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Write to your MP

On June 21 2010, David Tredinnick MP, the honourable member for Bosworth, proposed four Early Day Motions in support of homeopathy. Three of these motions are based upon cherry-picked, flawed scientific papers. The fourth condemns the British Medical Association for having a position on the efficacy of homeopathic interventions.

In response, Dr Julian Huppert MP, the honourable member for Cambridge, has proposed amendments to Mr Tredinnick's EDMs, which brings them inline with the current scientific evidence.

In themselves, Early Day Motions carry little, if any, political weight. However, they are a useful indicator for the government of how much support they can expect to receive from back-bench MPs on a given issue.

To help our fight for a better standard of healthcare in this country, please take the time to write to your MP, expressing your feelings on this issue, explaining why they should not support the motions put forward by Mr Tredinnick and asking them to support the amended motions from Dr Huppert.

Your MP may not realise that homeopathy is an unproven, unscientific modality and may see efforts to remove it from the NHS as an attempt to cut healthcare provision for their constituents. They need to know that homeopathy is not an effective healthcare option and does not offer good value to the taxpayer. Ask your MP to support EDM amendments 284A1, 285A1, 286A1 and 287A1. Get your friends to do the same.

Below, we have a sample letter you can use as a basis, but please take a few moments to rewrite this letter in your own words. You can quickly and easily get a message to your MP using the website Write To Them.

Dear <your MP>

I am writing to you to alert you to an important issue you might not be aware of – while the role of an MP is doubtlessly a busy one, and the challenge to keep on top of all of the various issues put to you is likely significant, I can appreciate that you may not have been made aware of the ongoing debate regarding government funding for homeopathy on the NHS.

At a time when cuts are increasingly likely, it was refreshing to see the Science and Technology Select Committee advise the cutting of homeopathy – a 200-year-old pseudoscience – from NHS funding. I applaud the committee, and their reliance on evidence to come to a solid conclusion. It is, therefore, disappointing in the extreme to see the Early Day Motions EDM284 [Bma Annual Representative Meeting Motions On Homeopathy], EDM285 [Effect Of Homeopathic Remedies On Breast Cancer Cells], EDM286 [Homeopathic Medicines In The Treatment Of Moderate To Severe Depression] and EDM287 [Homeopathy And Chronic Primary Insomnia] call for support for this disproven quackery.

Indeed, it's further distressing that, upon examination, the studies cited as proof of the effect of homeopathic treatments in EDM284, EDM285 and EDM286 are in fact riddled with deep and significant flaws. Given that EDM285 applauds the use of homeopathic substances to treat breast cancer – a claim which would be illegal if made by a UK practitioner – it's clear to see how support for this motion could lead to real and significant harm.

I applaud the actions of Julian Huppert MP – who has tabled clear and reasonable amendments to these misguided motions, amendments which correct their inaccuracies and redirect them back in line with real science and evidence. These amendments are titled as follows: EDM284A1 [Bma Annual Representative Meeting Motions On Homeopathy], EDM285A1 [Effect Of Homeopathic Remedies On Breast Cancer Cells], EDM286A1 [Homeopathic Medicines In The Treatment Of Moderate To Severe Depression] and EDM287A1 [Homeopathy And Chronic Primary Insomnia].

I therefore urge you to consider the issues and the serious ramifications to both the taxpayer in funding disproven treatments on the NHS, and to the overall health of the nation in recommending pseudo-medicine for such serious issues as severe depression and breast cancer. If you agree that cancer, depression and other illnesses should only be treated with modalities that have been proven to work, I urge you to sign EDM284A1, EDM285A1, EDM286A1 and EDM287A1.

Thank you for your time