[rubidium]

I hear you, but “ethical failure year is worse than the sale of tobacco” is a stretch. Tobacco killed millions. Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer.

Also I usually find Tylenol PM just fine at my cvs. Along with benedryl, ibuprofen and other routine “real” meds.

[Baeocystin]

It is 100% fraud, taking advantage of ignorance and selling people false medicine. There is nothing harmless about that. It prevents people from seeking real treatments, and there are real long-term consequences to public health that come along with that.

[catalogia]

> "Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer."

Does that analysis include people who neglect to seek real medical attention because snakeoil crackpottery has lured them into a false sense of security?

(I would not expect as many people to be harmed by homeopathy as cigarettes, but nevertheless I don't think you should characterize it as harmless.)

[newnewpdro]

Fleecing ignorant people is not harmless.

I'd presume a substantial correlation between ignorance and poverty, the last thing these people need is wasted money on ineffective treatment.

[bbanyc]

Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless but there was a case in the 2000s where Zicam sold a "homeopathic" nasal spray at a low dilution of zinc (i.e., it actually contained zinc) as a cold remedy. The result: hundreds of people caused permanent damage to their senses of smell.

This changed my attitudes towards consumer protection a lot. I thought I was smart enough to tell medicine from snake oil, but Zicam ads had high production values and looked just like ads for Tylenol or NyQuil. It was a far cry from the laughable marketing of that other '00s homeopathic product, HeadOn. (Apply directly to the forehead!) So I thought it was a legit product until the news of the lawsuits came out.

[colejohnson66]

> Homeopathic stuff is typically harmless and not a major killer.

Homeopathic stuff may be harmless, but homeopaths are sometimes actively harming themselves or others by not getting proper treatment.