Beatrice Lorenzin withdraws the preface to the book In praise of homeopathy

Fedaisf editorial staff

October 31, 2015

Giovanni Gorga, president of Omeoimprese, announces that Beatrice Lorenzin, Minister of Health, has withdrawn the preface which he had written for the book In Praise of Homeopathy.

THEFurthermore, in order to interrupt political exploitation caused by the preface to the book by Beatrice Lorenzin and while aware that a Minister of Health is the minister of the entire medical profession and not only of the detractors of homeopathy, I specify that only a few days ago it I was informed that the preface sent to me was not authorized but the result of an error. Therefore it was decided to reprint the volume without the preface so as not to allow other exploitation.

Those of CICAP had written a letter to Lorenzin to ask her about that preface to Gorga's book. Here is the text of the letter from CICAP (which can be sign here) to the Minister of Health:

The Minister of Health, Beatrice Lorenzin, wrote the preface of the book In Praise of Homeopathy (Cairo Editore, Milan). The author is Giovanni Gorga, president of Omeoimprese, the association that brings together the main Italian companies producing homeopathic remedies. A biased publication, perfectly legitimate in a pluralistic society. What is inappropriate is that it is the Minister of Health, with his preface, who indirectly supports its content.

uThe Minister of Health has the institutional duty to inform citizens of the position of the scientific community with regard to available therapies. Minister Lorenzin has adopted an impeccable behavior in the case of vaccines, supporting their need and highlighting the health risks of refusing them.

Homeopathy enjoys popularity and consensus, but no one has ever demonstrated that it can achieve superior results to the simple placebo effect, ie it lacks specific efficacy. Authoritative scholars then consider it anything but harmless. Nobel laureate Rita Levi Montalcini recalled, for example, that «Homeopathy is a potentially harmful non-cure because it distracts patients from truly effective therapies».

Many studies, also recently published in serious and recognized medical journals (see below some of the most recent, particularly severe against homeopathy), confirm this sad reality. We say "sad" because we would all like to have other useful therapies available to complement those already recognized as having proven efficacy.

We therefore hope that the Ministry of Health will correct the misunderstandings that the Minister's preface can generate, clearly communicating to citizens what the best research carried out at an international level allows us to affirm in relation to homeopathy.