Tag Archives: Health Canada

The endless cycle of bad excuses for selling homeopathic products in pharmacies

An investigation by the McGill Office for Science and Society reveals that 2/3 of pharmacies in Montreal sell oscillococcinum, a homeopathic product more diluted than the equivalent of an atom in an entire Universe filled with water:


https://mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-quackery/two-thirds-montreal-pharmacies-sell-quack-flu-buster

Are you surprised?

I’m not.

Back in Sept. 2012, when I started Le Pharmachien (the original French version of The Pharmafist), my first post ever was a sarcastic video about homeopathy, and about how absurd it is that we sell these products.

Since then, not much has changed. We still use the same fake arguments to justify ourselves.

“IT’S POPULAR, CLIENTS ASK FOR IT, AND THEY’RE SATISFIED!”

What difference does it make if it’s popular or not? Healthcare and science are not popularity contests.

If people want to buy homeopathy, fine. But our role as pharmacists is to provide advice and care based on scientific evidence. When homeopathic products are sold in pharmacies, it gives the false impression that we endorse them.

Interestingly, most pharmacists don’t trust homeopathic products at all… but are stuck with them on the shelves. It’s a problem.

AT LEAST THERE’S NO RISK!”

Not true. If people neglect to seek medical care because they trust homeopathy, it’s extremely hazardous.

There are tons of examples, but here’s one from Canada :

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/tamara-lovett-holistic-medicine-trial-1.3869951

“IT’S A GOOD PLACEBO!”

ALL healthcare interventions generate a placebo effect: medications, surgeries, exams, talking to patients… These interventions are supported by scientific evidence, and have a placebo effect as a BONUS.

Meanwhile, homeopathic products are 100% placebo, but pretend otherwise on their labeling and are sold at ridiculously high price tags. How is that acceptable?

Also, by opposition to what most people think, from a pharmacy owner’s perspective, it’s not “money-related”; margins are low and associated profits are negligible (in my experience, 80-90% of profits in a typical pharmacy come from prescription drugs). Who’s making money, then? Manufacturers.

At the end of the day, those who could really make a difference blame each other and make bad excuses in an endless cycle. This graph summarizes the situation:

Will someone ever take responsibility for the problem?

Let’s be clear: Health Canada will not stop approving these products. Some countries have set limits, but none has officially banned them. So we have to stop waiting for them to make a move.

In my opinion, the simplest solution is that a pharmacy chain takes a stand and announces that it will no longer sell homeopathic products. With a bit of luck, others will eventually follow.

So, who will be first?

P.S. Oh by the way, I’d like to salute the Quebec Order of Pharmacists, who stated, in response to the McGill investigation, that a pharmacist who recommends homeopathy by claiming that it is effective would “place oneself in a situation of disciplinary misconduct”. BOOM!

How to naturally heal your interstitium

 

(NOTE: This piece was first published on the French version of my website on March 29th, the day after the news about the interstitium came out. It was mostly meant as a joke… but a few days later, my “prophecy” pretty much came true. I’ll explain at the end. In the meantime, enjoy my newfound superpower. Many thanks to Jonathan Jarry from the McGill Office for Science and Society and The Body of Evidence – highly recommended blogs and podcast – for helping me with the translation!)

 

Unless you live in the basement of a suburban cult, unless you don’t care about health at all, or unless you’re a Big Pharmonsanto shill, you must have heard the good news: researchers have discovered a new organ in the human body(yes, this is real news)

(Well, to be exact, they just gave a name to this “new organ”, which is not really an organ… and was sort of known already … but anyway)

 

In a nutshell, the interstitium is a network of cavities filled with liquid, which would serve as a shock absorber between organs. In addition, these cavities are found everywhere and interconnected throughout the human body. This makes the interstitium the largest organ of the body.

But hey, who cares, right?

What you really want to know at this point is:

I have spent most of my life (i.e. the last 30 minutes) reading everything that has been written on the topic, so as a pioneer of the interstitium, I would like to introduce my own range of products and services to pamper and care for this vital organ. 

 

FIRST BOOK!!!

First of all, this spring, I will publish the first book ever written on the interstitium:

In this book, I explain that the interstitium is in fact the 3rd brain and 2nd pancreas of the human body.

(the value and accuracy of these analogies are none of your business)

 

I also explain that since the cavities of the interstitium are all interconnected in the human body, it is quite reasonable to think that by targeting it, we can prevent and cure all the diseases that exist or will exist in the human body in the future. I mean, it’s pure logic.

Lastly, I stipulate that if the interstitium is a natural “shock absorber”, then it is quite obvious that taking care of it will prevent all kinds of shocks, such as:

  • Emotional shock
  • Post-traumatic shock
  • Septic shock
  • Cardiogenic shock
  • Generational culture shock
  • Chocolate cravings
  • Chucky
  • Etc.

 

FIRST SECOND BOOK!!!

This fall, I will also be the first to publish a second book (time flies, wow!) on the interstitium.

(I worked on my empathic facial expression all week-end, and it paid off)

To sum it up, you should choose foods that vibrate at the same frequency as the interstitium. As a matter of fact, the vibration of things is extremely important with regards to health, as experts say.

By a total coincidence, these foods are all those we already know are good for your health:

 

And what’s BAD for the interstitium? Well, it should be pretty obvious by now:

 

And the coolest thing about this is that it comes from:

(as opposed to what I do not personally consider to be “real science”, i.e. anything that calls into question or contradicts my words)

 

FIRST CLINIC!!!

In parallel with the release of my second book, I will inaugurate the very first health clinic dedicated to the interstitium IN THE WORLD!

(my logo kicks ass)

 

OK so we all agree that discovering new organs is a whole lotta fun but, ultimately, what matters is how to cure them.

Because yes, your interstitium, which you did not know existed 3 minutes ago, is already sick.

 

Here’s a made-up patient that I successfully cured:

 

You’ll also be the first to try my clinically proven, 100% natural health product:

(Please note that this product is not yet approved by Health Canada and that I do not intend to submit it for review, because I don’t have to)

 

Book your consultation (with me) now!

For more info, please contact my PR firm or lawyer. 

 

P.S. OK so this was mostly irony … The “new organ” bit is real news, but I found it funny to imagine how shady people could use this discovery to attract attention and/or to make money, as is the case right now with the gut microbiota. Seriously, you don’t need to worry about your interstitium… until proven otherwise…

 

Weird update: A few days later, the interstitium was proposed as a possible mechanism to explain the “efficacy” of acupuncture. As skeptics then pointed out, such a theory is ludicrous. But even worse, it looks like one the main scientists behind the discovery, Neil Theise, was already quite involved in the promotion of alternative practices. Truth IS sometimes stranger than fiction….