British Chiropractic Association v Simon Singh

[Mojo]

The AMA President:

''There is still very little evidence on which to make any claims about chiropractic treatment''...''Chiropractors do seem to help some people with back pain, but a lot of it is probably just helping the patient feel better while their back gets better anyway''

"The art of medicine consists of keeping the patient amused while nature heals the disease" - Voltaire.

 

[Mashuna]

"The art of medicine consists of keeping the patient amused while nature heals the disease" - Voltaire.

So a Nintendo DS is of more clinical benefit than a Chiropractor

 

[Paul]

So a Nintendo DS is of more clinical benefit than a Chiropractor

And much cheaper too.

 

[Swerek]

The art of chiropractic consists of keeping the patient paying while Nature heals the disease.

 

[BillyJoe]

"The art of medicine consists of keeping the patient amused while nature heals the disease" - Voltaire.

Oh well, unless the patient has Addison's disease.

 

[Mojo]

I suspect that medicine may have made a little progress since the 18th century.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I suspect that medicine may have made a little progress since the 18th century.

Not according to my Homeopathy textbook.

 

[Blue Wode]

The latest from Simon Singh on the libel reform campaign:
http://twitter.com/SLsingh

 

[Lothian]

The latest from Simon Singh on the libel reform campaign:
http://twitter.com/SLsingh

I can't acces twitter. Any chance of a short summary?

 

[Darat]

e

 

[JJM]

I can't acces twitter. Any chance of a short summary?

Try the original article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6910168.ece

 

[Lothian]

e

I realised after posting that asking for a 120 character post to be shortened was asking for trouble.

 

[zeno2712]

I realised after posting that asking for a 120 character post to be shortened was asking for trouble.

140 characters for the pedants...

Loved AndyD's 'what chiros don't tell you'! We do need more of these for other AltMed 'modalities'.

Blogging: Zeno's Blog » New ASA remit?

It will be interesting to see what this comes to, but could make it a lot easier and more beneficial when complaining about any kind of AltMed nonsense.

 

[godless dave]

"The art of medicine consists of keeping the patient amused while nature heals the disease" - Voltaire.

In Voltaire's time, this was probably true..

 

[BillyJoe]

Dave, you are still living in Voltaire's time. Get with it.

 

[Mojo]

In a major irony fail, we now have the UK government trying to take the moral high ground:

The foreign secretary, David Miliband, said: "I was very concerned to hear reports of today's court ruling. Media freedom is vital in any democracy. If the case goes to appeal, I ask the Iraqi authorities to ensure that their courts, which are independent, follow due process in accordance with the Iraqi constitution."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/10/guardian-nour-al-maliki-iraq

Perhaps the government could just make Iraqi libel rulings unenforceable in the UK, just as the USA is making UK rulings unenforceable there.

 

[BillyJoe]

Why is it a major irony fail?

 

[Mojo]

Off the scale.

 

[Blue Wode]

Permission to Appeal judgment now online:
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/1154.html

 

[Blue Wode]

New blog post from Edzard Ernst at Pulse (registration free):

The General Chiropractic Council and its retracted claim
12 Nov 09

Simon Perry is a well-known and relentless campaigner against pseudo-science.

Recently he complained to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) about claims made in a patient information leaflet published by the UK General Chiropractic Council (GCC). The passage in question read as follows:

There is some evidence, though more research is needed, that you may see an improvement in some types of:

• asthma

• headaches, including migraine and

• infant colic


As a result of Perry’s action, the GCC withdrew the leaflet (http://adventuresinnonsense.blogspot.com/2009/10/general-chiropractic-council-to-change_06.html ). It was amended and has been republished with the following wording (http://www.gcc-uk.org/files/page_file/WhatCanIExpect_1.pdf ).

A review is being carried out of the evidence as to whether chiropractic may ease some of the symptoms of some types of:

asthma
headaches, including migraine and
infant colic

This move seems important in several ways. It means that the GCC probably realized that the original claims were not based on sound data – if not they would only had to provide the evidence and the ASA could have evaluated it. This tacit admission might now influence several current disputes around chiropractic.

The GCC is presently dealing with about 600 complaints against chiropractors making claims of the types listed above. Having more or less admitted that they are not supported by evidence, the GCC could have to discipline all of these 600 individuals. Similarly, it may well impact on the high-profile Simon Singh case.

I think there might be a lesson in all this. The best advice for the future is, I think, to abstain from making unsubstantiated claims in the first place. This saves all the legal hassle and – crucially – does not put patients at risk.

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=20&storycode=4124312&c=1

ETA: Don't miss the Editor's note:

Editor's note

Pulse contacted the General Chiropractic Council for its response to this column.

Margaret Coats, chief executive, confirmed that the council had 'amended the wording [of the patient information leaflet] in consultation with the ASA'.

She declined to make any comment on the council's 'regulatory business'.

Isn't the GCC's 'regulatory business' about protecting the public?