Pharmacy Daily | With friends like these…

COMPLEMENTARY Medicines Australia ceo Carl Gibson has responded to Monash's Public Health advocate Ken Harvey's letter to the editor in PD last Friday:

Ken Harvey tries to argue that the Friends of Science actually "support access to traditional and complementary medicines" (Pharmacy Daily 02 Mar 2018) - but just scratch the surface and you will see that is a far cry from their actual stated Friends of Science in Medicine objective that '...we should abandon all alternative and complementary medicines.'

Now I may not be an 'esteemed academic' but unless I have completely misunderstood that statement, I am still of the opinion that Friends of Science in Medicine want the complementary medicines industry dead.

Dr Harvey also now claims that Friends of Science are culturally sensitive; well I can't agree with that assertion either -- otherwise we would both be wrong!

A culturally sensitive organisation should not use labels such as 'pseudoscience', 'quackery', 'black magic', 'scams' and 'the modern version of magical practices'.

While they may be entitled to their opinion, FMS clearly doesn't respect traditional medicines, traditional evidence claims, or other cultures.

FSM's view is not shared by the World Health Organization either, which supports the use of "complementary and traditional medicines as an accessible, affordable, and culturally important element of healthcare."

FSM is active in campaigning against traditional medicines and practitioners. FSM members and networks have flooded AHPRA with over 1,000 complaints against practitioners, including a targeted campaign against traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners. Dr Harvey's Monash students have tried to flood the complaints system by generating complaints about traditional medicines for the Complaints Resolution Panel -- including during a time when Dr Harvey was a sitting member on the Panel, and although he didn't like it, CMA rightly called out his clear conflict of interest.

In light of the above, perhaps Dr Harvey should please explain how FSM is "supporting access to traditional and complementary medicine products" or indeed is at all respectful of traditional medicines and other cultures...Because with 'Friends' like these -- who needs enemies!

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