub2 |url= |postscript=.}}</ref> dementia,<ref name="dementia">{{Citation |author=McCarney R, Warner J, Fisher P, Van Haselen R |title=Homeopathy for dementia |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume= |issue=1 |pages=CD003803 |year=2003 |pmid=12535487 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD003803 |url= |postscript=.}}</ref> or for the use of homeopathy in induction of labor.<ref name="pmid14583972">{{Citation |author=Smith CA |title=Homoeopathy for induction of labour |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume= |issue=4 |pages=CD003399 |year=2003 |pmid=14583972 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD003399 |url= |last2=Smith |first2=Caroline A |postscript=.}}</ref> Other researchers found no evidence that homeopathy is beneficial for ],<ref name="pmid11212088">{{Citation |author=Long L, Ernst E |title=Homeopathic remedies for the treatment of osteoarthritis: a systematic review |journal=Br Homeopath J |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=37–43 |year=2001 |month=January |pmid=11212088 |doi= 10.1054/homp.1999.0449|url= |postscript=.}}</ref> ]s<ref name="pmid9251877">{{Citation |author=Whitmarsh TE, Coleston-Shields DM, Steiner TJ |title=Double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study of homoeopathic prophylaxis of migraine |journal=Cephalalgia |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=600–4 |year=1997 |month=August |pmid=9251877 |doi= 10.1046/j.1468-2982.1997.1705600.x|url= |postscript=.}}</ref> or ].<ref name="pmid12614092" />
	Health organisations such as the UK's ],<ref name=nhspseudo>{{Cite web| url = http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/small/en/home/healthencyclopaedia/h/homeopathy/results |title = Health encyclopaedia -- Homeopathy -- Results |accessdate =2007-07-25 |publisher =National Health Service}}</ref> the ],<ref name=amapseudo>{{Cite web|author=AMA Council on Scientific Affairs |url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml |title = Alternative Medicine: Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A–97) |year=1997 |accessdate =2009-03-25 |publisher=]}}</ref> and the ]<ref name="Weissmann" /> have issued statements of their conclusion that there is no convincing scientific evidence to support the use of homeopathic treatments in medicine.
	Clinical studies of the medical efficacy of homeopathy have been criticised by some homeopaths as being irrelevant because they do not test "classical homeopathy".<ref>{{cite news
	|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4183916.stm |title=Homoeopathy's benefit questioned |periodical =] |date=2005-08-26 |accessdate =2009-01-09 }}</ref> There have, however, been a number of clinical trials that have tested individualized homeopathy. A 1998 review<ref>{{Citation |author=Linde K, Melchart D |title=Randomized controlled trials of individualized homeopathy: a state-of-the-art review |journal=J Altern Complement Med |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=371–88 |year=1998 |pmid=9884175 |doi= 10.1089/acm.1998.4.371|url= |postscript=.}}</ref> found 32 trials that met their inclusion criteria, 19 of which were placebo-controlled and provided enough data for meta-analysis. These 19 studies showed a pooled odds ratio of 1.17 to 2.23 in favor of individualized homeopathy over the placebo, but no difference was seen when the analysis was restricted to the methodologically best trials. The authors concluded "that the results of the available randomized trials suggest that individualized homeopathy has an effect over placebo. The evidence, however, is not convincing because of methodological shortcomings and inconsistencies." Jay Shelton, author of a book on homeopathy, has stated that the claim assumes without evidence that classical, individualized homeopathy works better than nonclassical variations.<ref>], 2004, p. 209.</ref>
	Jack Killen, acting deputy director of the ], says homeopathy "goes beyond current understanding of chemistry and physics." He adds: "There is, to my knowledge, no condition for which homeopathy has been proven to be an effective treatment."<ref name="Adler">{{Cite news|author=Adler J |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/105581 |title=No way to treat the dying |magazine=] |date=2004-02-04}}</ref>
	====Mainstream explanations for any effects====
	Mainstream science offers a variety of explanations for how homeopathy, if the preparations themselves are ineffective, may appear to cure diseases or alleviate symptoms:<ref>], 2004, p. 155-167.</ref>
	* Unassisted ] — time and the body's ability to heal without assistance can eliminate many diseases of their own accord
	* Unrecognized treatments — an unrelated food, exercise, environmental agent or treatment for a different ailment, may have occurred
	* ] — since many diseases or conditions are cyclical, symptoms vary over time and patients tend to seek care when discomfort is greatest, they may feel better anyway but because the timing of the visit to the homeopath they attribute improvement to the ''remedy'' taken
	* Non-homeopathic treatment — patients may also receive non-homeopathic care simultaneous with homeopathic treatment, and this is responsible for improvement though a portion or all of the improvement may be attributed to the ''remedy''
	* Cessation of unpleasant treatment — often homeopaths recommend patients stop getting conventional treatment such as surgery or drugs, which can cause unpleasant side effects; improvements are attributed to homeopathy when the actual cause is the cessation of the treatment causing side effects in the first place
	* Lifestyle changes — homeopaths often recommend diet and exercise, as well as limitations in alcohol or coffee consumption and ] reduction, all of which can increase health and decrease symptoms
	* The ] — the intensive consultation process and expectations for the homeopathic preparations can result in the release of ]s or other body-effecting chemicals which alleviate pain or other symptoms, or otherwise affect an individual's biology
	* Psychological healing — the care, concern and reassurance provided by a homeopath as part of the consultation can assure the patient the symptoms are minor and easily treated, or alleviate tension that could exacerbate a preexisting condition. This caring engagement can prove particularly effective when conventional physicians have limited time with the patient or cannot provide a diagnosis or treatment.
	===Research on effects in other biological systems===
	] ''remedy''.]]
	While some articles have suggested that homeopathic solutions of high dilution can have statistically significant effects on organic processes including the growth of ],<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Kolisko L		|author =Kolisko L
	|title = Physiologischer und physikalischer Nachweis der Wirksamkeit kleinster Entitäten		|trans-title =Physiological and physical evidence of the effectiveness of the smallest entities |title=Physiologischer und physikalischer Nachweis der Wirksamkeit kleinster Entitäten
	|language =German		|language =de
	|location =Stuttgart		|location =Stuttgart
	|year =1959		|year =1959
			}}</ref> and ], such evidence is disputed since attempts to replicate them have failed.<ref name="pmid11316508">{{cite journal |last1=Walach |first1=H |last2=Köster |first2=H |last3=Hennig |first3=T |last4=Haag |first4=G |title=The effects of homeopathic belladonna 30CH in healthy volunteers – a randomized, double-blind experiment |journal=Journal of Psychosomatic Research |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=155–60 |year=2001 |pmid=11316508 |doi=10.1016/S0022-3999(00)00224-5}}</ref><ref name="pmid8255290">{{cite journal |last1=Hirst |first1=SJ |last2=Hayes |first2=NA |last3=Burridge |first3=J |last4=Pearce |first4=FL |last5=Foreman |first5=JC |title=Human basophil degranulation is not triggered by very dilute antiserum against human IgE |journal=Nature |volume=366 |issue=6455 |pages=525–27 |year=1993 |pmid=8255290 |doi=10.1038/366525a0|bibcode=1993Natur.366..525H |s2cid=4314547 }}</ref><ref name="pmid1376282">{{cite journal |last1=Ovelgönne |first1=J. H. |last2=Bol |first2=AWJM |last3=Hop |first3=WCJ |last4=Wijk |first4=R |title=Mechanical agitation of very dilute antiserum against IgE has no effect on basophil staining properties |journal=Experientia |volume=48 |issue=5 |pages=504–08 |year=1992 |pmid=1376282 |doi=10.1007/BF01928175|s2cid=32110713 }}</ref><ref name="pmid16722785">{{cite journal |last1=Witt |first1=Claudia M |last2=Bluth |first2=M |last3=Hinderlich |first3=S |last4=Albrecht |first4=H |last5=Ludtke |first5=R |last6=Weisshuhn |first6=Thorolf ER |last7=Willich |first7=Stefan N |title=Does potentized HgCl<sub>2</sub> (mercurius corrosivus) affect the activity of diastase and amylase? |journal=Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine |volume=12 |pages=359–65 |year=2006 |doi=10.1089/acm.2006.12.359 |pmid=16722785 |issue=4}}</ref><ref name="pmid16036166">{{cite journal |last1=Guggisberg |first1=A |last2=Baumgartner |first2=S |last3=Tschopp |first3=C |last4=Heusser |first4=P |title=Replication study concerning the effects of homeopathic dilutions of histamine on human basophil degranulation in vitro |journal=Complementary Therapies in Medicine |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=91–100 |year=2005 |pmid=16036166 |doi=10.1016/j.ctim.2005.04.003}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vickers|first1=AJ|title=Independent replication of pre-clinical research in homeopathy: a systematic review.|journal=Forschende Komplementärmedizin|date=December 1999|volume=6|issue=6|pages=311–20|doi=10.1159/000021286|pmid=10649002|s2cid=22051466}}</ref> In 2001 and 2004, ] published a number of studies that reported that homeopathic dilutions of ] exerted an effect on the activity of ]s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=V|last2=Ennis|first2=M|date=April 2001|title=Flow-cytometric analysis of basophil activation: inhibition by histamine at conventional and homeopathic concentrations|journal=Inflammation Research|volume=50|issue=Suppl 2|pages=S47–48|doi=10.1007/PL00022402|pmid=11411598|s2cid=10880180}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cumps|first1=J.|last2=Ennis|first2=M.|last3=Mannaioni|first3=P. F.|last4=Roberfroid|first4=M.|last5=Sainte-Laudy|first5=J.|last6=Wiegant|first6=F.A.C.|last7=Belon|first7=P.|date=April 1, 2004|title=Histamine dilutions modulate basophil activation|journal=Inflammation Research|volume=53|issue=5|pages=181–88|doi=10.1007/s00011-003-1242-0|pmid=15105967|s2cid=8682416}}</ref> In response to the first of these studies, '']'' aired a programme in which British scientists attempted to replicate Ennis' results; they were unable to do so.<ref>{{cite web|title=Homeopathy: The Test|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathytrans.shtml|access-date=April 29, 2015|publisher=BBC}}</ref> A 2007 systematic review of high-dilution experiments found that none of the experiments with positive results could be reproduced by all investigators.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Witt|first1=CM|last2=Bluth|first2=M|last3=Albrecht|first3=H|last4=Weisshuhn|first4=TE|last5=Baumgartner|first5=S|last6=Willich|first6=SN|title=The in vitro evidence for an effect of high homeopathic potencies--a systematic review of the literature|journal=Complementary Therapies in Medicine|date=June 2007|volume=15|issue=2|pages=128–38|pmid=17544864|doi=10.1016/j.ctim.2007.01.011}}</ref>
	|pmid =09320730R
	}}
	{{citation
	|author =Junker H
	|title =
	|journal =]
	|volume =45
	|issue =1
	|year =1925
	|page =26
	}} and
	{{citation
	|author =
	|title =
	|journal =]
	|publisher =Springer
	|location =Berlin, Heidelberg
	|issn =0031-6768
	|volume =219
	|issue =B
	|pages =5–6
	|year =1928
	|isbn =1432-2013
	}}
	.</ref> ] release by ],<ref name="pmid16813505">
	{{citation
	|author =Wälchli C, Baumgartner S, Bastide M
	|title =Effect of low doses and high homeopathic potencies in normal and cancerous human lymphocytes: an ''in vitro'' isopathic study
	|journal =]
	|location =New York
	|volume =12
	|issue =5
	|pages =421–7
	|year =2006
	|pmid =16813505
	|doi =10.1089/acm.2006.12.421
	}}</ref> and ], such evidence is disputed since attempts to replicate them have failed.<ref name="pmid11316508">
	{{citation
	|author =Walach H, Köster H, Hennig T, Haag G
	|title =The effects of homeopathic belladonna 30CH in healthy volunteers — a randomized, double-blind experiment
	|journal =]
	|volume =50
	|issue =3
	|pages =155–60
	|year =2001
	|pmid =11316508
	|doi =10.1016/S0022-3999(00)00224-5
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid8255290">
	{{citation
	|author =Hirst SJ, Hayes NA, Burridge J, Pearce FL, Foreman JC
	|title =Human basophil degranulation is not triggered by very dilute antiserum against human IgE
	|journal =]
	|volume =366
	|issue =6455
	|pages =525–7
	|year =1993
	|pmid =8255290
	|doi =10.1038/366525a0
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid1376282">
	{{citation
	|author =Ovelgönne JH, Bol AW, Hop WC, van Wijk R
	|title =Mechanical agitation of very dilute antiserum against IgE has no effect on basophil staining properties
	|journal =]
	|volume =48
	|issue =5
	|pages =504–8
	|year =1992
	|pmid =1376282
	|doi =10.1007/BF01928175
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid16722785">
	{{citation
	|author =Witt CM, Bluth M, Hinderlich S ''et al.''
	|title =Does potentized HgCl2 (Mercurius corrosivus) affect the activity of diastase and alpha-amylase?
	|journal =]
	|location =New York
	|volume =12
	|issue =4
	|pages =359–65
	|year =2006
	|pmid =16722785
	|doi =10.1089/acm.2006.12.359
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid16036166">
	{{citation
	|author =Guggisberg AG, Baumgartner SM, Tschopp CM, Heusser P
	|title =Replication study concerning the effects of homeopathic dilutions of histamine on human basophil degranulation ''in vitro''
	|journal =]
	|volume =13
	|issue =2
	|pages =91–100
	|year =2005
	|pmid =16036166
	|doi =10.1016/j.ctim.2005.04.003
	}}</ref>
	In 1987, French immunologist ] submitted a paper to the journal '']'' while working at ]. The paper purported to have discovered that ], a type of ], released ] when exposed to a homeopathic dilution of anti-immunoglobulin E antibody. The journal editors, sceptical of the results, requested that the study be replicated in a separate laboratory. Upon replication in four separate laboratories the study was published. Still sceptical of the findings, ''Nature'' assembled an independent investigative team to determine the accuracy of the research, consisting of ''Nature'' editor and physicist Sir ], American scientific fraud investigator and chemist Walter Stewart, and sceptic and magician ]. After investigating the findings and methodology of the experiment, the team found that the experiments were "statistically ill-controlled", "interpretation has been clouded by the exclusion of measurements in conflict with the claim", and concluded, "We believe that experimental data have been uncritically assessed and their imperfections inadequately reported."<ref name="delusion">		In 1988, French immunologist ] published a paper in the journal '']'' while working at ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Davenas|first1=E.|last2=Beauvais|first2=F.|last3=Amara|first3=J.|last4=Oberbaum|first4=M.|last5=Robinzon|first5=B.|last6=Miadonnai|first6=A.|last7=Tedeschi|first7=A.|last8=Pomeranz|first8=B.|last9=Fortner|first9=P.|last10=Belon|first10=P.|last11=Sainte-Laudy|first11=J.|date=1988|title=Human basophil degranulation triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE|url=http://www.nature.com/articles/333816a0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=333|issue=6176|pages=816–818|doi=10.1038/333816a0|pmid=2455231|bibcode=1988Natur.333..816D|s2cid=12992106|issn=0028-0836}}</ref> The paper purported to have discovered that basophils released histamine when exposed to a homeopathic dilution of anti-immunoglobulin E antibody. Skeptical of the findings, ''Nature'' assembled an independent investigative team to determine the accuracy of the research. After investigation the team found that the experiments were "statistically ill-controlled", "interpretation has been clouded by the exclusion of measurements in conflict with the claim", and concluded, "We believe that experimental data have been uncritically assessed and their imperfections inadequately reported."<ref name="delusion">
			{{cite journal |last1=Maddox |first1=J |last2=Randi |first2=J |last3=Stewart |first3=W |title="High-dilution" experiments a delusion |journal=Nature |volume=334 |issue=6180 |pages=287–91 |year=1988 |pmid=2455869 |doi=10.1038/334287a0 |bibcode=1988Natur.334..287M |s2cid=9579433 }}</ref><ref name="Sullivan 1988-07-27">
	{{cite doi|10.1038/334287a0}}</ref><ref name=wsullivan>
			{{cite news
	{{citation
	|author= ]		|author =Sullivan W
	|title =Water That Has a Memory? Skeptics Win Second Round		|title =Water that has a memory? Skeptics win second round
	|date =1988-07-27		|date =July 27, 1988
			|work =]
	|url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE7DC1139F934A15754C0A96E948260
			|url =https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/27/us/water-that-has-a-memory-skeptics-win-second-round.html
	|periodical =New York Times
			|access-date =October 3, 2007
	|pages =
			|author-link =Walter S. Sullivan
	|accessdate =2007-10-03
			}}</ref><ref>Benveniste defended his results by comparing the inquiry to the Salem witch hunts and asserting that "It may be that all of us are wrong in good faith. This is no crime but science as usual and only the future knows."</ref>
	| work=The New York Times
	}}</ref><ref>Beneveniste defended his results, however, comparing the inquiry to the Salem witch hunts and asserting that "It may be that all of us are wrong in good faith. This is no crime but science as usual and only the future knows."</ref> James Randi stated that he doubted that there had been any conscious fraud, but that the researchers had allowed "wishful thinking" to influence their interpretation of the data.<ref name="wsullivan" />
	===Methodological and publication issues===		== Ethics and safety ==
			]]]The provision of homeopathic preparations has been described as unethical.<ref name="unethical">{{cite journal |last1=Shaw |first1=DM |title=Homeopathy is where the harm is: Five unethical effects of funding unscientific 'remedies' |journal=Journal of Medical Ethics |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=130–31 |year=2010 |pmid=20211989 |doi=10.1136/jme.2009.034959 |s2cid=206996446 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Shaw2010">{{cite journal |last=Shaw |first=David |title=Homeopathy and medical ethics |journal=Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies |publisher=Wiley |volume=16 |issue=1 |date=4 November 2010 |issn=1465-3753 |doi=10.1111/j.2042-7166.2010.01051.x |pages=17–21}}</ref> ], professor emeritus of surgery and visiting professor of medical humanities at ] (UCL), has described homeopathy as a "cruel deception".<ref name="Janes">{{cite news |author=Hilly Janes |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article4682309.ece |title=The Lifestyle 50: The top fifty people who influence the way we eat, exercise and think about ourselves |work=] |date=September 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727183929/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article4682309.ece |archive-date=July 27, 2011}}</ref> ], the first professor of ] in the United Kingdom and a former homeopathic practitioner,<ref name="Ernst_memo"> to the ]</ref><ref>
	] published an article on homeopathy in '']'', stating the research on homeopathy is problematic for a variety of reasons. These included the high ]es of alternative therapy journals, with very few articles reporting ]s; ignoring ] studies in favour of ] positive results; and the promotion of an ] (that Goldacre described as "little more than a customer-satisfaction survey") as if it were more informative than a series of ]. Goldacre also states that homeopaths who misrepresent scientific evidence to a ] public, have "...walled themselves off from academic medicine, and critique has been all too often met with avoidance rather than argument."<ref name = Goldacre2007>{{Citation
			{{cite news
	|author=Goldacre B
			|title=The alternative professor
	|authorlink = Ben Goldacre
			|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/sep/25/scienceinterviews.health
	|title=Benefits and risks of homoeopathy
			|author=Boseley S
	|journal=Lancet
			|newspaper=]
	|volume=370
			|date=July 21, 2008
	|issue=9600
			|location=London
	|pages=1672–3
			}}</ref><ref name="Con?">{{cite news
	|year=2007
			|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/complementary-therapies-the-big-con-813248.html
	|month=November
			|title=Complementary therapies: The big con?
	|pmid=18022024
			|work=The Independent
	|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61706-1
			|access-date=May 4, 2010
	|url= http://www.badscience.net/2007/11/the-lancet-benefits-and-risks-of-homoeopathy/
			|location=London
	}}</ref>
			|date=April 22, 2008
			|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427070400/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/complementary-therapies-the-big-con-813248.html
			|archive-date=April 27, 2009
			}}</ref> has expressed his concerns about ]s who violate their ethical code by failing to provide customers with "necessary and relevant information" about the true nature of the homeopathic products they advertise and sell.<ref>
			{{cite news
			|title=Pharmacists urged to 'tell the truth' about homeopathic remedies
			|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/jul/21/pharmacists.homeophathy
			|author=Sample I
			|newspaper=]
			|date=July 21, 2008
			|location=London
			}}</ref> In 2013 the ] concluded that the ] were targeting vulnerable ill people and discouraging the use of essential medical treatment while making misleading claims of efficacy for homeopathic products.<ref name="ASA">{{cite web|date=July 3, 2013|title=ASA adjudication on Society of Homeopaths|url=http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/7/Society-of-Homeopaths/SHP_ADJ_157043.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706020223/http://asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/7/Society-of-Homeopaths/SHP_ADJ_157043.aspx|archive-date=July 6, 2013|access-date=July 4, 2013|publisher=ASA|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2015 the ] imposed penalties on a homeopathic company for making false or misleading statements about the efficacy of the whooping cough vaccine and recommending homeopathic remedies as an alternative.<ref name="ACCC">{{cite web|title=Court imposes penalty for false or misleading claims by Homeopathy Plus and Ms Frances Sheffield |url=https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/court-imposes-penalty-for-false-or-misleading-claims-by-homeopathy-plus-and-ms-frances-sheffield|publisher=ACCC|access-date=March 31, 2016|date=October 14, 2015}}</ref>] preparation|alt=|left]]A 2000 review by homeopaths reported that homeopathic preparations are "unlikely to provoke severe adverse reactions".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dantas|first1=F|last2=Rampes|first2=H|year=2000|title=Do homeopathic medicines provoke adverse effects? A systematic review|journal=British Homoeopathic Journal|volume=89|pages=S35–S38|doi=10.1054/homp.1999.0378|pmid=10939781|s2cid=24738819}}</ref> In 2012, a systematic review evaluating evidence of homeopathy's possible ]s concluded that "homeopathy has the potential to harm patients and consumers in both direct and indirect ways".<ref name="sr2012">{{cite journal|last1=Posadzki|first1=P|last2=Alotaibi|first2=A|last3=Ernst|first3=E|year=2012|title=Adverse effects of homeopathy: A systematic review of published case reports and case series|journal=International Journal of Clinical Practice|volume=66|issue=12|pages=1178–88|doi=10.1111/ijcp.12026|pmid=23163497|s2cid=2930768|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis found that, in homeopathic clinical trials, adverse effects were reported among the patients who received homeopathy about as often as they were reported among patients who received placebo or conventional medicine.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Stub|first1=T|last2=Musial|first2=F|last3=Kristoffersen|first3=AA|last4=Alræk|first4=T|last5=Liu|first5=J|date=June 2016|title=Adverse effects of homeopathy, what do we know? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials|url=https://munin.uit.no/bitstream/10037/10908/4/article.pdf|journal=Complementary Therapies in Medicine|volume=26|pages=146–63|doi=10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.013|pmid=27261996|hdl=10037/10908}}</ref>
			Some homeopathic preparations involve poisons such as ], ], and ]. In rare cases, the original ingredients are present at detectable levels. This may be due to improper preparation or intentional low dilution. Serious adverse effects such as seizures and death have been reported or associated with some homeopathic preparations.<ref name="sr2012" /> Instances of ] have occurred.<ref name="J Toxicology: Arsenic toxicity" /> In 2009, the FDA advised consumers to stop using three discontinued cold remedy ] products because it could cause permanent damage to users' sense of smell.<ref>Sources:
	===Ethical and safety issues===
	As homeopathic ''remedies'' usually contain only water and/or alcohol, they are thought to be generally safe. Only in rare cases are the original ingredients present at detectable levels. This may be due to improper preparation or intentional low dilution. Instances of ] have occurred after use of arsenic-containing homeopathic preparations.<ref name=pmid14705842 /> Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, which contains 2X (1:100) ], reportedly caused a small percentage of users to lose their sense of smell;<ref>
			* {{cite news|author=Julianne Pepitone|date=June 16, 2009|title=Zicam may damage sense of smell – FDA|publisher=]|url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/06/16/news/companies/zicam_sense_of_smell/index.htm?section=money_latest}}
	{{citation
			* {{cite web|date=June 16, 2009|title=Information on Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel, Zicam Cold Remedy nasal swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy swabs, kids size|url=https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm166834.htm|publisher=]}}</ref> In 2016 the FDA issued a safety alert to consumers<ref name="FDAconsumers">{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinformation/safetyalertsforhumanmedicalproducts/ucm523435.htm |title=Homeopathic Teething Tablets and Gels: FDA Warning – Risk to Infants and Children |publisher=FDA |date=September 30, 2016 |access-date=October 17, 2016}}</ref> warning against the use of homeopathic teething gels and tablets following reports of adverse events after their use.<ref name="FDANewsRelease">{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm523468.htm |title=FDA warns against the use of homeopathic teething tablets and gels |publisher=FDA |date=September 30, 2016 |access-date=October 17, 2016}}</ref> A previous FDA investigation had found that these products were improperly diluted and contained "unsafe levels of belladonna" and that the reports of serious adverse events in children using this product were "consistent with belladonna toxicity".<ref name="arstechnicaFDA">{{cite web |url=http://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2016/10/fda-homeopathic-teething-gels-may-have-killed-10-babies-sickened-400/ |title=FDA: Homeopathic teething gels may have killed 10 babies, sickened 400 |publisher=Ars Technica UK |date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=October 17, 2016 |author=Mole, Beth}}</ref>
	|author =]
	|url =http://www.homeowatch.org/legal/zicam.html
	|contribution=Zicam marketers sued
	|date =4 November 2003
	|accessdate =2007-10-25
	|publisher =Homeowatch.org
	}}</ref> 340 cases were settled out of court in 2006 for {{nowrap|12 million U.S. dollars}}.<ref>
	{{citation
	|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/30/AR2006013001240.html
	|contribution=Paying through the nose
	|accessdate =2007-10-25
	|author=Boodman S
	|date =31 January 2006
	|publisher =]
	| title=This Week in Health & Science
	}}</ref> In 2009, the FDA advised consumers to stop using three discontinued cold ''remedy'' products manufactured by Zicam because it could cause permanent damage to users' sense of smell.<ref>Sources:
	*{{Citation
	| title = Zicam may damage sense of smell - FDA
	| author = Julianne Pepitone | date = 2009-06-16 | work = ]
	| url = http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/16/news/companies/zicam_sense_of_smell/index.htm?section=money_latest }}
	*{{Citation | title = Information on Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size
	| date = 2009-06-16
	| publisher = ]
	| url = http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm166834.htm
	}}</ref> Zicam was launched without a ] (NDA) under a provision in the FDA’s Compliance Policy Guide called "Conditions Under Which Homeopathic Drugs May be Marketed" (CPG 7132.15), but the FDA warned Zicam via a ] that this policy does not apply when there is a health risk to consumers.<ref>{{Citation
	| title = Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. AKA Zicam LLC 6/16/09. Warning letter
	| publisher = ]
	| date = 2009-06-16
	| url = http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm166909.htm
	}}</ref>
			Patients who choose to use homeopathy rather than ] risk missing timely diagnosis and effective treatment, thereby worsening the outcomes of serious conditions such as cancer.<ref name="Mayo Clinic Proceedings: trials" /><ref name="pmid12974558">{{cite journal |last1=Malik |first1=IA |last2=Gopalan |first2=S |title=Use of CAM results in delay in seeking medical advice for breast cancer |journal=European Journal of Epidemiology |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=817–22 |year=2002 |pmid=12974558 |doi=10.1023/A:1025343720564 |s2cid=19059757 |quote=CAM use was associated with delay in seeking medical advice (OR: 5.6; 95% CI: 2.3, 13.3) and presentation at an advanced stage of disease}}</ref><ref name="pmid8554846" /><ref name="BBC malaria" /> The Russian ] has said homeopathy is not safe because "patients spend significant amounts of money, buying medicines that do not work and disregard already known effective treatment."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-02-07|title=Memorandum #2. Homeopathy as pseudoscience|url=http://klnran.ru/en/2017/02/memorandum02-homeopathy/|access-date=March 19, 2021|website=]}}</ref> Critics have cited cases of patients failing to receive proper treatment for diseases that could have been easily managed with conventional medicine and who have died as a result.<ref name="Baby_Gloria">Case of Baby Gloria, who died in 2002:
	Critics of homeopathy have cited other concerns over homeopathic medicine, most seriously cases of patients of homeopathy failing to receive proper treatment for diseases that could have been easily diagnosed and managed with conventional medicine and who have died as a result<ref name=Baby_Gloria>Case of Baby Gloria, who died in 2002:
	*{{Citation		*{{cite news
	|title=Homeopath Thomas Sam guilty of daughter Gloria's death		|title = Homeopath Thomas Sam guilty of daughter Gloria's death
	|newspaper=]		|newspaper = ]
			|location = Sydney
	|date=June 5, 2009
			|date = June 5, 2009
	|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/homeopath-thomas-sam-guilty-of-daughter-glorias-death/story-e6freuy9-1225723018271}}
			|url = http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/homeopath-thomas-sam-guilty-of-daughter-glorias-death/story-e6freuy9-1225723018271
	*{{Citation
			|access-date = March 17, 2010
	|title=Parents guilty of manslaughter over daughter's eczema death
			|archive-date = November 18, 2012
	|newspaper=]
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121118064506/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/homeopath-thomas-sam-guilty-of-daughter-glorias-death/story-e6freuy9-1225723018271
	|date=June 5, 2009
			}}
	|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/parents-guilty-of-manslaughter-over-daughters-eczema-death/1533293.aspx
			*{{cite news
	}}</ref> and the "marketing practice" of criticizing and downplaying the effectiveness of mainstream medicine.<ref name = Goldacre2007/> Homeopaths claim that use of conventional medicines will "push the disease deeper" and cause more serious conditions, a process referred to as "suppression".<ref>
			|title = Parents guilty of manslaughter over daughter's eczema death
	{{citation
			|newspaper = ]
	|author= Ullman D
			|date = June 5, 2009
	|year=2002
			|url = http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/parents-guilty-of-manslaughter-over-daughters-eczema-death/1533293.aspx
	|url=http://books.google.com/?id=Qa21jitZy7AC&pg=PA4&dq=homeopathy+suppression
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100625160931/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/parents-guilty-of-manslaughter-over-daughters-eczema-death/1533293.aspx
	|title=Essential Homeopathy: What It Is and What It Can Do for You
			|archive-date = June 25, 2010
	|edition=
			|df = mdy-all
	|publisher=New World Library
			}}</ref><ref name="Dingle">{{cite web |author1=Alastair Neil Hope |author2=State Coroner |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/68731728/Coroner-Dingle-Finding |title=Coroner's inquest into the death of Penelope Dingle. Ref No: 17/10 }}</ref> They have also condemned the "marketing practice" of criticizing and downplaying the effectiveness of medicine.<ref name="Goldacre20072" /><ref name="Dingle" /> Homeopaths claim that use of conventional medicines will "push the disease deeper" and cause more serious conditions, a process referred to as "suppression".<ref>
	|page=4
			{{cite book
	|isbn= 1577312066
			|author=Schmukler AV
	}}.</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|author= Schmukler AV
	|year=2006		|year=2006
	|url=http://books.google.com/?id=E1fVzLCmk5gC&pg=PA16&dq=suppression+homeopathy		|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1fVzLCmk5gC&q=suppression+homeopathy&pg=PA16
	|title=Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook		|title=Homeopathy: An A to Z Home Handbook
	|edition=
	|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide		|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide
	|page=16		|page=16
	|isbn= 9780738708737		|isbn=978-0-7387-0873-7
			}}</ref> In 1978, ], a consultant physician at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, criticized statements by ] claiming that ], when treated with antibiotics, would develop into secondary and tertiary syphilis with involvement of the ].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Campbell A|date=October 1978|title=The science of homoeopathy, by G. Vithoulkas|journal=British Homoeopathic Journal|type=book review|volume=67|issue=4|pages=299–301|doi=10.1016/S0007-0785(78)80061-1|s2cid=69144584 }}</ref> Vithoulkas' claims echo the idea that treating a disease with external medication used to treat the symptoms would only drive it deeper into the body and conflict with scientific studies, which indicate that ] treatment produces a complete cure of syphilis in more than 90% of cases.<ref name="Birnbaum">{{cite journal|vauthors=Birnbaum NR, Goldschmidt RH, Buffett WO|year=1999|title=Resolving the common clinical dilemmas of syphilis|url=http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2233.html|journal=American Family Physician|volume=59|issue=8|pages=2233–40, 2245–46|pmid=10221308|access-date=September 3, 2007|archive-date=June 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606033808/http://www.aafp.org/afp/990415ap/2233.html}}</ref>
	}}.</ref> Some homeopaths (particularly those who are non-physicians) advise their patients against ].<ref name="pmid8554846" /><ref name="pmid9243229">
	{{citation
			The use of homeopathy as a preventive for serious infectious diseases, called ], is especially controversial.<ref name="BBC-malaria">{{cite news|date=January 5, 2011|title=Is bad homeopathic advice putting travellers at risk?|work=Newsnight|agency=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9341713.stm|access-date=January 10, 2015}}</ref> Some homeopaths (particularly those who are non-physicians) advise their patients against ].<ref name="pmid8554846" /><ref name="pmid9243229">{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=E. |title=The attitude against immunisation within some branches of complementary medicine |journal=European Journal of Pediatrics |volume=156 |issue=7 |pages=513–15 |year=1997 |pmid=9243229 |doi=10.1007/s004310050650|s2cid=25420567 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=E |title=Rise in popularity of complementary and alternative medicine: reasons and consequences for vaccination |journal=Vaccine |volume=20 |pages=S90–93; discussion S89 |year=2001 |doi=10.1016/S0264-410X(01)00290-0 |pmid=11587822}}</ref> Others have suggested that vaccines be replaced with homeopathic "nosodes".<ref>
	|author =Ernst E
			{{cite journal
	|title =The attitude against immunisation within some branches of complementary medicine
	|journal =Eur J Pediatr
	|volume =156
	|issue =7
	|pages =513–5
	|year =1997
	|pmid =9243229
	|doi =10.1007/s004310050650
	}}</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Ernst E
	|title =Rise in popularity of complementary and alternative medicine: reasons and consequences for vaccination
	|journal =Vaccine
	|volume =20 Suppl 1
	|issue =
	|pages =S90–3; discussion S89
	|year =2001
	|pmid =11587822
	|doi =10.1016/S0264-410X(01)00290-0
	}}</ref> Some homeopaths suggest that vaccines be replaced with homeopathic "nosodes", created from biological material such as pus, diseased tissue, bacilli from sputum or (in the case of "bowel nosodes") feces.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Pray WS		|author =Pray WS
	|title =The Challenge to Professionalism Presented by Homeopathy		|title =The challenge to professionalism presented by homeopathy
	|journal =American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education		|journal =American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
	|volume =60		|volume =60
	|issue =
	|pages =198–204		|pages =198–204
	|year =1996		|year =1996
	|pmid =		|issue =2
			|doi =10.1016/S0002-9459(24)04582-0
	|doi =
	}}</ref> While Hahnemann was opposed to such preparations, modern homeopaths often use them although there is no evidence to indicate they have any beneficial effects.<ref>		}}</ref> While Hahnemann was opposed to such preparations, modern homeopaths often use them although there is no evidence to indicate they have any beneficial effects.<ref>
			{{cite journal
	{{citation
	|title =A challenge to the credibility of homeopathy		|title =A challenge to the credibility of homeopathy
	|journal =Am J Pain Management		|journal =American Journal of Pain Management
	|year =1992		|year =1992
	|author=Pray WS		|author =Pray WS
	|issue =2		|issue =2
	|pages =63–71		|pages =63–71
			}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=English |first1=J |title=The issue of immunization |journal=British Homoeopathic Journal |volume=81 |pages=161–63 |year=1992 |doi=10.1016/S0007-0785(05)80171-1 |issue=4|s2cid=71502677 }}</ref> Promotion of homeopathic alternatives to vaccines has been characterized as dangerous, inappropriate and irresponsible.<ref name="CBC-Irresponsible">{{cite web|date=November 28, 2014|title=Vaccine alternatives offered by homeopaths 'irresponsible'|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/vaccine-alternatives-offered-by-homeopaths-irresponsible-1.2852408|access-date=January 10, 2015|work=Marketplace|publisher=CBC}}</ref><ref name="BBC-Poling">{{cite news|author=Poling, Samantha|date=September 13, 2010|title=Doctors warn over homeopathic 'vaccines'|agency=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11277990|access-date=January 10, 2015}}</ref> In December 2014, the Australian homeopathy supplier ] was found to have acted deceptively in promoting homeopathic alternatives to vaccines.<ref name="ACCC-HPlus">{{cite web|date=December 23, 2014|title=Court finds Homeopathy Plus! vaccine claims misleading|url=https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/court-finds-homeopathy-plus-vaccine-claims-misleading|access-date=January 10, 2015|publisher=Australian Competition and Consumer Commission}}</ref> In 2019, an investigative journalism piece by the ] revealed that homeopathy practitioners were actively discouraging patients from vaccinating their children.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rushton|first1=Katherine|last2=Foggo|first2=Daniel|last3=Barnes|first3=Sophie|date=2019-11-01|title=Homeopaths warning mothers not to have children vaccinated, investigation reveals|language=en-GB|work=]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/01/homeopaths-warning-mothers-not-have-children-vaccinated-investigation/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/01/homeopaths-warning-mothers-not-have-children-vaccinated-investigation/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2019-11-03|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Cases of homeopaths advising against the use of anti-malarial drugs have also been identified,<ref name="BBC malaria" /><ref name="Guardian malaria" /><ref name="pmid11082104" /> putting visitors to the tropics in severe danger.<ref name="BBC malaria">
	}}</ref><ref>
			{{cite news
	{{citation
	|title =The issue of immunization
	|journal =Br Homeopath J
	|year =1992
	|author=English J
	|volume =81
	|issue =4
	|pages =161–3
	|doi =10.1016/S0007-0785(05)80171-1
	}}</ref> Cases of homeopaths advising against the use of anti-malarial drugs have been identified.<ref name=malaria2/><ref name=malaria1 /><ref name="pmid11082104"/> This puts visitors to the tropics who take this advice in severe danger, since homeopathic ''remedies'' are completely ineffective against the malaria parasite.<ref name=malaria2>
	{{citation
	|author =Jones M		|author =Jones M
	|title =Malaria advice 'risks lives'		|title =Malaria advice 'risks lives'
	|date =2006-07-14		|date =July 14, 2006
	|periodical =]		|periodical =]
	|publisher =]		|publisher =]
	|url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5178122.stm		|url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5178122.stm
			|access-date =March 24, 2009
	|accessdate =2009-03-24
	}}</ref><ref name=malaria1>		}}</ref><ref name="Guardian malaria">
			{{cite news
	{{citation
	|author =Jha A		|author =Jha A
	|title =Homeopaths 'endangering lives' by offering malaria remedies		|title =Homeopaths 'endangering lives' by offering malaria remedies
	|date =14 July 2006		|date =July 14, 2006
	|url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1820103,00.html		|url =https://www.theguardian.com/science/story/0,,1820103,00.html
	|newspaper =]		|newspaper =]
	| location=London		|location =London
			}}</ref><ref name="pmid11082104">{{cite journal |last1=Starr |first1=M. |title=Malaria affects children and pregnant women most |journal=BMJ |volume=321 |page=1288 |year=2000 |doi=10.1136/bmj.321.7271.1288 |issue=7271|pmc=1119021 |pmid=11082103}}</ref><ref name="Coffman">{{cite web|author=Coffman, Becky |url=https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/stories/homeopathic_drugs.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324180407/https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/stories/homeopathic_drugs.html |archive-date=March 24, 2014 |title=A cautionary tale: the risks of unproven antimalarials |publisher=] |date=January 28, 2019 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
	}}</ref><ref name="pmid11082104">
	{{citation
	|author =Delaunay P, Cua E, Lucas P, Marty P
	|title =Homoeopathy may not be effective in preventing malaria
	|journal =BMJ
	|volume =321
	|issue =7271
	|pages =1288
	|year =2000
	|pmid =11082104
	|doi =10.1136/bmj.321.7271.1288
	|pmc =1119022
	}}</ref> Also, in one case in 2004, a homeopath instructed one of her patients to stop taking conventional medication for a heart condition, advising her on 22 June 2004 to "Stop ALL medications including homeopathic", advising her on or around 20 August that she no longer needed to take her heart medication, and adding on 23 August, "She just cannot take ANY drugs – I have suggested some homeopathic remedies ... I feel confident that if she follows the advice she will regain her health." The patient was admitted to hospital the next day, and died eight days later, the final diagnosis being "acute heart failure due to treatment discontinuation".<ref>
	{{citation
	|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml;jsessionid=1SDVYZIIKRQCDQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/connected/2007/03/22/nhealth122.xml
	|contribution=Patient died after being told to stop heart medicine
	|accessdate =2007-10-15
	|author=Bunyan N
	|date =2007-03-22
	|title =Daily Telegraph
	|work=The Daily Telegraph
	|location=London
	}}</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071222002350/http://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns/hearings_and_decisions/ftp/20070628_ftp_panel_viegas.asp
	|contribution=Fitness To Practise panel hearing on Dr Marisa Viegas
	|accessdate=2009-01-25
	|month=June
	|year=2007
	|publisher=General Medical Council (via archive.org)
	}}</ref>
	In 1978, ], then a consultant physician at The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, criticised statements made by ] to promote his homeopathic treatments. Vithoulkas stated that ], when treated with antibiotics, would develop into secondary and tertiary syphilis with involvement of the ]. Campbell described this as a thoroughly irresponsible statement which could mislead an unfortunate layman into refusing conventional medical treatment.<ref name = "minimum-67-4"/> This claim echoes the idea that treating a disease with external medication used to treat the symptoms would only drive it deeper into the body and conflicts with scientific studies, which indicate that penicillin treatment produces a complete cure of syphilis in more than 90% of cases.<ref name="Birnbaum"/>
	A 2006 review by W. Steven Pray of the College of Pharmacy at ] recommends that pharmacy colleges include a required course in unproven medications and therapies, that ethical dilemmas inherent in recommending products lacking proven safety and efficacy data be discussed, and that students should be taught where unproven systems such as homeopathy depart from evidence-based medicine.<ref>		A 2006 review recommends that pharmacy colleges include a required course where ethical dilemmas inherent in recommending products lacking proven safety and efficacy data be discussed and that students should be taught where unproven systems such as homeopathy depart from evidence-based medicine.<ref>
			{{cite journal
	{{citation
	|author=Pray WS		|author=Pray WS
	|title=Ethical, scientific, and educational concerns with unproven medications		|title=Ethical, scientific, and educational concerns with unproven medications
	|journal=Am J Pharm Educ		|journal=American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
	|volume=70		|volume=70
	|issue=6		|issue=6
	|pages=141		|page=141
	|year=2006		|year=2006
	|pmid=17332867		|pmid=17332867
	|pmc=1803699		|pmc=1803699
			|doi=10.5688/aj7006141
	}}</ref>		}}</ref>
	], the first ''Professor of ]'' in the United Kingdom and a former homeopathic practitioner,<ref name=Ernst_memo> to the ]</ref><ref>
	{{citation
	|title=The alternative professor
	|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2003/sep/25/scienceinterviews.health
	|author=Boseley S
	|newspaper=]
	|date=21 July 2008
	|location=London
	}}</ref><ref name="Con?">{{Citation |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/complementary-therapies-the-big-con-813248.html |title=Complementary therapies: The big con?
	|work=The Independent
	|accessdate= 2010-05-04
	|location=London
	|date=2008-04-22
	}}</ref> has expressed his concerns about ]s who violate their ethical code by failing to provide customers with "necessary and relevant information" about the true nature of the homeopathic products they advertise and sell:
	: "My plea is simply for honesty. Let people buy what they want, but tell them the truth about what they are buying. These treatments are biologically implausible and the clinical tests have shown they don't do anything at all in human beings. The argument that this information is not relevant or important for customers is quite simply ridiculous."<ref>
	{{citation
	|title=Pharmacists urged to 'tell the truth' about homeopathic remedies
	|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jul/21/pharmacists.homeophathy
	|author=Sample I
	|newspaper=]
	|date=21 July 2008
	|location=London
	}}</ref>
	], Professor Emeritus of Surgery and visiting Professor of Medical Humanities at ] (UCL), has described homoeopathy as a “cruel deception”.<ref name=Janes>Hilly Janes, Editor of Body&Soul. . '']'', September 6, 2008</ref>
	In an article entitled "Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?"<ref name=Baum_&_Ernst>{{Citation
	|author=Baum M, Ernst E
	|title=Should we maintain an open mind about homeopathy?
	|journal=Am. J. Med.
	|volume=122
	|issue=11
	|pages=973–4
	|year=2009
	|month=November
	|pmid=19854319
	|doi=10.1016/j.amjmed.2009.03.038
	|quote=Homeopathy is among the worst examples of faith-based medicine... These axioms are not only out of line with scientific facts but also directly opposed to them. If homeopathy is correct, much of physics, chemistry, and pharmacology must be incorrect... To have an open mind about homeopathy or similarly implausible forms of alternative medicine (eg, Bach Flower remedies, spiritual healing, crystal therapy) is therefore not an option. We think that a belief in homeopathy exceeds the tolerance of an open mind. We should start from the premise that homeopathy cannot work and that positive evidence reflects publication bias or design flaws until proved otherwise... We wonder whether any kind of evidence would persuade homeopathic physicians of their self-delusion and challenge them to design a methodologically sound trial, which if negative would finally persuade them to shut up shop... Homeopathy is based on an absurd concept that denies progress in physics and chemistry. Some 160 years after ''Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions'', an essay by ], we are still debating whether homeopathy is a placebo or not... Homeopathic principles are bold conjectures. There has been no spectacular corroboration of any of its founding principles... After more than 200 years, we are still waiting for homeopathy “heretics” to be proved right, during which time the advances in our understanding of disease, progress in therapeutics and surgery, and prolongation of the length and quality of life by so-called allopaths have been breathtaking. The true skeptic therefore takes pride in closed mindedness when presented with absurd assertions that contravene the laws of thermodynamics or deny progress in all branches of physics, chemistry, physiology, and medicine.
	}}</ref> published in the '']'', Michael Baum and Edzard Ernst—writing to other physicians—wrote that "Homeopathy is among the worst examples of faith-based medicine... These axioms are not only out of line with scientific facts but also directly opposed to them. If homeopathy is correct, much of physics, chemistry, and pharmacology must be incorrect...".
	==Regulation and prevalence==		==Regulation and prevalence==
	{{Main|Regulation and prevalence of homeopathy}}		{{Main|Regulation and prevalence of homeopathy}}
	] Homeopathic Hospital, one of two homeopathic hospitals run by the ].<ref name=inquiry_cfm/>]]		]]]
	Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others; is highly regulated in some countries and mostly unregulated in others. It is practised worldwide and professional qualifications and licences are needed in most countries.<ref name=WHO /> Regulations vary in Europe depending on the country. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licences or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In Germany, no specific regulations exist, while France, Austria and Denmark mandate licences to diagnose any illness or dispense of any product whose purpose is to treat any illness.<ref name=WHO/> Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health service of several European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and ]. In other countries, such as Belgium, homeopathy is not covered. In Austria, the public health service requires scientific proof of effectiveness in order to reimburse medical treatments and homeopathy is listed as not reimbursable<ref>		Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others; is highly regulated in some countries and mostly unregulated in others. It is practiced worldwide and professional qualifications and licences are needed in most countries.<ref name="Who Legal">{{Cite web|date=2001|title=Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review|url=http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/h2943e/h2943e.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927001352/http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/h2943e/h2943e.pdf|archive-date=September 27, 2009|access-date=2020-09-01|website=World Health Organization}}</ref> A 2019 WHO report found that 100 out of 133 Member States surveyed in 2012 acknowledged that their population used homeopathy, with 22 saying the practice was regulated and 13 providing health insurance coverage.<ref name="WHO traditional">{{Cite web|date=4 June 2019|title=WHO global report on traditional and complementary medicine 2019|url=https://www.who.int/traditional-complementary-integrative-medicine/WhoGlobalReportOnTraditionalAndComplementaryMedicine2019.pdf?ua=1|access-date=2020-09-04|website=WHO|language=en}}</ref> In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licences or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In 2001 homeopathy had been integrated into the national health care systems of many countries, including India, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.<ref name="Who Legal" />
	{{citation
	|author=Hauptverband der österreichischen Sozialversicherungsträger
	|url=https://www.avsv.at/avi/dokument/dokumentanzeige.xhtml?dokid=2004%3D34&dokStat=0&csrId=1736&tlId=1231413537940
	|contribution=Liste nicht erstattungsfähiger Arzneimittelkategorien gemäß § 351c Abs. 2 ASVG (List of treatments not reimbursable by social service providers in Austria) {{de icon}}
	|date=31 March 2004
	}}.</ref> but exceptions can be made;<ref>
	{{cite court
	|litigants = Rechtssatz (legal rule)
	|court = Oberster Gerichtshof OGH - Austrian supreme court
	|opinion = RS0083796 {{de icon}}
	|date = 28 February 1994
	|url=http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/Justiz/JJR_19940228_OGH0002_010OBS00103_9300000_001/JJR_19940228_OGH0002_010OBS00103_9300000_001.pdf
	|format=PDF
	}}</ref> private health insurance policies sometimes include homeopathic treatment.<ref name="WHO" /> The ] government, after a 5-year trial, withdrew homeopathy and four other complementary treatments in 2005, stating that they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria.<ref name=EndofHomeopathy>{{citation
	|year =2005
	|title =The end of homoeopathy
	|author =<!-- No author. This comment pacifies the Citation bot. -->
	|journal =Lancet
	|volume =366
	|issue =9487
	|pages =690
	|doi =10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67149-8
	|pmid =16125567
	}}.</ref>
	The Indian government recognises homeopathy as one of its national systems of medicine,<ref>{{citation
	|url =http://india.gov.in/citizen/health/healthcare_system.php
	|contribution=Alternative System of Health Care
	|publisher =Government of India
	|accessdate =2010-01-15
	}}</ref> and a minimum of a recognised diploma in homeopathy and registration on a state register or the Central Register of Homoeopathy is required to practice homeopathy in India.<ref>{{citation
	|url =http://www.cchindia.com/central_act3.htm
	|contribution=The Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973, s. 15 and Sch. II
	|publisher =Central Council of Homeopathy
	|accessdate =2010-01-18
	}}</ref>
			=== Regulation ===
	In the ], MPs inquired into homeopathy to assess the Government's policy on the issue, including funding of homeopathy under the ] and government policy for licensing homeopathic products. The decision by the ] Science and Technology Committee follows a written explanation from the Government in which it told the select committee that the licensing regime was not formulated on the basis of scientific evidence. "The three elements of the licensing regime (for homeopathic products) probably lie outside the scope of the ... select committee inquiry, because government consideration of scientific evidence was not the basis for their establishment," the Committee said. The inquiry sought written evidence and submissions from concerned parties.<ref name=THE29thOct2009>{{Citation|publisher=Times Higher Education|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=408852&c=1|title=News in brief: Homeopathic assessment|date=29 October 2009}}, timeshighereducation.co.uk</ref><ref name=091020_cfm>, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, 20 October 2009, parliament.uk</ref>
			Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health service of several European countries, including Scotland,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Chris |title=Scotland urged to stop funding homeopathy on NHS |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/scotland-urged-stop-funding-homeopathy-nhs-522057 |access-date=18 January 2020 |publisher=iNews |date=2 August 2017}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clarinval |first1=France |title=Homeopathy to remain reimbursable in Luxembourg |url=https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/1393668.html |website=today.rt.lu |publisher=RTL Today |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref> It used to be covered in France until 2021.<ref name="FranceEndFunding2021" /> In other countries, such as Belgium, homeopathy is not covered. In Austria, the public health service requires scientific proof of effectiveness in order to reimburse medical treatments and homeopathy is listed as not reimbursable,<ref>
			{{cite web|author=]|date=March 31, 2004|title=Liste nicht erstattungsfähiger Arzneimittelkategorien gemäß § 351c Abs. 2 ASVG (List of treatments not reimbursable by social service providers in Austria)|url=https://www.avsv.at/avi/dokument/dokumentanzeige.xhtml?dokid=2004%3D34&dokStat=0&csrId=1736&tlId=1231413537940|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706091417/https://www.avsv.at/avi/dokument/dokumentanzeige.xhtml?dokid=2004%3D34&dokStat=0&csrId=1736&tlId=1231413537940|archive-date=July 6, 2011|language=de|df=mdy-all}}</ref> but exceptions can be made;<ref>
			{{cite court|litigants=Rechtssatz (legal rule)|court=Oberster Gerichtshof (Austrian supreme court)|opinion=RS0083796 {{in lang|de}}|date=February 28, 1994|url=http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/Justiz/JJR_19940228_OGH0002_010OBS00103_9300000_001/JJR_19940228_OGH0002_010OBS00103_9300000_001.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref> private health insurance policies sometimes include homeopathic treatments.<ref name="Who Legal" /> In 2018, Austria's ] stopped teaching homeopathy.<ref name="Undark 2020-09-02">{{Cite web|date=2020-03-16|title=In Germany, a Heated Debate Over Homeopathy|url=https://undark.org/2020/03/16/homeopathy-globuli-germany/|access-date=2020-09-02|website=Undark Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> The Swiss government withdrew coverage of homeopathy and four other complementary treatments in 2005, stating that they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria,<ref name="EndofHomeopathy">{{cite journal|author=<!-- No author listed -->|year=2005|title=The end of homoeopathy|journal=The Lancet|volume=366|issue=9487|page=690|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67149-8|pmid=16125567|s2cid=6115077|doi-access=free}}</ref> but following a referendum in 2009 the five therapies were reinstated for a further 6-year trial period.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dacey J|date=January 14, 2011|title=Alternative therapies are put to the test|url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Alternative_therapies_are_put_to_the_test.html?cid=29242484|access-date=January 17, 2011|publisher=swissinfo.ch|archive-date=April 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422184705/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Alternative_therapies_are_put_to_the_test.html?cid=29242484|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Germany, homeopathic treatments are covered by 70 percent of government medical plans, and available in almost every pharmacy.<ref name="Undark 2020-09-02" /> In January 2024, ] ] announced plans to withdraw all statutory health insurance coverage for homeopathic and anthroposophic treatments, citing a lack of scientific evidence for their efficacy.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tagesschau|date=January 11, 2024|title="Homöopathie macht als Kassenleistung keinen Sinn"|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/lauterbach-homoeopathie-kassenleistung-100.html|access-date=January 18, 2024|publisher=tagesschau.de}}</ref>
			The English NHS recommended against prescribing homeopathic preparations in 2017.<ref name="NHS Homeo" /> In 2018, prescriptions worth £55,000 were written in defiance of the guidelines, representing less than 0.001% of the total NHS prescribing budget.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-10-18|title=Homeopathy|url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/homeopathy/|access-date=2020-01-18|website=nhs.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Donnelly|first1=Laura|last2=Taylor|first2=Rosie|date=2019-04-05|title=NHS still spending £55,000 a year on homeopathy, despite ban|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/05/nhs-still-spending-55000-year-homeopathy-despite-ban/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/05/nhs-still-spending-55000-year-homeopathy-despite-ban/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2020-01-18|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2016 the UK's ] compliance team wrote to homeopaths<ref name="NightingaleASA_CAP">{{cite web|date=September 29, 2016|title=Diluting misleading claims – ASA update|url=http://www.nightingale-collaboration.org/news/185-diluting-misleading-claims-asa-update.html|access-date=September 30, 2016|publisher=Nightingale Collaboration}}</ref> in the UK to "remind them of the rules that govern what they can and can't say in their marketing materials".<ref name="ASA_CAP">{{cite web|date=September 29, 2016|title=Advertising standards for homeopathy|url=https://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Media-Centre/2016/Advertising-standards-for-homeopathy.aspx|access-date=September 30, 2016|publisher=Advertising Standards Authority}}</ref> The letter told homeopaths to "ensure that they do not make any direct or implied claims that homeopathy can treat medical conditions" and asks them to review their marketing communications "including websites and social media pages" to ensure compliance.<ref name="LetterToHomeopaths">{{cite web|author=CAP Compliance Team|date=September 28, 2016|title=Advertising standsards for homeopaths|url=https://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Media-Centre/2016/~/media/Files/CAP/News/Letter%20to%20Homeopaths.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003143347/https://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Media-Centre/2016/~/media/Files/CAP/News/Letter%20to%20Homeopaths.pdf|archive-date=October 3, 2016|access-date=September 30, 2016|publisher=Committee of Advertising Practice|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Homeopathic services offered at ] in the UK ceased in October 2015.<ref name="GoodThinking">{{cite web|date=June 5, 2015|title=Bristol Homeopathic Hospital To Cease Offering Homeopathic Treatments|url=http://goodthinkingsociety.org/bristol-homeopathic-hospital-cease-offering-homeopathic-treatments/|access-date=April 29, 2016|publisher=Good Thinking}}</ref><ref name="BristolPost-10-06-2015">{{cite news|last1=Cardwell|first1=Mark|date=June 10, 2015|title=Homeopathy services will no longer be available at Bristol NHS Trust hospitals|work=Bristol Post|url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Homeopathy-services-longer-available-NHS-Bristol/story-26666377-detail/story.html|access-date=April 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928025310/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Homeopathy-services-longer-available-NHS-Bristol/story-26666377-detail/story.html|archive-date=September 28, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
	In February 2010 the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that:
	{{quote|
	... the NHS should cease funding homeopathy. It also concludes that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (]) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy. As they are not medicines, homeopathic products should no longer be licensed by the MHRA.
			Member states of the ] are required to ensure that homeopathic products are registered, although this process does not require any proof of efficacy.<ref name="Commander Snake">{{Cite web|last=Commander|first=Emily|date=2018-10-01|title=Snake oil or science? Homeopathy in Europe|url=https://www.euronews.com/2018/10/01/snake-oil-or-science-homeopathy-in-europe|access-date=2020-09-04|website=euronews|language=en}}</ref> In Spain, the ] is lobbying to get rid of the easy registration procedure for homeopathic remedies.<ref name="Commander Snake" /> In Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia homeopathy, by law, can only be practiced by medical practitioners. However, in Slovenia if doctors practice homeopathy their medical license will be revoked.<ref name="Commander Snake" /> In Germany, to become a homeopathic physician, one must attend a three-year training program, while France, Austria and Denmark mandate licences to diagnose any illness or dispense of any product whose purpose is to treat any illness.<ref name="Who Legal" /> Homeopaths in the UK are under no legal regulations, meaning anyone can call themselves homeopaths and administer homeopathic remedies.<ref name="NHS Homeo">{{Cite web|date=2017-10-18|title=Homeopathy|url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/homeopathy/|access-date=2020-09-02|website=nhs.uk|language=en}}</ref>], India]]
	The Committee concurred with the Government that the evidence base shows that homeopathy is not efficacious (that is, it does not work beyond the placebo effect) and that explanations for why homeopathy would work are scientifically implausible.
			], India]]
			The ] recognizes homeopathy as one of its national systems of medicine and they are sold with medical claims.<ref>{{cite web
			|url = http://india.gov.in/citizen/health/healthcare_system.php
			|title = Alternative System of Health Care
			|publisher = Government of India
			|access-date = January 15, 2010
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100102154756/http://india.gov.in/citizen/health/healthcare_system.php
			|archive-date = January 2, 2010
			}}</ref><ref name="WHO traditional" /> It has established the ] (AYUSH) under the ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianmedicine.nic.in/index.asp?lang=1|title=AYUSH|publisher=]. website|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130822171213/http://indianmedicine.nic.in/index.asp?lang=1|archive-date=August 22, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The south Indian state of ] also has a cabinet-level AYUSH department.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.homoeoscan.com/2015/06/Kerala-AYUSH-department-Final-nod.html|title=Kerala AYUSH department- Final nod|date=June 4, 2015|website=Homoeoscan|access-date=October 1, 2017}}</ref> The ] was established in 1973 to monitor higher education in homeopathy, and the ] in 1975.<ref>{{cite web|title=Professional Councils |url=http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/pcouncil.html#CCH |publisher=] (UGC) website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106075646/http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/pcouncil.html |archive-date=January 6, 2010 }}</ref> Principals and standards for homeopathic products are covered by the '']''.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> A minimum of a recognized diploma in homeopathy and registration on a state register or the Central Register of Homoeopathy is required to practice homeopathy in India.<ref>{{cite web
			|url = http://www.cchindia.com/central_act3.htm
			|title = The Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973, s. 15 and Sch. II
			|publisher = Central Council of Homeopathy, India
			|access-date = January 18, 2010
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091123105853/http://www.cchindia.com/central_act3.htm
			|archive-date = November 23, 2009
			|df = mdy-all
			}}</ref>
			Some ]s in Pakistan,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/436504-govt-asked-to-set-up-university-to-promote-homoeopathy |title=Govt asked to set up university to promote homoeopathy}}</ref> India,<ref>{{cite news|last1=MANDHANI|first1=APOORVA|title=Gujarat HC Quashes Rules Permitting Common Counselling By State For Management Quota Seats in Ayurveda Colleges |url=http://www.livelaw.in/gujarat-hc-quashes-rules-permitting-common-counselling-state-management-quota-seats-ayurveda-colleges-read-judgment/|publisher=Live Law|date=August 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Alternative Medicine: Emerging Careers|url=https://www.northeasttoday.in/alternative-medicine-emerging-careers/|publisher=northeasttoday.in|date=March 23, 2017|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=January 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108062819/https://www.northeasttoday.in/alternative-medicine-emerging-careers/}}</ref> and Bangladesh,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7u8QjjEwif4C&q=bachelor+of+homoeopathy+medicine+and+surgery+in+bangladesh |title=Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.homoeopathicboardbd.org/ |title=Bangladesh Homoeopathy Board – Bangladesh Homoeopathy Board}}</ref> offer an undergraduate degree programme in homeopathy.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3RYrDwAAQBAJ&q=Bachelor+of+Homoeopathy+Medicine+and+Surgery&pg=PT77 |title=Educational Equivalency Analysis: India & USA Degrees: 108 India Degrees and Equivalency to USA degrees |isbn=978-93-5278-117-1 |last1=Raghu Korrapati |first1=Dr |date=2017-07-06|publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt }}</ref> Upon completion the college may award a ''{{visible anchor|Bachelor of Homoeopathy Medicine and Surgery}}'' (''B.H.M.S.'').
	The Committee concluded - given that the existing scientific literature showed no good evidence of efficacy - that further clinical trials of homeopathy could not be justified.
			In the United States each state is responsible for the laws and licensing requirements for homeopathy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Practicing & Studying Homeopathy|url=https://www.homeopathycenter.org/practicing-studying-homeopathy/|access-date=2020-09-02|website=The National Center for Homeopathy|language=en|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414135845/https://www.homeopathycenter.org/practicing-studying-homeopathy/}}</ref> In 2015, the FDA held a hearing on homeopathic product regulation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Frazier|first1=Kendrick|authorlink= Kendrick Frazier|year=2015|title=CFI testimony urges FDA to regulate homeopathic products|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=39|issue=4|pages=6–7}}</ref> At the hearing, representatives from the ] and the ] summarized the harm that is done to the general public from homeopathics and proposed regulatory actions:<ref name="fdahearing">{{cite web|author=De Dora, Michael|date=April 20, 2015|title=Homeopathic product regulation: evaluating the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory framework after a quarter-century. Testimony of the Center for Inquiry to the Food and Drug Administration|url=https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/NewsEvents/UCM443495.pdf|publisher=FDA}}</ref> In 2016 the United States ] (FTC) issued an "Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Marketing Claims for Over-the-Counter Homeopathic Drugs" which specified that the FTC will apply the same standard to homeopathic drugs that it applies to other products claiming similar benefits.<ref name="FTC2016">{{cite web|title=FTC: Enforcement Policy Statement on Marketing Claims for OTC Homeopathic Drugs|url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/996984/p114505_otc_homeopathic_drug_enforcement_policy_statement.pdf|access-date=November 18, 2016|publisher=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref> A related report concluded that claims of homeopathy effectiveness "are not accepted by most modern medical experts and do not constitute competent and reliable scientific evidence that these products have the claimed treatment effects."<ref name="WSReport">{{cite web|title=Homeopathic Medicine & Advertising Workshop Report|url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/federal-trade-commission-staff-report-homeopathic-medicine-advertising-workshop/p114505_otc_homeopathic_medicine_and_advertising_workshop_report.pdf|access-date=November 18, 2016|publisher=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref> In 2019, the FDA removed an enforcement policy that permitted unapproved homeopathics to be sold.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FDA Toughens Enforcement of Homeopathic Products|url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/fda-toughens-enforcement-homeopathic-products|access-date=2020-09-02|website=The National Law Review|language=en}}</ref> Currently no homeopathic products are approved by the FDA.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Research|first=Center for Drug Evaluation and|date=2020-07-22|title=Homeopathic Products|url=https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/homeopathic-products|journal=FDA|language=en}}</ref>
	In the Committee’s view, homeopathy is a placebo treatment and the Government should have a policy on prescribing placebos. The Government is reluctant to address the appropriateness and ethics of prescribing placebos to patients, which usually relies on some degree of patient deception. Prescribing of placebos is not consistent with informed patient choice-which the Government claims is very important-as it means patients do not have all the information needed to make choice meaningful.
			Homeopathic remedies are regulated as natural health products in Canada.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> ] became the first province in the country to regulate the practice of homeopathy, a move that was widely criticized by scientists and doctors.<ref>{{Cite news|title='A pseudo-science': Outrage after Ontario government funds college program in homeopathy|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/a-diploma-in-magical-thinking-critics-want-funding-pulled-for-ontario-colleges-homeopathy-course|access-date=2020-09-02|website=National Post|date=February 8, 2018|language=en-CA|last1=Kirkey|first1=Sharon}}</ref> ] requires all products to have a licence before being sold and applicants have to submit evidence on "the safety, efficacy and quality of a homeopathic medicine".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Canada|first=Health|date=2006-10-26|title=Evidence for Homeopathic Medicines|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/natural-non-prescription/legislation-guidelines/guidance-documents/evidence-homeopathic-medicines.html|access-date=2020-09-04|website=aem}}</ref> In 2015 the ] tested the system by applying for and then receiving a government approved licence for a made-up drug aimed at kids.<ref>{{Cite web|date=Mar 13, 2015|title=Drugstore remedies: Licence to Deceive|url=https://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2014-2015/drugstore-remedies-licence-to-deceive|website=CBC}}</ref>
	Beyond ethical issues and the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship, prescribing pure placebos is bad medicine. Their effect is unreliable and unpredictable and cannot form the sole basis of any treatment on the NHS.<ref name=inquiry_cfm/>}}
			In Australia, the sale of homeopathic products is regulated by the ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2008-09-01|title=Regulation of homoeopathic and anthroposophic medicines in Australia|url=https://www.tga.gov.au/consultation/regulation-homoeopathic-and-anthroposophic-medicines-australia|access-date=2020-09-01|website=Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)|language=en}}</ref> In 2015, the ] of Australia concluded that there is "no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective and should not be used to treat health conditions that are chronic, serious, or could become serious". They recommended anyone considering using homeopathy should first get advice from a registered health practitioner.<ref name="NHMRC2" /> A 2017 review into Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation recommended that products be banned from pharmacies;<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017|title=Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation Final Report|url=https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/7E5846EB2D7BA299CA257F5C007C0E21/$File/review-of-pharmacy-remuneration-and-regulation-final-report.pdf|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304103416/https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/7E5846EB2D7BA299CA257F5C007C0E21/$File/review-of-pharmacy-remuneration-and-regulation-final-report.pdf}}</ref> while noting the concerns the government did not adopt the recommendation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018|title=AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE REVIEW OF PHARMACY REMUNERATION AND REGULATION|url=https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/7E5846EB2D7BA299CA257F5C007C0E21/%24File/Pharmacy-Review-Aus-Gov-Response-3-May-2018.pdf|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=March 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303041051/https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/7E5846EB2D7BA299CA257F5C007C0E21/$File/Pharmacy-Review-Aus-Gov-Response-3-May-2018.pdf}}</ref> In New Zealand there are no regulations specific to homeopathy<ref>{{Cite web|title=Natural health products|url=https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/natural-health-products|access-date=2020-09-01|website=Ministry of Health NZ|language=en}}</ref> and the ] does not oppose the use of homeopathy,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017|title=Doctors and CAM (complementary and alternative medicine)|url=https://www.mcnz.org.nz/assets/standards/7eb60db2d2/Doctors-and-CAM-Complementary-and-alternative-medicine.pdf|website=MEDICAL COUNCIL OF NEW ZEALAND|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129025723/https://www.mcnz.org.nz/assets/standards/7eb60db2d2/Doctors-and-CAM-Complementary-and-alternative-medicine.pdf}}</ref> a stance that has been called unethical by some doctors.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Holt|first=Shaun|author2=Gilbey, Andrew|author3=Colquhoun|author4=David|author5=Baum, Michael|author6=Ernst, Edzard|date=15 April 2011|title=Call for doctors not to practice homeopathy or refer to homeopaths|journal=New Zealand Medical Journal|volume=124|issue=1332|pages=87–88|pmid=21747430|issn=1175-8716}}</ref>
	The Committee also stated:
	{{cquote|We conclude that placebos should not be routinely prescribed on the NHS. The funding of homeopathic hospitals — hospitals that specialise in the administration of placebos — should not continue, and NHS doctors should not refer patients to homeopaths.<ref name=cmsctech_45>, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, 20 October 2009, parliament.uk</ref>}}
			=== Prevalence ===
	In July 2010 the newly elected UK ] deferred to local NHS on funding homeopathy. A nineteen page document details the Government´s response, and it states that "our continued position on the use of homeopathy within the NHS is that the local NHS and clinicians, rather than Whitehall, are best placed to make decisions on what treatment is appropriate for their patients - including complementary or alternative treatments such as homeopathy - and provide accordingly for those treatments." The response also stated that "the overriding reason for NHS provision is that homeopathy is available to provide patient choice".<ref>Secretary of State for Health , July 2010 ISBN 9780101791427</ref>
			Homeopathy is one of the most commonly used forms of alternative medicines and it has a large worldwide market.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> The exact size is uncertain, but information available on homeopathic sales suggests it forms a large share of the medical market.<ref name="WHO Safety" />
	==History==
	] showing historical figures and personifications of homeopathy observing the perceived brutality of medicine of the ]]]
			In 1999, about 1000 UK doctors practiced homeopathy, most being general practitioners who prescribe a limited number of remedies. A further 1500 homeopaths with no medical training are also thought to practice. Over ten thousand German and French doctors use homeopathy.<ref name="Vickers 1115–11182" /> In the United States a National Health Interview Survey estimated 5 million adults and 1 million children used homeopathy in 2011. An analysis of this survey concluded that most cases were self-prescribed for colds and musculoskeletal pain.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Homeopathy|url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy|access-date=2020-09-02|website=NCCIH|language=en}}</ref> Major retailers like ], ], and ] sell homeopathic products that are packaged to resemble conventional medicines.<ref name="Undark 2020-09-02" />
	===Historical context===
	In the 16th century the pioneer of pharmacology ] declared that small doses of “what makes a man ill also cures him", anticipating homeopathy,<ref>
	{{citation
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	|contribution=Paracelsus (German-Swiss physician)
	|title =Britannica Online Encyclopedia
	|publisher =Encyclopædia Britannica
	|accessdate =2009-03-24
	}}.</ref> but it was Hahnemann who gave it a name and laid out its principles in the late 18th century. At that time, mainstream medicine employed such measures as ] and purging, used ]s and ]s, and administered complex mixtures, such as ], which was made from 64 substances including opium, myrrh, and viper's flesh.<ref>
	{{citation
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	|title =In the Arms of Morpheus: The Tragic History of Morphine, Laudanum and Patent Medicines
	|publisher =Firefly Books
	|year =2001
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	|page =18
	}}.</ref><ref>
	{{citation
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	|title =Venetian treacle and the foundation of medicines regulation
	|doi =10.1111/j.1365-2125.2004.02147.x
	|pmid =15327592
	|year =2004
	|journal =Br J Clin Pharmacol
	|volume =58
	|issue =3
	|pages =317–325
	|pmc =1884566
	}}.</ref> Such measures often worsened symptoms and sometimes proved fatal.<ref>
	{{citation
	|title =Blood-letting
	|year =1871
	|volume =1
	|issue =533
	|journal =BMJ
	|pages =283–284
	|pmc =2260507
	|doi =10.1136/bmj.1.533.283
	|isbn =0968171540
	}}.</ref><ref name="kaufmanm"/>
	While the virtues of these treatments had been extolled for centuries,<ref name="isbn0-393-06661-4">{{Citation |author=Edzard Ernst; Singh, Simon |title=Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |year=2008 |pages= |isbn=0-393-06661-4 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref>
	Hahnemann rejected such methods as irrational and inadvisable.<ref name=Lasagna>
	{{citation
	|author =Lasagna L
	|title =The doctors' dilemmas
	|location =New York
	|publisher =Collier Books
	|year =1970
	|origyear =1962
	|page =33
	|isbn =9780836916690
	}}.</ref>
	Instead, he favored the use of single drugs at lower doses and promoted an immaterial, ] view of how living organisms function, believing that diseases have ], as well as physical causes.<ref name="Organon_5th+6th" /><ref name=PANicholls>
	{{citation
	|author =Nicholls PA
	|title =Homeopathy and the Medical Profession
	|publisher =Croom Helm
	|year =1988
	|isbn =9780709918363
	}}.</ref>
	(At the time, ] was part of mainstream science. In the 20th century, however, medicine discarded vitalism, with the development of ], the ],<ref>
	{{citation
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	and advances in ].<ref>
	{{citation
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	}}.</ref>)
	Hahnemann also advocated various lifestyle improvements to his patients, including exercise, diet, and cleanliness.<ref name="Lasagna" /><ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Bradford TL
	|title =The Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann
	|chapter =35
	|oclc =1489955
	|year =1895
	|location =Philadelphia
	|publisher =Boericke & Tafel
	}}.</ref>
			The homeopathic drug market in Germany is worth about 650 million euro with a 2014 survey finding that 60 percent of Germans reported trying homeopathy.<ref name="Undark 2020-09-02" /> A 2009 survey found that only 17 percent of respondents knew how homeopathic medicine was made.<ref name="Undark 2020-09-02" /> France spent more than US$408 million on homeopathic products in 2008.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> In the United States the homeopathic market is worth about $3 billion-a-year;<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fox|first=Maggie|date=2017|title=Homeopathic products useless and often even harmful, FDA says|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-crack-down-snake-oil-homeopathy-n830756|access-date=2020-09-04|website=NBC News|language=en}}</ref> with 2.9 billion spent in 2007.<ref name="WHO Safety" /> Australia spent US$7.3 million on homeopathic medicines in 2008.<ref name="WHO Safety" />
	===Hahnemann's concept===
	{{See also|Samuel Hahnemann}}
	], considered to be the father of homeopathy]]
	Hahnemann conceived of homeopathy while translating a medical treatise by Scottish physician and chemist ] into German.<ref name="homhist1"/> Being skeptical of Cullen's theory concerning ]'s action in ], Hahnemann ingested some of the bark specifically to see if it cured fever "by virtue of its effect of strengthening the stomach".<ref>
	{{citation
	|url =http://www.iavh.org/homeopathy/history/
	|contribution=History of Homoeopathy
	|publisher =International Association for Veterinary Homoeopathy
	|accessdate =2009-03-25
	}}.</ref>
	Upon ingesting the bark, he noticed few stomach symptoms, but did experience ], ] and ], symptoms similar to some of the early symptoms of ], the disease that the bark was ordinarily used to treat. From this, Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases that they treat. This later became known as the "law of similars", the most important concept of homeopathy.<ref name=homhist1>
	{{citation
	|contribution=History of Homeopathy
	|publisher =Creighton University Department of Pharmacology
	|url =http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/history.htm
	|accessdate =2007-07-23
	}}.</ref> The term "homeopathy" was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in 1807, although he began outlining his theories of "medical similars" or the "doctrine of specifics" in a series of articles and monographs in 1796.<ref>
	{{citation
	|title =Homeopathy and "the progress of science"
	|journal =Hist Sci
	|year =2001
	|author =Dean ME
	|volume =39
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	{{citation
	|author =Dudgeon RE
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	|location =Manchester
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	|year =1853
	|page =51
	}}.</ref>
			In India, a 2014 national health survey found that homeopathy was used by about 3% of the population.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rudra |first1=Shalini |last2=Kalra |first2=Aakshi |last3=Kumar |first3=Abhishek |last4=Joe |first4=William |date=2017 |title=Utilization of alternative systems of medicine as health care services in India: Evidence on AYUSH care from NSS 2014 |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12|issue=5 |pages=e0176916 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0176916 |pmid=28472197 |pmc=5417584 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1276916R |doi-access=free }}</ref> Homeopathy is used in China, although it arrived a lot later than in many other countries, partly due to the restriction on foreigners that persisted until late in the nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lu|first=Di|date=2019-09-20|title='Homoeopathy flourishes in the far East': A forgotten history of homeopathy in late nineteenth-century China|url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.2018.0041|journal=Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science|volume=73|issue=3|pages=329–351|doi=10.1098/rsnr.2018.0041|s2cid=80714173}}</ref> Throughout Africa there is a high reliance on traditional medicines, which can be attributed to the cost of modern medicines and the relative prevalence of practitioners. Many African countries do not have any official training facilities.<ref name="Who Legal" />
	Hahnemann began to test what effects substances produced in humans, a procedure which would later become known as "homeopathic proving".<ref name=homproving>
	{{citation
	|url =http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/provings.htm
	|contribution=Homeopathic Provings
	|accessdate =2007-10-02
	|publisher =Creighton University School of Medicine
	}}.</ref>
	These time-consuming tests required subjects to clearly record all of their symptoms as well as the ancillary conditions under which they appeared. Hahnemann saw these data as a way of identifying substances suitable for the treatment of particular diseases.<ref name="homproving"/> The first collection of provings was published in 1805 and a second collection of 65 ''remedies'' appeared in his book, ''Materia Medica Pura'', in 1810.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Kirschmann AT
	|title =A Vital Force: Women in American Homeopathy
	|publisher =Rutgers University Press
	|year =2003
	|isbn =9780813533209
	}}.</ref>
	Hahnemann believed that large doses of drugs that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, so he advocated extreme dilutions of the substances; he devised a technique for making dilutions that he believed would preserve a substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects,<ref name="Dynamization and Dilution" /> proposing that this process aroused and enhanced "spirit-like medicinal powers held within a drug".<ref name="Organon_5th_269">
	{{citation
	|author =Hahnemann S
	|title =The Organon of the Healing Art
	|year =1833
	|edition =5th
	|at =aphorism 269
	|isbn =0879832282
	}}.
			==Veterinary use==
	{{citation
			]]]
	|author =Hahnemann S
			Using homeopathy as a treatment for animals is termed "veterinary homeopathy" and dates back to the inception of homeopathy; Hahnemann himself wrote and spoke of the use of homeopathy in animals other than humans.<ref name="Saxton2007">{{cite journal|last1=Saxton|first1=J|year=2007|title=The diversity of veterinary homeopathy|journal=Homeopathy|volume=96|issue=1|page=3|doi=10.1016/j.homp.2006.11.010|pmid=17227741|s2cid=3715861}}</ref> The use of homeopathy in the ] industry is heavily promoted.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Doehring|first1=C.|last2=Sundrum|first2=A.|date=2016-12-17|title=Efficacy of homeopathy in livestock according to peer-reviewed publications from 1981 to 2014|journal=The Veterinary Record|volume=179|issue=24|page=628|doi=10.1136/vr.103779|issn=0042-4900|pmc=5256414|pmid=27956476}}</ref> Given that homeopathy's effects in humans are due to the placebo effect and the counseling aspects of the consultation, such treatments are even less effective in animals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lees|first1=P.|last2=Pelligand|first2=L.|last3=Whiting|first3=M.|last4=Chambers|first4=D.|last5=Toutain|first5=P-L.|last6=Whitehead|first6=M.L.|date=2017-08-19|title=Comparison of veterinary drugs and veterinary homeopathy: part 2|journal=]|volume=181|issue=8|pages=198–207|doi=10.1136/vr.104279|issn=0042-4900|pmc=5738588|pmid=28821700|quote=In human medicine, there may be a place for the counselling/psychotherapeutic aspects of homeopathic consults and the placebo effects generated by homeopathic products in patients who believe in such treatments, but in veterinary medicine these factors are unlikely to benefit patients, and the use of homeopathic products in veterinary medicine is contrary to best evidence, irrational, and inconsistent with current scientific and medical knowledge}}</ref> Studies have also found that giving animals placebos can play active roles in influencing pet owners to believe in the effectiveness of the treatment when none exists.<ref name="Hektoen" /> This means that animals given homeopathic remedies will continue to suffer, resulting in ] concerns.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lees|first1=P.|last2=Pelligand|first2=L.|last3=Whiting|first3=M.|last4=Chambers|first4=D.|last5=Toutain|first5=P-L.|last6=Whitehead|first6=M. L.|date=2017-08-12|title=Comparison of veterinary drugs and veterinary homeopathy: part 1|journal=The Veterinary Record|volume=181|issue=7|pages=170–176|doi=10.1136/vr.104278|issn=0042-4900|pmc=5738587|pmid=28801498}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Whitehead|first1=M L|last2=Lees|first2=P|last3=Toutain|first3=P L|date=2018|title=Veterinary homeopathy regulation in the UK – a cause for concern.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329152074|journal=Regulatory Rapporteur|volume=15|pages=21–25}}</ref>
	|title =The Organon of the Healing Art
	|publication-date=1921
	|year =1842
	|edition =6th
	|at =aphorism 270
	|isbn =0879832282
	}}.</ref>
	He gathered and published a complete overview of his new medical system in his 1810 book, '']'', whose 6th edition, published in 1921, is still used by homeopaths today.<ref name="homhist1"/>
			Little existing research on the subject is of a high enough scientific standard to provide reliable data on efficacy.<ref name="Hektoen">{{cite journal|last1=Hektoen|first1=L|year=2005|title=Review of the current involvement of homeopathy in veterinary practice and research|journal=]|volume=157|issue=8|pages=224–29|doi=10.1136/vr.157.8.224|pmid=16113167|s2cid=12525634}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mathie|first1=RT|last2=Clausen|first2=J|date=October 18, 2014|title=Veterinary homeopathy: systematic review of medical conditions studied by randomised placebo-controlled trials|journal=The Veterinary Record|volume=175|issue=15|pages=373–81|doi=10.1136/vr.101767|pmid=25324413|s2cid=22894207}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mathie|first1=RT|last2=Clausen|first2=J|date=September 15, 2015|title=Veterinary homeopathy: systematic review of medical conditions studied by randomised trials controlled by other than placebo.|journal=]|volume=11|page=236|doi=10.1186/s12917-015-0542-2|pmc=4570221|pmid=26371366 |doi-access=free }}</ref> A 2016 review of peer-reviewed articles from 1981 to 2014 by scientists from the ], Germany, concluded that there is not enough evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment of infectious diseases in livestock.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Doehring|first1=C.|last2=Sundrum|first2=A.|date=December 12, 2016|title=Efficacy of homeopathy in livestock according to peer-reviewed publications from 1981 to 2014|journal=Veterinary Record|language=en|volume=179|issue=24|pages=vetrec–2016–103779|doi=10.1136/vr.103779|issn=2042-7670|pmc=5256414|pmid=27956476}}</ref> The UK's ] (Defra) has adopted a robust position against use of "alternative" pet preparations including homeopathy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/alternative-pet-remedies-government-clampdown |title=Alternative pet remedies: Government clampdown}}</ref> The British Veterinary Association's position statement on alternative medicines says that it "cannot endorse" homeopathy,<ref name="BVA">{{cite web|title=Veterinary medicines|url=http://www.bva.co.uk/News-campaigns-and-policy/Policy/Medicines/Veterinary-medicines/|access-date=January 5, 2015|publisher=British Veterinary Association}}</ref> and the Australian Veterinary Association includes it on its list of "ineffective therapies".<ref name="AVA">{{cite web|title=Ineffective therapies|url=http://www.ava.com.au/12057|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207080041/http://www.ava.com.au/12057|archive-date=February 7, 2015|access-date=January 5, 2015|publisher=Australian veterinary association}}</ref>
	===19th century: rise to popularity and early criticism===
	Homeopathy achieved its greatest popularity in the 19th century. Dr. ] (1804&ndash;1882) was the first practitioner of Homeopathy in the United States, beginning in 1828 in New York City. The first homeopathic schools opened in 1830, and throughout the 19th century dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States.<ref name=Julian>
	{{citation
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	|author =Winston J
	|year =2006
	|title =The Faces of Homoeopathy
	|publisher =Whole Health Now
	|isbn =0473056070
	}}.</ref> By 1900, there were 22 homeopathic colleges and 15,000 practitioners in the United States.<ref name=Time19951125 /> Because medical practice of the time relied on ineffective and often dangerous treatments, patients of homeopaths often had better outcomes than those of the doctors of the time.<ref name="pmid8885813">
	{{citation
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	}}.</ref>
	Homeopathic ''remedies'', even if ineffective, would almost surely cause no harm, making the users of homeopathic ''remedies'' less likely to be killed by the treatment that was supposed to be helping them.<ref name="homhist1"/> The relative success of homeopathy in the 19th century may have led to the abandonment of the ineffective and harmful treatments of bloodletting and purging and to have begun the move towards more effective, science based medicine.<ref name=kaufmanm>
	{{citation
	|author =Kaufman M
	|title =Homeopathy in America: The rise and fall of a medical heresy
	|publisher =]
	|year =1971
	|isbn =9780801812385
	}}.</ref>
	One reason for the growing popularity of homeopathy was its apparent success in treating people suffering from infectious disease epidemics.<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Coulter HL
	|year =1973
	|title =Divided Legacy
	|pages =II:544–6; III:267–70, 298–305
	|location =Berkeley
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	|oclc =9538442
	}}.</ref>
	During 19th century epidemics of diseases such as ], death rates in homeopathic hospitals were often lower than in conventional hospitals, where the treatments used at the time were often harmful and did little or nothing to combat the diseases.<ref>Death rates in conventional hospitals were typically two- to eight-fold higher than in homeopathic hospitals for patients with these infectious diseases; see
	{{citation
	|title =The logic of figures or comparative results of homeopathic and other treatments
	|author =Bradford TL
	|publisher =Kessinger
	|year =2007
	|origyear =1900
	|isbn =1430488921
	}}.</ref>
	From its inception, however, homeopathy was criticized by mainstream science. ], physician to ], said in 1843 that the extremely small doses of homeopathy were regularly derided as useless, "an outrage to human reason".<ref name=John_Forbes>
	{{citation
	|author =Forbes J
	|title =Homeopathy, allopathy and young physic
	|location =London
	|year =1846
	}}.</ref> ] said in 1853 of the highly diluted drugs: "No poison, however strong or powerful, the billionth or decillionth of which would in the least degree affect a man or harm a fly."<ref>
	{{citation
	|author =Simpson JY
	|title =Homoeopathy, its tenets and tendencies, theoretical, theological and therapeutical
	|location =Edinburgh
	|publisher =Sutherland & Knox
	|year =1853
	|pages =11
	}}.</ref>
	19th century American physician and author ] was also a vocal critic of homeopathy and published an essay in 1842 entitled ''Homœopathy, and its kindred delusions''.<ref name=OWHolmes>
	{{citation
	|title =Homœopathy, and its kindred delusions; two lectures delivered before the Boston society for the diffusion of useful knowledge
	|author =Holmes OW
	|location =]
	|publisher =William D. Ticknor
	|year =1842
	|oclc =166600876
	}}.</ref>
	The members of the French Homeopathic Society observed in 1867 that some of the leading homeopathists of Europe were not only abandoning the practice of administering infinitesimal doses, but were also no longer defending it.<ref>
	{{citation
	|title =Homœopathists vs homœopathy
	|editor =Allen JA
	|journal =Chic Med J
	|pages =268–269
	|year =1867
	|volume =24
	|url =http://books.google.com/?id=R08VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA268&vq=leading+europe+abandoning
	|publisher =A.B. Case.
	}}.</ref> The last school in the U.S. exclusively teaching homeopathy closed in 1920.<ref name="homhist1"/>
	===Revival in the late 20th century===
	{{Main|Regulation and prevalence of homeopathy}}
	The ''Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act'' of 1938 (sponsored by New York Senator and Homeopathic Physician ]) recognized homeopathic ''remedies'' as drugs. By the 1950s there were only 75 pure homeopaths practicing in the U.S.<ref>
	{{Citation |title =Homeopathic Hassle
	|url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891760,00.html
	|work =]
	|date =1956-08-20
	}}</ref> However, in the mid to late 1970s, homeopathy made a significant comeback and sales of some homeopathic companies increased tenfold.<ref name=rader>
	{{Citation |date =1985-03-01
	|publisher =FDA Consumer Magazine
	|author =Rader WM
	|url =http://www.homeowatch.org/history/fdac1.html
	|title =Riding the coattails of homeopathy's revival
	}}</ref> Greek homeopath ] performed a "great deal of research to update the scenarios and refine the theories and practice of homeopathy" beginning in the 1970s, and it was revived worldwide;<ref name="pmid12614092">
	{{Citation
	|author =Jonas WB, Kaptchuk TJ, Linde K
	|title =A critical overview of homeopathy
	|journal =Ann Intern Med
	|volume =138
	|issue =5
	|pages =393–399
	|year =2003
	|pmid =12614092
	|doi =10.1001/archinte.138.3.393
	}}</ref><ref>
	{{Citation
	|author =Lockie A
	|title =Encyclopedia of Homeopathy
	|publisher =]
	|year =2000
	|location =New York City, NY
	|edition =1st
	|page =19
	|isbn =978-0-7566-1871-1
	}}</ref>
	in Brazil during the 1970s and in Germany during the 1980s.<ref>
	{{Citation
	|url =http://www.igm-bosch.de/download/report/summaryinhh2.pdf
	|format =PDF
	|title =Homeopathy and hospitals in history. Conference of the International Network for the History of Homeopathy (INHH) | location = Stuttgart
	| year = 2007
	|journal =Homeopathic Links
	|volume =21
	|issue =1
	|pages =50
	|publisher =Betalingen
	|author =von Reiswitz F, Dinges M
	|doi =10.1055/s-2007-989212
	}}</ref> The medical profession started to integrate such ideas in the 1990s<ref>
	{{Citation
	|journal =Soc Probl
	|title =From quackery to complementary medicine: The American medical profession confronts alternative therapies
	|year =2005
	|volume =52
	|pages =38–61
	|doi =10.1525/sp.2005.52.1.38
	|author =Winnick TA
	|issue =1
	}}</ref>
	and mainstream pharmacy chains recognized the business potential of selling homeopathic ''remedies''.<ref>
	{{Citation
	|author =O'Hara M
	|title =A question of health or wealth?
	|url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2002/jan/05/lifeinsurance.jobsandmoney
	|date =2002-01-05
	|work =]
	| location=London
	}}</ref>
	==See also==		==See also==
	*]		* ]
			* ]
	*]
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	*]
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	*]
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	==References==		==References==
			{{Reflist| refs=
	* <cite id = Shelton2004>{{Citation |author=Shelton, Jay |title=Homeopathy: How It Really Works |publisher=] |location=Buffalo, N.Y |year=2004 |pages= |isbn=1-59102-109-X |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}
			<ref name="Hahnemann">{{cite book |title=The homœopathic medical doctrine, or "Organon of the healing art" |publisher=W. F. Wakeman |author=Hahnemann, Samuel |author-link=Samuel Hahnemann |year=1833 |location=Dublin |pages=, |quote=Observation, reflection, and experience have unfolded to me that the best and true method of cure is founded on the principle, '']''. To cure in a mild, prompt, safe, and durable manner, it is necessary to choose in each case a medicine that will excite an affection similar (''{{lang|el|ὅμοιος πάθος}}'') to that against which it is employed.}} Translator: Charles H. Devrient, Esq.</ref>
			<ref name="Holmes">
			{{cite book
			|author=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
			|title=Homoeopathy and its kindred delusions: Two lectures delivered before the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
			|url=https://archive.org/details/64340260R.nlm.nih.gov
			|location=Boston
			|year=1842
			|author-link=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr
			}} as reprinted in
			{{cite book
			|author=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
			|title=Currents and counter-currents in medical science
			|year=1861
			|publisher=Ticknor and Fields
			|pages=72–188
			|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011611362
			|oclc=1544161
			|ol=14731800M
			|author-link=Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr
			}}</ref>
			<ref name="Time19951125">{{cite news |vauthors=Toufexis A, Cole W, Hallanan DB |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983466,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614091356/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983466,00.html |archive-date=June 14, 2009 |title=Is homeopathy good medicine? |magazine=] |date=September 25, 1995}}</ref>
			<ref name="shang">{{cite journal |last1=Shang |first1=Aijing |last2=Huwiler-Müntener |first2=Karin |last3=Nartey |first3=Linda |last4=Jüni |first4=Peter |last5=Dörig |first5=Stephan |last6=Sterne |first6=Jonathan AC |last7=Pewsner |first7=Daniel |last8=Egger |first8=Matthias |title=Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy |journal=The Lancet |volume=366 |pages=726–32 |year=2005 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2 |pmid=16125589 |issue=9487|s2cid=17939264 }}</ref>
			<ref name="J Toxicology: Arsenic toxicity">{{cite journal |last1=Chakraborti |first1=D |last2=Mukherjee |first2=SC |last3=Saha |first3=KC |last4=Chowdhury |first4=UK |last5=Rahman |first5=MM |last6=Sengupta |first6=MK |title=Arsenic toxicity from homeopathic treatment |journal=Journal of Toxicology. Clinical Toxicology |volume=41 |issue=7 |pages=963–67 |year=2003 |pmid=14705842 |doi=10.1081/CLT-120026518|s2cid=25453468 }}</ref>
			<ref name="Mayo Clinic Proceedings: trials">{{cite journal |last1=Altunc |first1=U. |last2=Pittler |first2=M. H. |last3=Ernst |first3=E |title=Homeopathy for childhood and adolescence ailments: systematic review of randomized clinical trials |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=69–75 |year=2007 |pmid=17285788 |doi=10.4065/82.1.69 |quote=However, homeopathy is not totally devoid of risks... it may delay effective treatment or diagnosis|citeseerx=10.1.1.456.5352 }}</ref>
	==Footnotes==
			<ref name="pmid8554846">{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=E |author-link=Edzard Ernst |last2=White |first2=AR |title=Homoeopathy and immunization |journal=The British Journal of General Practice |volume=45 |issue=400 |pages=629–30 |year=1995 |pmid=8554846 |pmc=1239445}}</ref>
	{{Reflist|2}}
			}}
	==External links==		==External links==
			{{commons category}}
	{{Wikinews|Parents prosecuted after homeopathic treatment leads to daughter's death}}
	{{Wikisource1911Enc|Homoeopathy}}		{{EB1911 poster|Homoeopathy}}
			* (], UK)
	* {{DMOZ|Health/Alternative/Homeopathy/Opposing_Views|Opposing views on homeopathy}}
	*{{Citation
	|url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v30/ai_18979004/
	|title =Homeopathy: real medicine or empty promises?
	|work =]
	|publisher =]
	| first=Isadora
	| last=Stehlin
	| year=1996
	}}
	*{{Citation
	|url =http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.632/healthissue_detail.asp
	|author =Ramey DW
	|title =The scientific evidence on homeopathy
	|publisher =]
	}}
	*{{Citation
	|author =Ameke W, Drysdale AE (tr), Dudgeon RE (ed)
	|url =http://homeoint.org/seror/ameke/index.htm
	|title =History of homœopathy
	|location =London
	|publisher =E. Gould & Son
	}}
	*{{Citation
	|contribution=Homeopathy: There's nothing in it
	|url =http://www.1023.org.uk/
	|publisher =Merseyside Skeptics Society
	}}
	===Videos===
	*{{Citation
	|url =http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2785985155605802136&q=James+Randi
	|contribution= Homeopathy Explained: 14 minute portion of 2001 lecture at Princeton University
	|author =Randi J
	}} ()
	*{{Citation
	|contribution=Does homeopathy work? A debate on the evidence on both sides
	|url =http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/homeopathic-medicine/index.html
	|author =], ]}}
	===Associations and regulatory bodies===
	* {{DMOZ|Health/Alternative/Homeopathy/Organizations/|Homeopathy organizations}}
	{{Homoeopathy}}		{{Homoeopathy}}
	{{pseudoscience}}		{{pseudoscience}}
	{{Good article}}
			{{Authority control}}
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Latest revision as of 15:58, 28 November 2024

Pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine For the journal, see Homeopathy (journal).

Homeopathy

Alternative medicine
Homoeopathy
Samuel Hahnemann, originator of homeopathy
Pronunciation	/ˌhoʊmiˈɒpəθi/
Claims	"Like cures like", dilution increases potency, disease caused by miasms
Related fields	Alternative medicine
Original proponents	Samuel Hahnemann
Subsequent proponents	James Tyler Kent Royal S. Copeland George Vithoulkas
MeSH	D006705
See also	Humorism, heroic medicine

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v t e

Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people; this doctrine is called similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like". Homeopathic preparations are termed remedies and are made using homeopathic dilution. In this process, the selected substance is repeatedly diluted until the final product is chemically indistinguishable from the diluent. Often not even a single molecule of the original substance can be expected to remain in the product. Between each dilution homeopaths may hit and/or shake the product, claiming this makes the diluent "remember" the original substance after its removal. Practitioners claim that such preparations, upon oral intake, can treat or cure disease.

All relevant scientific knowledge about physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology contradicts homeopathy. Homeopathic remedies are typically biochemically inert, and have no effect on any known disease. Its theory of disease, centered around principles Hahnemann termed miasms, is inconsistent with subsequent identification of viruses and bacteria as causes of disease. Clinical trials have been conducted and generally demonstrated no objective effect from homeopathic preparations. The fundamental implausibility of homeopathy as well as a lack of demonstrable effectiveness has led to it being characterized within the scientific and medical communities as quackery and fraud.

Homeopathy achieved its greatest popularity in the 19th century. It was introduced to the United States in 1825, and the first American homeopathic school opened in 1835. Throughout the 19th century, dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States. During this period, homeopathy was able to appear relatively successful, as other forms of treatment could be harmful and ineffective. By the end of the century the practice began to wane, with the last exclusively homeopathic medical school in the United States closing in 1920. During the 1970s, homeopathy made a significant comeback, with sales of some homeopathic products increasing tenfold. The trend corresponded with the rise of the New Age movement, and may be in part due to chemophobia, an irrational aversion to synthetic chemicals, and the longer consultation times homeopathic practitioners provided.

In the 21st century, a series of meta-analyses have shown that the therapeutic claims of homeopathy lack scientific justification. As a result, national and international bodies have recommended the withdrawal of government funding for homeopathy in healthcare. National bodies from Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France, as well as the European Academies' Science Advisory Council and the Russian Academy of Sciences have all concluded that homeopathy is ineffective, and recommended against the practice receiving any further funding. The National Health Service in England no longer provides funding for homeopathic remedies and asked the Department of Health to add homeopathic remedies to the list of forbidden prescription items. France removed funding in 2021, while Spain has also announced moves to ban homeopathy and other pseudotherapies from health centers.

History

Homeopathy was created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann. Hahnemann rejected the mainstream medicine of the late 18th century as irrational and inadvisable, because it was largely ineffective and often harmful. He advocated the use of single drugs at lower doses and promoted an immaterial, vitalistic view of how living organisms function. The term homeopathy was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in 1807. He also coined the expression "allopathic medicine", which was used to pejoratively refer to traditional Western medicine.

Concept

Hahnemann conceived of homeopathy while translating a medical treatise by the Scottish physician and chemist William Cullen into German. Being sceptical of Cullen's theory that cinchona cured malaria because it was bitter, Hahnemann ingested some bark specifically to investigate what would happen. He experienced fever, shivering and joint pain: symptoms similar to those of malaria itself. From this, Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the diseases that they treat. This led to the name "homeopathy", which comes from the Ancient Greek: ὅμοιος hómoios, "-like" and πάθος páthos, "suffering".

The doctrine that those drugs are effective which produce symptoms similar to the symptoms caused by the diseases they treat, called "the law of similars", was expressed by Hahnemann with the Latin phrase similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like". Hahnemann's law of similars is unproven and does not derive from the scientific method. An account of the effects of eating cinchona bark noted by Oliver Wendell Holmes, published in 1861, failed to reproduce the symptoms Hahnemann reported. Subsequent scientific work showed that cinchona cures malaria because it contains quinine, which kills the Plasmodium falciparum parasite that causes the disease; the mechanism of action is unrelated to Hahnemann's ideas.

Provings

Hahnemann began to test what effects various substances may produce in humans, a procedure later called "homeopathic proving". These tests required subjects to test the effects of ingesting substances by recording all their symptoms as well as the ancillary conditions under which they appeared. He published a collection of provings in 1805, and a second collection of 65 preparations appeared in his book, Materia Medica Pura (1810).

As Hahnemann believed that large doses of drugs that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, he advocated for extreme dilutions. A technique was devised for making dilutions that Hahnemann claimed would preserve the substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects. Hahnemann believed that this process enhanced "the spirit-like medicinal powers of the crude substances". He gathered and published an overview of his new medical system in his book, The Organon of the Healing Art (1810), with a sixth edition published in 1921 that homeopaths still use today.

Miasms and disease

In the Organon, Hahnemann introduced the concept of "miasms" as the "infectious principles" underlying chronic disease and as "peculiar morbid derangement of vital force". Hahnemann associated each miasm with specific diseases, and thought that initial exposure to miasms causes local symptoms, such as skin or venereal diseases. His assertion was that if these symptoms were suppressed by medication, the cause went deeper and began to manifest itself as diseases of the internal organs. Homeopathy maintains that treating diseases by directly alleviating their symptoms, as is sometimes done in conventional medicine, is ineffective because all "disease can generally be traced to some latent, deep-seated, underlying chronic, or inherited tendency". The underlying imputed miasm still remains, and deep-seated ailments can be corrected only by removing the deeper disturbance of the vital force.

Hahnemann's hypotheses for miasms originally presented only three local symptoms: psora (the itch), syphilis (venereal disease) or sycosis (fig-wart disease). Of these the most important was psora, described as being related to any itching diseases of the skin and was claimed to be the foundation of many further disease conditions. Hahnemann believed it to be the cause of such diseases as epilepsy, cancer, jaundice, deafness, and cataracts. Since Hahnemann's time, other miasms have been proposed, some replacing illnesses previously attributed to the psora, including tuberculosis and cancer miasms.

Hahnemann's miasm theory remains disputed and controversial within homeopathy even in modern times. The theory of miasms has been criticized as an explanation developed to preserve the system of homeopathy in the face of treatment failures, and for being inadequate to cover the many hundreds of sorts of diseases, as well as for failing to explain disease predispositions, as well as genetics, environmental factors, and the unique disease history of each patient.

19th century: rise to popularity and early criticism

Homeopathy achieved its greatest popularity in the 19th century. It was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Hans Birch Gram, a student of Hahnemann. The first homeopathic school in the United States opened in 1835 and the American Institute of Homeopathy was established in 1844. Throughout the 19th century, dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States, and by 1900, there were 22 homeopathic colleges and 15,000 practitioners in the United States.

Because medical practice of the time relied on treatments which were often ineffective and harmful, patients of homeopaths often had better outcomes than those being treated by medical practitioners. Though ineffective, homeopathic preparations are rarely detrimental, thus users are less likely to be harmed by the treatment that is supposed to be helping them. The relative success of homeopathy in the 19th century may have led to the abandonment of the ineffective and harmful treatments of bloodletting and purging and begun the move towards more effective, science-based medicine. One reason for the growing popularity of homeopathy was its apparent success in treating people suffering from infectious disease epidemics. During 19th-century epidemics of diseases such as cholera, death rates in homeopathic hospitals were often lower than in conventional hospitals, where the treatments used at the time were often harmful and did little or nothing to combat the diseases.

Even during its rise in popularity, homeopathy was criticized by scientists and physicians. Sir John Forbes, physician to Queen Victoria, said in 1843 that the extremely small doses of homeopathy were regularly derided as useless and considered it "an outrage to human reason". James Young Simpson said in 1853 of the highly diluted drugs: "No poison, however strong or powerful, the billionth or decillionth of which would in the least degree affect a man or harm a fly." Nineteenth-century American physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes was also a vocal critic of homeopathy and published an essay entitled Homœopathy and Its Kindred Delusions (1842). The members of the French Homeopathic Society observed in 1867 that some leading homeopaths of Europe not only were abandoning the practice of administering infinitesimal doses but were also no longer defending it. The last school in the United States exclusively teaching homeopathy closed in 1920.

Revival in the 20th century

According to academics Paul U. Unschuld [de] and Edzard Ernst, the Nazi regime in Germany was fond of homeopathy, and spent large sums of money on researching its mechanisms, but without gaining a positive result. Unschuld also states that homeopathy never subsequently took root in the United States, but remained more deeply established in European thinking. In the United States, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 (sponsored by Royal Copeland, a Senator from New York and homeopathic physician) recognized homeopathic preparations as drugs. In the 1950s, there were only 75 solely homeopathic practitioners in the U.S. By the mid to late 1970s, homeopathy made a significant comeback and the sales of some homeopathic companies increased tenfold.

Some homeopaths credit the revival to Greek homeopath George Vithoulkas, who conducted a "great deal of research to update the scenarios and refine the theories and practice of homeopathy" in the 1970s, but Ernst and Simon Singh consider it to be linked to the rise of the New Age movement. Bruce Hood has argued that the increased popularity of homeopathy in recent times may be due to the comparatively long consultations practitioners are willing to give their patients, and to a preference for "natural" products, which people think are the basis of homeopathic preparations.

Towards the end of the century opposition to homeopathy began to increase again; with William T. Jarvis, the President of the National Council Against Health Fraud, saying that "Homeopathy is a fraud perpetrated on the public with the government's blessing, thanks to the abuse of political power of Sen. Royal S. Copeland."

21st century: renewed criticism

Since the beginning of the 21st century, a series of meta-analyses have further shown that the therapeutic claims of homeopathy lack scientific justification. This had led to a decrease or suspension of funding by many governments. In a 2010 report, the Science and Technology Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons recommended that homeopathy should no longer receive National Health Service (NHS) funding due its lack of scientific credibility; NHS funding for homeopathy ceased in 2017. They also asked the Department of Health in the UK to add homeopathic remedies to the list of forbidden prescription items.

In 2015, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia found that "there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective". The federal government only ended up accepting three of the 45 recommendations made by the 2018 review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation. The same year the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a hearing requesting public comment on the regulation of homeopathic drugs. In 2017 the FDA announced it would strengthen regulation of homeopathic products.

The American non-profit Center for Inquiry (CFI) filed a lawsuit in 2018 against the CVS pharmacy for consumer fraud over its sale of homeopathic medicines. It claimed that CVS was selling homeopathic products on an easier-to-obtain basis than standard medication. In 2019, CFI brought a similar lawsuit against Walmart for "committing wide-scale consumer fraud and endangering the health of its customers through its sale and marketing of homeopathic medicines". They also conducted a survey in which they found consumers felt ripped off when informed of the lack of evidence for the efficacy of homeopathic remedies, such as those sold by Walmart and CVS.

In 2021, the French healthcare minister phased out social security reimbursements for homeopathic drugs. France has long had a stronger belief in the virtues of homeopathic drugs than many other countries and the world's biggest manufacturer of alternative medicine drugs, Boiron, is located in that country. Spain has also announced moves to ban homeopathy and other pseudotherapies. In 2016, the University of Barcelona cancelled its master's degree in Homeopathy citing "lack of scientific basis", after advice from the Spanish Ministry of Health. Shortly afterwards the University of Valencia announced the elimination of its Masters in Homeopathy.

Preparations and treatment

See also: List of homeopathic preparations

Homeopathic preparations are referred to as "homeopathic remedies". Practitioners rely on two types of reference when prescribing: Materia medica and repertories. A homeopathic materia medica is a collection of "drug pictures", organized alphabetically. A homeopathic repertory is a quick reference version of the materia medica that indexes the symptoms and then the associated remedies for each. In both cases different compilers may dispute particular inclusions in the references. The first symptomatic homeopathic materia medica was arranged by Hahnemann. The first homeopathic repertory was Georg Jahr's Symptomenkodex, published in German in 1835, and translated into English as the Repertory to the more Characteristic Symptoms of Materia Medica in 1838. This version was less focused on disease categories and was the forerunner to later works by James Tyler Kent. There are over 118 repertories published in English, with Kent's being one of the most used.

Consultation

Homeopaths generally begin with a consultation, which can be a 10–15 minute appointment or last for over an hour, where the patient describes their medical history. The patient describes the "modalities", or if their symptoms change depending on the weather and other external factors. The practitioner also solicits information on mood, likes and dislikes, physical, mental and emotional states, life circumstances, and any physical or emotional illnesses. This information (also called the "symptom picture") is matched to the "drug picture" in the materia medica or repertory and used to determine the appropriate homeopathic remedies. In classical homeopathy, the practitioner attempts to match a single preparation to the totality of symptoms (the simlilum), while "clinical homeopathy" involves combinations of preparations based on the illness's symptoms.

Preparation

Homeopathy uses animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its preparations, generally referring to them using Latin names. Examples include arsenicum album (arsenic oxide), natrum muriaticum (sodium chloride or table salt), Lachesis muta (the venom of the bushmaster snake), opium, and thyroidinum (thyroid hormone). Homeopaths say this is to ensure accuracy. In the USA the common name must be displayed, although the Latin one can also be present. Homeopathic pills are made from an inert substance (often sugars, typically lactose), upon which a drop of liquid homeopathic preparation is placed and allowed to evaporate.

Isopathy is a therapy derived from homeopathy in which the preparations come from diseased or pathological products such as fecal, urinary and respiratory discharges, blood, and tissue. They are called nosodes (from the Greek nosos, disease) with preparations made from "healthy" specimens being termed "sarcodes". Many so-called "homeopathic vaccines" are a form of isopathy. Tautopathy is a form of isopathy where the preparations are composed of drugs or vaccines that a person has consumed in the past, in the belief that this can reverse the supposed lingering damage caused by the initial use. There is no convincing scientific evidence for isopathy as an effective method of treatment.

Some modern homeopaths use preparations they call "imponderables" because they do not originate from a substance but some other phenomenon presumed to have been "captured" by alcohol or lactose. Examples include X-rays and sunlight. Another derivative is electrohomeopathy, where an electric bio-energy of therapeutic value is supposedly extracted from plants. Popular in the late nineteenth century, electrohomeopathy is extremely pseudo-scientific. In 2012, the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh, India, handed down a decree stating that electrohomeopathy was quackery and no longer recognized it as a system of medicine.

Other minority practices include paper preparations, in which the terms for substances and dilutions are written on pieces of paper and either pinned to the patients' clothing, put in their pockets, or placed under glasses of water that are then given to the patients. Radionics, the use of electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves, can also be used to manufacture preparations. Such practices have been strongly criticized by classical homeopaths as unfounded, speculative, and verging upon magic and superstition. Flower preparations are produced by placing flowers in water and exposing them to sunlight. The most famous of these are the Bach flower remedies, which were developed by Edward Bach.

Dilutions

Main article: Homeopathic dilutions

Hahnemann claimed that undiluted doses caused reactions, sometimes dangerous ones, and thus that preparations be given at the lowest possible dose. A solution that is more dilute is described as having a higher "potency", and thus are claimed to be stronger and deeper-acting. The general method of dilution is serial dilution, where solvent is added to part of the previous mixture, but the "Korsakovian" method may also be used. In the Korsakovian method, the vessel in which the preparations are manufactured is emptied, refilled with solvent, with the volume of fluid adhering to the walls of the vessel deemed sufficient for the new batch. The Korsakovian method is sometimes referred to as K on the label of a homeopathic preparation. Another method is Fluxion, which dilutes the substance by continuously passing water through the vial. Insoluble solids, such as granite, diamond, and platinum, are diluted by grinding them with lactose ("trituration").

Three main logarithmic dilution scales are in regular use in homeopathy. Hahnemann created the "centesimal" or "C scale", diluting a substance by a factor of 100 at each stage. There is also a decimal dilution scale (notated as "X" or "D") in which the preparation is diluted by a factor of 10 at each stage. The centesimal scale was favoured by Hahnemann for most of his life, although in his last ten years Hahnemann developed a quintamillesimal (Q) scale which diluted the drug 1 part in 50,000. A 2C dilution works out to one part of the original substance in 10,000 parts of the solution. In standard chemistry, this produces a substance with a concentration of 0.01% (volume-volume percentage). A 6C dilution ends up with the original substance diluted by a factor of 100 (one part in one trillion). The end product is usually so diluted as to be indistinguishable from the diluent (pure water, sugar or alcohol). The greatest dilution reasonably likely to contain at least one molecule of the original substance is approximately 12C.

Hahnemann advocated dilutions of 1 part to 10 or 30C. Hahnemann regularly used dilutions of up to 30C but opined that "there must be a limit to the matter". To counter the reduced potency at high dilutions he formed the view that vigorous shaking by striking on an elastic surface – a process termed succussion – was necessary. Homeopaths are unable to agree on the number and force of strikes needed, and there is no way that the claimed results of succussion can be tested.

Critics of homeopathy commonly emphasize the dilutions involved in homeopathy, using analogies. One mathematically correct example is that a 12C solution is equivalent to "a pinch of salt in both the North and South Atlantic Oceans". One-third of a drop of some original substance diluted into all the water on Earth would produce a preparation with a concentration of about 13C. Robert L. Park points out that a 200C dilution of duck liver, marketed under the name Oscillococcinum, would require 10 universes worth of molecules to contain just one original molecule in the final substance. The high dilutions characteristically used are often considered to be the most controversial and implausible aspect of homeopathy.

Provings

Homeopaths claim that they can determine the properties of their preparations by following a method which they call "proving". As performed by Hahnemann, provings involved administering various preparations to healthy volunteers. The volunteers were then observed, often for months at a time. They were made to keep extensive journals detailing all of their symptoms at specific times throughout the day. They were forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, spices, or wine for the duration of the experiment; playing chess was also prohibited because Hahnemann considered it to be "too exciting", though they were allowed to drink beer and encouraged to exercise in moderation. At first Hahnemann used undiluted doses for provings, but he later advocated provings with preparations at a 30C dilution, and most modern provings are carried out using ultra-dilute preparations.

Provings are claimed to have been important in the development of the clinical trial, due to their early use of simple control groups, systematic and quantitative procedures, and some of the first application of statistics in medicine. The lengthy records of self-experimentation by homeopaths have occasionally proven useful in the development of modern drugs: For example, evidence that nitroglycerin might be useful as a treatment for angina was discovered by looking through homeopathic provings, though homeopaths themselves never used it for that purpose at that time. The first recorded provings were published by Hahnemann in his 1796 Essay on a New Principle. His Fragmenta de Viribus (1805) contained the results of 27 provings, and his 1810 Materia Medica Pura contained 65. For James Tyler Kent's 1905 Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica, 217 preparations underwent provings and newer substances are continually added to contemporary versions.

Though the proving process has superficial similarities with clinical trials, it is fundamentally different in that the process is subjective, not blinded, and modern provings are unlikely to use pharmacologically active levels of the substance under proving. As early as 1842, Oliver Holmes had noted that provings were impossibly vague, and the purported effect was not repeatable among different subjects.

Evidence and efficacy

Main article: Evidence and efficacy of homeopathy

Outside of the alternative medicine community, scientists have long considered homeopathy a sham or a pseudoscience, and the medical community regards it as quackery. There is an overall absence of sound statistical evidence of therapeutic efficacy, which is consistent with the lack of any biologically plausible pharmacological agent or mechanism. Proponents argue that homeopathic medicines must work by some, as yet undefined, biophysical mechanism. No homeopathic preparation has been shown to be different from placebo.

Lack of scientific evidence

The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy and its use of preparations without active ingredients have led to characterizations of homeopathy as pseudoscience and quackery, or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst". The Russian Academy of Sciences considers homeopathy a "dangerous 'pseudoscience' that does not work", and "urges people to treat homeopathy 'on a par with magic'". The Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, has stated that homeopathic preparations are "rubbish" and do not serve as anything more than placebos. In 2013, Mark Walport, the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser and head of the Government Office for Science said "homeopathy is nonsense, it is non-science." His predecessor, John Beddington, also said that homeopathy "has no underpinning of scientific basis" and is being "fundamentally ignored" by the Government.

Jack Killen, acting deputy director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, says homeopathy "goes beyond current understanding of chemistry and physics". He adds: "There is, to my knowledge, no condition for which homeopathy has been proven to be an effective treatment." Ben Goldacre says that homeopaths who misrepresent scientific evidence to a scientifically illiterate public, have "... walled themselves off from academic medicine, and critique has been all too often met with avoidance rather than argument". Homeopaths often prefer to ignore meta-analyses in favour of cherry picked positive results, such as by promoting a particular observational study (one which Goldacre describes as "little more than a customer-satisfaction survey") as if it were more informative than a series of randomized controlled trials.

In an article entitled "Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?" published in the American Journal of Medicine, Michael Baum and Edzard Ernst – writing to other physicians – wrote that "Homeopathy is among the worst examples of faith-based medicine... These axioms are not only out of line with scientific facts but also directly opposed to them. If homeopathy is correct, much of physics, chemistry, and pharmacology must be incorrect...".

Plausibility of dilutions

The exceedingly low concentration of homeopathic preparations, which often lack even a single molecule of the diluted substance, has been the basis of questions about the effects of the preparations since the 19th century. The laws of chemistry give this dilution limit, which is related to the Avogadro number, as being roughly equal to 12C homeopathic dilutions (1 part in 10). James Randi and the 10:23 campaign groups have highlighted the lack of active ingredients by taking large 'overdoses'. None of the hundreds of demonstrators in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US were injured and "no one was cured of anything, either".

Modern advocates of homeopathy have proposed a concept of "water memory", according to which water "remembers" the substances mixed in it, and transmits the effect of those substances when consumed. This concept is inconsistent with the current understanding of matter, and water memory has never been demonstrated to have any detectable effect, biological or otherwise. Existence of a pharmacological effect in the absence of any true active ingredient is inconsistent with the law of mass action and the observed dose-response relationships characteristic of therapeutic drugs. Homeopaths contend that their methods produce a therapeutically active preparation, selectively including only the intended substance, though in reality any water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout its history, and homeopaths cannot account for the selected homeopathic substance being isolated as a special case in their process.

Practitioners also hold that higher dilutions produce stronger medicinal effects. This idea is also inconsistent with observed dose-response relationships, where effects are dependent on the concentration of the active ingredient in the body. Some contend that the phenomenon of hormesis may support the idea of dilution increasing potency, but the dose-response relationship outside the zone of hormesis declines with dilution as normal, and nonlinear pharmacological effects do not provide any credible support for homeopathy.

Efficacy

Explanations for efficacy of homeopathic preparations:

The placebo effect	The intensive consultation process and expectations for the homeopathic preparations may cause the effect
Therapeutic effect of the consultation	The care, concern, and reassurance a patient experiences when opening up to a compassionate caregiver can have a positive effect on the patient's well-being.
Unassisted natural healing	Time and the body's ability to heal without assistance can eliminate many diseases of their own accord.
Unrecognized treatments	An unrelated food, exercise, environmental agent, or treatment for a different ailment, may have occurred.
Regression towards the mean	Since many diseases or conditions are cyclical, symptoms vary over time and patients tend to seek care when discomfort is greatest; they may feel better anyway but because of the timing of the visit to the homeopath they attribute improvement to the preparation taken.
Non-homeopathic treatment	Patients may also receive standard medical care at the same time as homeopathic treatment, and the former is responsible for improvement.
Cessation of unpleasant treatment	Often homeopaths recommend patients stop getting medical treatment such as surgery or drugs, which can cause unpleasant side-effects; improvements are attributed to homeopathy when the actual cause is the cessation of the treatment causing side-effects in the first place, but the underlying disease remains untreated and still dangerous to the patient.

No individual homeopathic preparation has been unambiguously shown by research to be different from placebo. The methodological quality of the early primary research was low, with problems such as weaknesses in study design and reporting, small sample size, and selection bias. Since better quality trials have become available, the evidence for efficacy of homeopathy preparations has diminished; the highest-quality trials indicate that the preparations themselves exert no intrinsic effect. A review conducted in 2010 of all the pertinent studies of "best evidence" produced by the Cochrane Collaboration concluded that this evidence "fails to demonstrate that homeopathic medicines have effects beyond placebo."

In 2009, the United Kingdom's House of Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that there was no compelling evidence of effect other than placebo. The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council completed a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of homeopathic preparations in 2015, in which it concluded that "there were no health conditions for which there was reliable evidence that homeopathy was effective." The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) published its official analysis in 2017 finding a lack of evidence that homeopathic products are effective, and raising concerns about quality control. In contrast a 2011 book was published, purportedly financed by the Swiss government, that concluded that homeopathy was effective and cost efficient. Although hailed by proponents as proof that homeopathy works, it was found to be scientifically, logically and ethically flawed, with most authors having a conflict of interest. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health later released a statement saying the book was published without the consent of the Swiss government.

Meta-analyses, essential tools to summarize evidence of therapeutic efficacy, and systematic reviews have found that the methodological quality in the majority of randomized trials in homeopathy have shortcomings and that such trials were generally of lower quality than trials of conventional medicine. A major issue has been publication bias, where positive results are more likely to be published in journals. This has been particularly marked in alternative medicine journals, where few of the published articles (just 5% during the year 2000) tend to report null results. A systematic review of the available systematic reviews confirmed in 2002 that higher-quality trials tended to have less positive results, and found no convincing evidence that any homeopathic preparation exerts clinical effects different from placebo. The same conclusion was also reached in 2005 in a meta-analysis published in The Lancet. A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis found that the most reliable evidence did not support the effectiveness of non-individualized homeopathy.

Health organizations, including the UK's National Health Service, the American Medical Association, the FASEB, and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, have issued statements saying that there is no good-quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment for any health condition. In 2009, World Health Organization official Mario Raviglione criticized the use of homeopathy to treat tuberculosis; similarly, another WHO spokesperson argued there was no evidence homeopathy would be an effective treatment for diarrhoea. They warned against the use of homeopathy for serious conditions such as depression, HIV and malaria. The American College of Medical Toxicology and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology recommend that no one use homeopathic treatment for disease or as a preventive health measure. These organizations report that no evidence exists that homeopathic treatment is effective, but that there is evidence that using these treatments produces harm and can bring indirect health risks by delaying conventional treatment.

Purported effects in other biological systems

While some articles have suggested that homeopathic solutions of high dilution can have statistically significant effects on organic processes including the growth of grain and enzyme reactions, such evidence is disputed since attempts to replicate them have failed. In 2001 and 2004, Madeleine Ennis published a number of studies that reported that homeopathic dilutions of histamine exerted an effect on the activity of basophils. In response to the first of these studies, Horizon aired a programme in which British scientists attempted to replicate Ennis' results; they were unable to do so. A 2007 systematic review of high-dilution experiments found that none of the experiments with positive results could be reproduced by all investigators.

In 1988, French immunologist Jacques Benveniste published a paper in the journal Nature while working at INSERM. The paper purported to have discovered that basophils released histamine when exposed to a homeopathic dilution of anti-immunoglobulin E antibody. Skeptical of the findings, Nature assembled an independent investigative team to determine the accuracy of the research. After investigation the team found that the experiments were "statistically ill-controlled", "interpretation has been clouded by the exclusion of measurements in conflict with the claim", and concluded, "We believe that experimental data have been uncritically assessed and their imperfections inadequately reported."

Ethics and safety

The provision of homeopathic preparations has been described as unethical. Michael Baum, professor emeritus of surgery and visiting professor of medical humanities at University College London (UCL), has described homeopathy as a "cruel deception". Edzard Ernst, the first professor of complementary medicine in the United Kingdom and a former homeopathic practitioner, has expressed his concerns about pharmacists who violate their ethical code by failing to provide customers with "necessary and relevant information" about the true nature of the homeopathic products they advertise and sell. In 2013 the UK Advertising Standards Authority concluded that the Society of Homeopaths were targeting vulnerable ill people and discouraging the use of essential medical treatment while making misleading claims of efficacy for homeopathic products. In 2015 the Federal Court of Australia imposed penalties on a homeopathic company for making false or misleading statements about the efficacy of the whooping cough vaccine and recommending homeopathic remedies as an alternative.

A 2000 review by homeopaths reported that homeopathic preparations are "unlikely to provoke severe adverse reactions". In 2012, a systematic review evaluating evidence of homeopathy's possible adverse effects concluded that "homeopathy has the potential to harm patients and consumers in both direct and indirect ways". A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis found that, in homeopathic clinical trials, adverse effects were reported among the patients who received homeopathy about as often as they were reported among patients who received placebo or conventional medicine.

Some homeopathic preparations involve poisons such as Belladonna, arsenic, and poison ivy. In rare cases, the original ingredients are present at detectable levels. This may be due to improper preparation or intentional low dilution. Serious adverse effects such as seizures and death have been reported or associated with some homeopathic preparations. Instances of arsenic poisoning have occurred. In 2009, the FDA advised consumers to stop using three discontinued cold remedy Zicam products because it could cause permanent damage to users' sense of smell. In 2016 the FDA issued a safety alert to consumers warning against the use of homeopathic teething gels and tablets following reports of adverse events after their use. A previous FDA investigation had found that these products were improperly diluted and contained "unsafe levels of belladonna" and that the reports of serious adverse events in children using this product were "consistent with belladonna toxicity".

Patients who choose to use homeopathy rather than evidence-based medicine risk missing timely diagnosis and effective treatment, thereby worsening the outcomes of serious conditions such as cancer. The Russian Commission on Pseudoscience has said homeopathy is not safe because "patients spend significant amounts of money, buying medicines that do not work and disregard already known effective treatment." Critics have cited cases of patients failing to receive proper treatment for diseases that could have been easily managed with conventional medicine and who have died as a result. They have also condemned the "marketing practice" of criticizing and downplaying the effectiveness of medicine. Homeopaths claim that use of conventional medicines will "push the disease deeper" and cause more serious conditions, a process referred to as "suppression". In 1978, Anthony Campbell, a consultant physician at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, criticized statements by George Vithoulkas claiming that syphilis, when treated with antibiotics, would develop into secondary and tertiary syphilis with involvement of the central nervous system. Vithoulkas' claims echo the idea that treating a disease with external medication used to treat the symptoms would only drive it deeper into the body and conflict with scientific studies, which indicate that penicillin treatment produces a complete cure of syphilis in more than 90% of cases.

The use of homeopathy as a preventive for serious infectious diseases, called homeoprophylaxis, is especially controversial. Some homeopaths (particularly those who are non-physicians) advise their patients against immunization. Others have suggested that vaccines be replaced with homeopathic "nosodes". While Hahnemann was opposed to such preparations, modern homeopaths often use them although there is no evidence to indicate they have any beneficial effects. Promotion of homeopathic alternatives to vaccines has been characterized as dangerous, inappropriate and irresponsible. In December 2014, the Australian homeopathy supplier Homeopathy Plus! was found to have acted deceptively in promoting homeopathic alternatives to vaccines. In 2019, an investigative journalism piece by the Telegraph revealed that homeopathy practitioners were actively discouraging patients from vaccinating their children. Cases of homeopaths advising against the use of anti-malarial drugs have also been identified, putting visitors to the tropics in severe danger.

A 2006 review recommends that pharmacy colleges include a required course where ethical dilemmas inherent in recommending products lacking proven safety and efficacy data be discussed and that students should be taught where unproven systems such as homeopathy depart from evidence-based medicine.

Regulation and prevalence

Main article: Regulation and prevalence of homeopathy

Homeopathy is fairly common in some countries while being uncommon in others; is highly regulated in some countries and mostly unregulated in others. It is practiced worldwide and professional qualifications and licences are needed in most countries. A 2019 WHO report found that 100 out of 133 Member States surveyed in 2012 acknowledged that their population used homeopathy, with 22 saying the practice was regulated and 13 providing health insurance coverage. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licences or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In 2001 homeopathy had been integrated into the national health care systems of many countries, including India, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.

Regulation

Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health service of several European countries, including Scotland, and Luxembourg. It used to be covered in France until 2021. In other countries, such as Belgium, homeopathy is not covered. In Austria, the public health service requires scientific proof of effectiveness in order to reimburse medical treatments and homeopathy is listed as not reimbursable, but exceptions can be made; private health insurance policies sometimes include homeopathic treatments. In 2018, Austria's Medical University of Vienna stopped teaching homeopathy. The Swiss government withdrew coverage of homeopathy and four other complementary treatments in 2005, stating that they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria, but following a referendum in 2009 the five therapies were reinstated for a further 6-year trial period. In Germany, homeopathic treatments are covered by 70 percent of government medical plans, and available in almost every pharmacy. In January 2024, German health minister Karl Lauterbach announced plans to withdraw all statutory health insurance coverage for homeopathic and anthroposophic treatments, citing a lack of scientific evidence for their efficacy.

The English NHS recommended against prescribing homeopathic preparations in 2017. In 2018, prescriptions worth £55,000 were written in defiance of the guidelines, representing less than 0.001% of the total NHS prescribing budget. In 2016 the UK's Committee of Advertising Practice compliance team wrote to homeopaths in the UK to "remind them of the rules that govern what they can and can't say in their marketing materials". The letter told homeopaths to "ensure that they do not make any direct or implied claims that homeopathy can treat medical conditions" and asks them to review their marketing communications "including websites and social media pages" to ensure compliance. Homeopathic services offered at Bristol Homeopathic Hospital in the UK ceased in October 2015.

Member states of the European Union are required to ensure that homeopathic products are registered, although this process does not require any proof of efficacy. In Spain, the Association for the protection of patients from pseudo-scientific therapies is lobbying to get rid of the easy registration procedure for homeopathic remedies. In Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia homeopathy, by law, can only be practiced by medical practitioners. However, in Slovenia if doctors practice homeopathy their medical license will be revoked. In Germany, to become a homeopathic physician, one must attend a three-year training program, while France, Austria and Denmark mandate licences to diagnose any illness or dispense of any product whose purpose is to treat any illness. Homeopaths in the UK are under no legal regulations, meaning anyone can call themselves homeopaths and administer homeopathic remedies.

The Indian government recognizes homeopathy as one of its national systems of medicine and they are sold with medical claims. It has established the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The south Indian state of Kerala also has a cabinet-level AYUSH department. The Central Council of Homoeopathy was established in 1973 to monitor higher education in homeopathy, and the National Institute of Homoeopathy in 1975. Principals and standards for homeopathic products are covered by the Homoeopathic pharmacopoeia of India. A minimum of a recognized diploma in homeopathy and registration on a state register or the Central Register of Homoeopathy is required to practice homeopathy in India.

Some medical schools in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, offer an undergraduate degree programme in homeopathy. Upon completion the college may award a Bachelor of Homoeopathy Medicine and Surgery (B.H.M.S.).

In the United States each state is responsible for the laws and licensing requirements for homeopathy. In 2015, the FDA held a hearing on homeopathic product regulation. At the hearing, representatives from the Center for Inquiry and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry summarized the harm that is done to the general public from homeopathics and proposed regulatory actions: In 2016 the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an "Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Marketing Claims for Over-the-Counter Homeopathic Drugs" which specified that the FTC will apply the same standard to homeopathic drugs that it applies to other products claiming similar benefits. A related report concluded that claims of homeopathy effectiveness "are not accepted by most modern medical experts and do not constitute competent and reliable scientific evidence that these products have the claimed treatment effects." In 2019, the FDA removed an enforcement policy that permitted unapproved homeopathics to be sold. Currently no homeopathic products are approved by the FDA.

Homeopathic remedies are regulated as natural health products in Canada. Ontario became the first province in the country to regulate the practice of homeopathy, a move that was widely criticized by scientists and doctors. Health Canada requires all products to have a licence before being sold and applicants have to submit evidence on "the safety, efficacy and quality of a homeopathic medicine". In 2015 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation tested the system by applying for and then receiving a government approved licence for a made-up drug aimed at kids.

In Australia, the sale of homeopathic products is regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. In 2015, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia concluded that there is "no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective and should not be used to treat health conditions that are chronic, serious, or could become serious". They recommended anyone considering using homeopathy should first get advice from a registered health practitioner. A 2017 review into Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation recommended that products be banned from pharmacies; while noting the concerns the government did not adopt the recommendation. In New Zealand there are no regulations specific to homeopathy and the New Zealand Medical Association does not oppose the use of homeopathy, a stance that has been called unethical by some doctors.

Prevalence

Homeopathy is one of the most commonly used forms of alternative medicines and it has a large worldwide market. The exact size is uncertain, but information available on homeopathic sales suggests it forms a large share of the medical market.

In 1999, about 1000 UK doctors practiced homeopathy, most being general practitioners who prescribe a limited number of remedies. A further 1500 homeopaths with no medical training are also thought to practice. Over ten thousand German and French doctors use homeopathy. In the United States a National Health Interview Survey estimated 5 million adults and 1 million children used homeopathy in 2011. An analysis of this survey concluded that most cases were self-prescribed for colds and musculoskeletal pain. Major retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens sell homeopathic products that are packaged to resemble conventional medicines.

The homeopathic drug market in Germany is worth about 650 million euro with a 2014 survey finding that 60 percent of Germans reported trying homeopathy. A 2009 survey found that only 17 percent of respondents knew how homeopathic medicine was made. France spent more than US$408 million on homeopathic products in 2008. In the United States the homeopathic market is worth about $3 billion-a-year; with 2.9 billion spent in 2007. Australia spent US$7.3 million on homeopathic medicines in 2008.

In India, a 2014 national health survey found that homeopathy was used by about 3% of the population. Homeopathy is used in China, although it arrived a lot later than in many other countries, partly due to the restriction on foreigners that persisted until late in the nineteenth century. Throughout Africa there is a high reliance on traditional medicines, which can be attributed to the cost of modern medicines and the relative prevalence of practitioners. Many African countries do not have any official training facilities.

Veterinary use

Using homeopathy as a treatment for animals is termed "veterinary homeopathy" and dates back to the inception of homeopathy; Hahnemann himself wrote and spoke of the use of homeopathy in animals other than humans. The use of homeopathy in the organic farming industry is heavily promoted. Given that homeopathy's effects in humans are due to the placebo effect and the counseling aspects of the consultation, such treatments are even less effective in animals. Studies have also found that giving animals placebos can play active roles in influencing pet owners to believe in the effectiveness of the treatment when none exists. This means that animals given homeopathic remedies will continue to suffer, resulting in animal welfare concerns.

Little existing research on the subject is of a high enough scientific standard to provide reliable data on efficacy. A 2016 review of peer-reviewed articles from 1981 to 2014 by scientists from the University of Kassel, Germany, concluded that there is not enough evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment of infectious diseases in livestock. The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has adopted a robust position against use of "alternative" pet preparations including homeopathy. The British Veterinary Association's position statement on alternative medicines says that it "cannot endorse" homeopathy, and the Australian Veterinary Association includes it on its list of "ineffective therapies".

See also

• Fringe science
• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
• Scientific skepticism

References

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External links

• Homeopathy (NHS Choices, UK)

v t e Topics in homeopathy
Workbooks	The Organon of the Healing Art Homeopathic Materia Medica
Historical documents	Fragmenta de viribus
Homeopaths	William Boericke C. von Bönninghausen J. H. Clarke Peter Fisher John Franklin Gray Mélanie Hahnemann S. Hahnemann Charles Julius Hempel Constantine Hering Elizabeth Wright Hubbard Georg Heinrich Gottlieb Jahr J. T. Kent E. B. Nash G. Vithoulkas Frederic Hervey Foster Quin Guy Beckley Stearns John Weir George Wyld
Organizations	Ainsworths Boiron Heel Miralus Healthcare Nelsons (Homeopathy)
Related	Preparations (list) Homeopathic dilutions Serial dilution
Criticism	10:23 Campaign Regulation and prevalence Homeoprophylaxis Quackery Placebo
See also	Alternative medicine Medicine Bach flower remedies Jacques Benveniste Luc Montagnier Water memory

v t e Pseudoscience
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Terminology	Cargo cult science Charlatan Crank Fringe theory Fringe science Pseudoarchaeology Pseudohistory Pseudomathematics Junk science Paranormal Pathological science Quackery Snake oil Superseded scientific theory True-believer syndrome Voodoo Science
Topics characterized as pseudoscience	Medicine Acupuncture Aromatherapy Adrenal fatigue Alternative medicine Anthroposophic medicine Applied kinesiology Ayurveda Bates method Biorhythms Bloodletting Body memory Chiropractic Chromotherapy Correactology Cryonics Crystal healing Cupping Detoxification Colon cleansing Doctrine of signatures Doktor Koster's Antigaspills Ear candling Electromagnetic hypersensitivity Energy medicine Fad diet FasciaBlaster Germ theory denialism HIV/AIDS denialism Homeopathy Humorism Iridology Leaky gut syndrome LGBT chemicals conspiracy theory Lunar effect Macrobiotic diet Magnet therapy Miracle Mineral Supplement Naturopathy Palmistry Panchagavya Patent medicine Phrenology Primal therapy Radionics Reiki Traditional medicine Traditional Chinese medicine Trepanning Vertebral subluxation Wind turbine syndrome Young blood transfusion Social science 2012 phenomenon Ancient astronauts Arabian Judah theory Catastrophism Conspiracy theory 5G conspiracy 9/11 conspiracy theories Chemtrail conspiracy theory Climate change denial COVID-19 misinformation Moon landing conspiracy theories Conversion therapy Generational theory Generationism Strauss–Howe generational theory Hollow Earth theory Indigo children Japhetic theory Mediumship Nazi archaeology Nibiru cataclysm Parapsychology Pseudoarchaeology Pseudohistory Genocide denial Historical negationism Holocaust denial Pseudolaw Recovered-memory therapy Past life regression Scientific racism Aryan race Melanin theory Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Enneagram of Personality Physics Anti-gravity‎ Cold fusion‎ Faster-than-light travel‎ Perpetual motion‎ Quantum mysticism Reactionless drive Dean drive EMDrive Teleportation‎ Tractor beam Water-fueled car Other Alchemy Aquatic ape hypothesis Astrology Biodynamic agriculture Biological transmutation Creation science Cryptozoology Dianetics Auditing Dowsing Electronic voice phenomenon Eugenics Facilitated communication Feng shui Flat Earth theory Graphology Intelligent design Laundry ball Law of attraction Levitation Lysenkoism Numerology Orgone Polygraph Pseudoscientific metrology Rapid prompting method Statement analysis Ufology Voice stress analysis Water memory
Promoters of pseudoscience	Sucharit Bhakdi Del Bigtree Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff Brigitte Boisselier Rhonda Byrne Robert Charroux Deepak Chopra Clonaid Vernon Coleman Ignatius L. Donnelly Gaia, Inc. Max Gerson Nicholas Gonzalez Goop (company) Graham Hancock David Icke William Donald Kelley Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Corentin Louis Kervran The Light (newspaper) Mike Lindell Jenny McCarthy Joseph Mercola Judy Mikovits Ministry of Ayush Theodor Morell Hans Alfred Nieper Mehmet Oz Raël (Claude Vorilhon) Robby Starbuck Randolph Stone Paul Joseph Watson Andrew Wakefield
Related topics	Bogdanov affair Bourgeois pseudoscience Demarcation problem Scientific method Suppressed research in the Soviet Union
Resources	Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Cults of Unreason An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science Fortean Times James Randi Educational Foundation Quackwatch Skeptical Inquirer The Demon-Haunted World The Natural History of Quackery The Psychology of the Occult The Ragged Edge of Science The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience The Skeptic's Dictionary

Categories:

• Homeopathy
• Pseudoscience
• Obsolete medical theories
• 1796 introductions
• Health fraud