The Sweet Sweet Stench of Hypocrisy,

Rhys's father, and my other three regular readers, will be well aware that I consider homeopaths to be idiots. Clever idiots, in the sense that they can convince other idiots to take their idiotic lactose pills. If only all the idiots would wipe each other out.

Contrary to popular belief, I am not a complete idiot (except when it comes to women, heh heh). Unfortunately it seem that my governing body is. Yes, reader, I'm shocked as well. I was thinking the RPSGB was just a harmless body with the sole purpose of screwing as much money out of you as possible. Not so! It seems that they are quite happy to condone the promotion of homeopathy (remember, a practise run by idiots, for idiots). Go on, contact the RPSGB. They will not have the guts to say that homeopathy is useless. This must be because they are staffed by a bunch of idiots, I suppose. No scientist worth his salt would treat homeopathy as anything but a gullible fool's trick. Maybe I'm wrong, but after having looked at the weasel words I have received from the RPSGB, and their constant refusal to present any evidence for homeopathy, I doubt it.

Anyway, hypocrisy. Apparently, there's a new pill called Obecalp (Oh, the wit of marketing men!) which apparently may go on sale on the UK soon. The RPSGB are most unhappy about it. They have wheeled out their chief scientist to say "Mate, this is a shithouse idea, and gives everyone the idea that if you're ill you need a pill. And it will just encourage more overmedication of kids" (This is paraphrased).

I agree with her entirely. I just wonder why the RPSGB are so vocal that the idea of a placebo that advertises itself as a placebo is a Bad Thing, and yet they are utterly silent when it comes to claims that lactose pills cure anything from bed-wetting to cancer.

Link to Obecalp story (Page 4): http://www.pjonline.com/pdf/_donotindex/pj_20080621_news.pdf

Link to Former RPSGB president, and Homeopath: http://www.glovers-health.co.uk/

Nationalities That I Have Been Mistaken For Since I Got Here.

1) English. No, I'm not bloody English, or if I am, then you're a bloody Aussie. How do you like them apples.

2) Scottish, by a rather attractive student nurse. After giving her a brief history lesson on the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, she hasn't spoken to me again. Strange, that.

3) Irish, because they get everywhere, rather like cockroaches, or when you go to the beach and find sand in your carpet for weeks after.

4) South Islander. Arguably not technically a nationality, but this was due to the fact that I'm wandering around in shorts in the rain in the middle of "winter".

Piss Off And Stop Bothering Us!

Thank you for your further email on this topic.

I refer you to our previous correspondence on this issue in which my colleagues and I have highlighted to you the relevant parts of the Code of Ethics that relate to complimentary medicines and their sale/supply from registered pharmacies. In previous correspondence we have also expanded on, and explained, these requirements in which we have addressed your question regarding efficacy in relation to professional standards (see emails below dated 12th and 19th June 2008).

We have also referred you to an information sheet commissioned by the Science Committee of the Society.

Sincerely yours,

The RPSGB

Sometimes, It Is Just About Counting Tablets.

Stocktake, they said.

Turn up in mufti, they said. So I did, and proceeded to count tablets all day. Literally. It was worse than being back in the ghetto. Well, almost.

Interestingly, Plaquenil tablets are a different shape in the Colonies. Quite similar to a dog biscuit, I suppose

Garlic.

At least ten, possibly a dozen decent size garlic bulbs for just 49 cents! Which is about 25p in the Old Currency. Truly, this is the land of opportunity, and I see an opportunity to make a damn fine curry, a curry fit for the Valkyrie, a curry fit for a man who has not had a tidy one for two months.

Unintentional Humour

Emails from the RPSGB are now ending up in the spam folder of my mail account. How apt.

Still no update from the homeopathy defenders, by the way.

Lions 2009?

Any of the usual suspects fancy it? Let me know and I'll start selling myself on trademe...

Anti-Science.

In the USA, which is a country that I love, there is a strong creationist movement. These people are deluded. Nothing this crazy could happen in the UK. Not in the land of tea and cricket on the village green, and Dylan Thomas. Not from the country that produced Newton, and Faraday, and Darwin, and Hooke. Such a nation, with such a rich scientific heritage would never embrace superstition, witchcraft or good old quackery.

Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Homeopathy, kind of like a virulent parasitic organism, has infested pharmacy back in the UK. However, pharmacy does not seem too bothered about this. And there was me thinking that pharmacy was based on science! How stupid I must be!

This a link to Boots whoring itself out to a homeopath http://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/ejnewslatest/display.var.2325387.0.homeopathy_in_action.php

I would love to see how homeopathy can help with heart disease, depression and diabetes. Perhaps I should ask someone in Boots about it. Of course, what is more depressing is that the current president of the RPSGB, Mr Steve Churton is "Head of Professional Practice, Boots, UK". Interestingly, his spouse is also emplyed by Boots. Now, call me Mr. Stupid, but I was not aware that "Professional Practice" included the promotion of homeopathy. However, Mr Churton is a figurehead of pharmacy, so I am sure he knows what he talking about.

However, it does make you wonder how large the malign influence of Boots and their promotion of pharmacy is.

This is an email I received from the Fitness to Practice and Legal Affairs Directorate of the RPSGB recently

Further to your e-mails dated 8th May and 8th June 2008, I can provide you with the following information.
The Society has not made any overarching statements about the place of homoeopathy in healthcare. (My colleague has provided a link to previous statements that the Society has made about homoeopathy, www.rpsgb.org/pdfs/scifactsheethomoeo.pdf ).
The Society has issued guidance (in the form of Standards forming part of the Code of Ethics www.rpsgb.org/pdfs/coepsgssmeds.pdf ) to assist pharmacists on the ethical aspects of selling or supplying complementary medicines. Ethical issues can be, and often are, grey areas rather than black or white.

These Standards do not make reference to the pharmacist needing to ensure the efficacy of the complementary medicines before selling or supplying them. The prime concern of all pharmacists must be for the well-being and safety of patients. Hence the Standards require that the pharmacist ensures that they: “recommend a remedy only where you can be satisfied of its safety and quality, taking into account the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency registration schemes for homoeopathic and herbal remedies.”. The absence of the word “efficacy” in the Standards does not signify that efficacy is not important. However, it is the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) that is the licensing government regulatory body for medicines in the UK, and via its various licensing schemes (Product Licences of Right and Registration schemes) decides whether medicines are safe or not and whether certain products can be lawfully supplied or not. The MHRA allows various licensed and registered homoeopathic medicines to be lawfully sold and supplied in the UK .


Considering that I asked them whether or not the RPSGB thinks that homeopathy is an effective treatment, one could say that the "Ethical issues" bit, is a bit of a smokescreen. After all, the science is out there for all to see-homeopathy is nothing more than an expensive placebo. It is not like I asked the RPSGB for their position on abortion, or euthanasia.

I wonder if this reluctance to look at things in a scientific fashion has anything to do with the appointment of a Boots pharmacist as President. Boots push this kind of alternative/complementary/homeopathic crap a lot, and having their own man in a position to quash dissent must be very appealing.

So there we have it, the offical position of the RPSGB is that science is not worth a jot, and it does not matter if things work or not, so long as the customer gets what they want.

Then and Now.

Things I Miss About My Old Job

1) "No, I don't fancy working today, I'm going to the match/the bank/do absolutely nothing/play Pro Evo all day/cook/going on holiday/going to the pub. Give us a ring tomorrow if there's anything going.

2) The money.

Things I Don't Miss About My Old Job

3-240,000,000) Everything else.

That Thing, You Can Only Say What It Is In French.

I carry around a BNF with me like it is my shield and my succour against the Forces Of Evil, I have only the vaguest idea of what I'm doing and I'm chatting up a student nurse. Badly. It's fucking 2005 all over again, only this time I'm addicted to Madden, instead of Pro Evo.

Like Roland in the Dark Tower, I'm chasing the unattainable, before returning to the beginning again, each time learning a little more. I only need to do this another 19 times then I will be free.*


*This is one interpretation. My personal feeling is that most of the last three books of the series were one massive clusterfuck after another, redeemed only partially by the very ending.

Bonus Bank Holiday!!

Apart from the excellent beer, the excellent trees, the excellent mountains, the excellent lakes, and the excellent beaches, living in The Colonies does have some advantages. Such as tomorrow, when we get an extra bonus bank holiday for the Queen's Birthday!

Kiwi Chick : "You mean you don't have that in England?"

Hot Pharmacist (me) : "Ha ha ha, do we heck!" (Mental Note: I AM NOT ENGLISH!!!!111)

Kiwi Chick: "Oh right. Sweet. Did I tell you about my paddock?"

Hurrah for the Monarchy!