‘Alternative’ medicines and therapies comprise the biggest scam in the country. But if you think that industry is going to be cleaned up … you’re joking.
According to the best estimates, Australians spend well over $5 billion a year on alternative medicines and therapies. Globally, the market is valued at $2.4 trillion, equal to the entire gross domestic product of Malta, Albania, North Macedonia and Cyprus combined.
A lot of people are making a lot of money. But what, apart from the placebo effect, do they offer in return?
Most of these products and services have no reliable evidence of safety, quality or efficacy. Many studies have shown that what’s in the bottle seldom coincides with what’s on the label. But every pharmacy and supermarket in the country is full of the stuff.
These products are assumed to be harmless. Some are; some aren’t. Most consumers can’t tell the difference.
For successive governments, consumer protection is easier to ignore than to implement. Far too many people are doing far too well for this gravy train to end.
Read the full article on Martyn Goddard’s The Policy Post, here:
Martyn Goddard is a public policy analyst specialising in health and state government funding. He was a member of the Australian Council on AIDS and Related Diseases and its clinical subcommittee; as well as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. He also served as a health policy officer at the Australian Consumers' Association (Choice).
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