Homeopathy: progress and promise, a critical perspective^{[ ☆ ]}

Abstract

This lecture attempts to analyse the progress made by homeopathy in recent years, by analysing consumer awareness, sales and distribution trends of homeopathic products, and research publications. Sales of homeopathic medicines are growing rapidly, but remain a very small fraction of the total pharmaceutical market. The proportion of combination to single medicines varies widely between countries. The market is concentrated in a relatively small number of the available medicines; many available homeopathic medicines are never used. Regulation of homeopathic practitioners and medicines is problematic, the legal position varies between countries. The volume of research is growing steadily. A series of recommendations is made, including modernisation of the terminology of homeopathy, training of more practitioners, a defined research agenda and integration into the medical system.

Keywords

homeopathy - market trends - business concentration - practitioners - research - regulation

^☆ This is an edited version of the Blackie Memorial Lecture delivered on 22 February 2001 at the conference ‘Improving the Success of Homeopathy 3: Reuniting Art with Science’, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, London.