Regulating Complementray therapies

Regulating Complementary medicine
A recent debate in the house of commons was around the regulation of complementary medicine.   It was clarified during the debate that the purpose of  considering regulation was purely as a protection for the public and to be applied to therapies that were considered a threat to the patients when in the wrong hands.

The therapies under consideration were acupuncture and herbal medicine (and especially chinese herbal medicine) both of which have the potential to cause harm when in the wrong hands.

We agree that these and all therapies must be carried out by experienced and properly trained therapist but also would like to add that training and legislation hasn't proved that effective so for in allopathic medicine circles. 

In the U.S., medical errors are estimated to result in 44,000 to 98,000 unnecessary deaths and 1,000,000 excess injuries each year,  the equivalent of three jumbo-jet crashes every 2 days'.  That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS—three causes that receive far more public attention.

So in effect what is being acknowledged is that most complementary therapies are safe.  The fact that there is a yet no way (except tried and tested) to show how they scientifically work is for the recipient to decide. We know there are chancers out there who try to take advantage of people looking for solutions but so  there are in the allopathic field.

But at least you now know that complementary medicine on the whole will not kill you.

The debate goes on...