A group of Swedish scientists, headed by astronaut Christer Funglesang, took a massive overdose of homeopathic sleeping pills in an attempt to discredit the alternative medicine and have it banned from the country.
Ten people, including Funglesang, took ten times the recommended dose of Coffea Alfaplex last week, but lived to tell the tale.
“We’re risking our lives for science,” wrote Fuglesang in an opinion piece for Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet before the ‘suicide attempt’. “Either we die, and for the first time the effect of homeopathy will be proven, or we survive, in which case we expect Swedish politicians to rethink their stand on alternative medicine’s use in healthcare,” the piece continued.
The effort was supported by Vetenskap och Folkbildning (VoF), a non-profit organisation that works towards discrediting false science. Homeopathic medicine, which is widely used in Sweden, works on the principle that a remedy becomes stronger as it becomes more diluted with water. VoF believes there should be an outright ban on homeopathy, even though it is already illegal to treat some physical diseases, such as cancer, with the method.
“This is an important matter to debate, since the use of alternative medicine is so common in Sweden,” Dan Larhammar, Professor of Neuroscience at Uppsala University and active member of VoF, told The Local. “We hope the use of homeopathy will cease, seeing as how it’s pure humbug; and above all, the state and country councils should not stand behind such humbug,” he continued.
Ten times the recommended dose?! they were lucky not to die.
like one of the commenters mentioned above, how would they have helped science if they were dead?
I believe there are other ways to prove something and suicide is not one of them.
It’s hard to believe that in this day and age people can be so homeophobic…
This is such an irrational way to prove science. I am a travel nurse and I would like to know what they plan on doing for science once they are dead?
I don’t feel that well today. I think the national health service must pay me a good bottle of wine, because I strongly believe it will make me feel better, I have plenty of evidences that a good wine works wonders on most people, and I pay my taxes.
Knowless writes: “Just as a patient is treated in hospital without prejudice to the self harm they inflict (with remarkable persistence) upon themselves, tobacco/alcohol/obesity etc […]”
I would support a law charging high medical fees for the typical afflictions resulting from such self harm, like cirrhosis for heavy drinkers and lung cancer for smokers.
Mikizo says So, if people want to spend their hard earned money on “diluted duck” or “Bach flowers”, it is their prerogative. They just should not be allowed to do so on the taxpayer’s euro or krona.”
People who want what is called alternative treatment as part of the national health, also pay their taxes.
Just as a patient is treated in hospital without prejudice to the self harm they inflict (with remarkable persistence) upon themselves, tobacco/alcohol/obesity etc – other patients who are not bent on such a path of self destruction should be allowed to avail of a variety of treatments, regardless of the prejudicial bias of the medical chiefs.
The point of the exercise in Sweden was utterly futile. Coffea is not a homeopathy sleeping pill. That is a misrepresentation of the remedy. It is one of a 50 or so remedies which may be prescribed for such a ailment, but the patient’s particular type of symptoms determine which one is prescribed. That is the main reason why Coffea would not pass the criteria involved in double blind tests. Coffea has just a small % chance of even being the indicated homeopathy remedy for sleeplessness.
Also If one pill is taken or a hundred, at the same time it makes no difference. Homeopathy is not toxic. If it works it works, if not, nothing happens.
Since the basic premise of homeopathy is dilution of “active” ingredient until not a single molecule remains, there is no way in the physical world that it could possibly provide any benefit (unless the problem was mild dehydration).
However, since much of people’s behaviour and assessment of ill health is subjective, a homeopathic healer’s investment of time listening to his customer often causes the customer to “feel better”.
So, if people want to spend their hard earned money on “diluted duck” or “Bach flowers”, it is their prerogative. They just should not be allowed to do so on the taxpayer’s euro or krona.
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I have a rationalist friend, who has a peculiar habit. He used to become very hungry at midnight. When there is no food kept for his bread, he silently open his father’s homeopathic box and pick few vials and finish his late night dinner. He is very happy with this ‘homeopathic overdose’.
The “over dosing” stunt only proves safety of homeopathy!
I would rather take a homeopathic remedy that is helpful AND safe than a prescription that is harmful to my body. With the high rate of fatalities from (properly prescribed) medication we cannot afford to have safe alternatives banned.
I was fun to see the Swedish astronaut act drunken in TV. He could not talk very well due to either alcohol or the homeopathic remedy.
I fully agree with ScepticsBane and Ayurvedah1. A ban makes no sense. If fools want to part with their money in the pursuit of whatever delirious nonsense they choose they should be free to do so.
Just don’t ask for that nonsense to be publicly funded, please.
This article appears to be fully of oxymorons, in more than one way. Were these so called “scientists” trying to prove or disprove homeopathy? So if they died, they wanted to prove it works??? and if they didn’t it’s just a bunch of bunk? This is really almost too funny, homeopathy has been around since before big pharma, and much of it if taken and done correctly actually works. The west’s reliance on drugs for instantaneous comfort is beyond belief. Try traveling to less developed countries where pain is just a state of mind. I can understand not using certain remedies for “treatment” of terminal diseases, but let us chose what we want to use and when! Ayurveda is another life style that has been around for thousands of years and continues to gain in popularity. Perhaps because people like those behind Elanveda continue to do research and enlightenment to the rest of the world.
Here we go again. A group of uninformed Homeopathy idiots confirming that Homeopathy works by demonstrating how not to take it.
And, what’s this, mention of that famous “scientist” the “amazing” Randi. Is anyone dumb enough not to know what this is all about?
“Oh NO” say the skeptics, we’re just against claims of Homeopathy that it works, it has NOTHING to do with freedom of medical choice !
Well, then READ THIS in the article above (caps added for EMPHASIS)
“A group of Swedish scientists, headed by astronaut Christer Funglesang, took a massive overdose of homeopathic sleeping pills in an attempt to discredit the alternative medicine AND HAVE IT BANNED FROM THE COUNTRY”.
Here’s the bad news for these “skeptics”. It’s pure and simple SCIENTISM – an anti-intellectual pop cult which makes big talk about “science” and “research” but then uses street “overdose” demonstrations to “prove” that it’s all “nonsense”.
Here’s the bad news for the “skeptics” – Homeopath and CHEMIST Lionel Milgrom has an article about this “Beware Scientism’s Onward March” in which he demonstrates the intellectual foundations and fakery behind this anti-alternative medicine movement. At the link below, you can also read about genuine scientific research which supports Homeopathy, an exposure of the fallacious Lancet meta-analysis article which did not prove a damn thing, most certainly NOT that Homeopathy = placebo, and the whole rest of the logical positivist neo-feudalistic clap trap in which we’re supposed to “go along” with this thinly veiled corporatist sponsored pap. READ about Homeopathy, that the scientific DOES show that it works and about the intellectual tricks and fallacies of groups such as the overdosers HERE:
http://www.anh-europe.org/news/anh-feature-beware-scientism%E2%80%99s-onward-march
While you’re at it, click on the link on what’s happening to herbs in the European Union.
Good idea – the more publicity showing how goofy homeopathy is the better. At best, it’s a waste of money; at worst it can kill if it’s used instead of real medicine.
James Randi does this stunt on a regular basis for his audiences:
http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/jref-news/1276-homeopathy-no-ingredients-no-testing-no-facts-press-release.html