October 2006

NBC science chief knocks alternative medicine

The chief science officer for NBC news says alternative medicine “is a futile effort costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year.” The report, “Ignoring the failures of alternative medicine,” took aim specifically at dietary supplements and the National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Robert Bazell, chief science officer and health correspondent for NBC News, said:

“…the Center for CAM has spent much of its $122 million annual budget on clinical trials putting most popular alternative treatments to the same rigorous tests as those required of pharmaceuticals and medical devices before approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Except for acupuncture, already proven effective in China, almost all the research has come to the same conclusion: the stuff doesn’t work.”

The powerful industry that sells these products ignores the results and often finds allies who believe in them because of an anecdote or advertisement.

He admitted, “Some treatments under the alternative medicine heading, like massage, clearly do no harm and could make anyone feel better.”

The Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) at George Mason University responded to the NBC piece. In an online editorial, Director of Research Rebecca Goldin, PhD, wrote:

“In order not to fall into the same trap as those who defend alternative medicine without evidence, scientists need to be armed to attack the efficacy of alternative medicines. Without clinical trials, a skeptical inquirer has no way to know, one way or the other. While the nature of clinical trials is that you cannot prove that there is no benefit, a lack of demonstration of benefit goes a long way toward saving our pocketbooks from an industry that profits from ignorance.”

Sources: MSNBC, www.msnbc.com; Statistical Assessment Service, www.stats.org

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