Back Trick or treatment Spanish نیرنگ یا درمان Persian ריפוי או פיתוי HE Aghi, pozioni e massaggi Italian 代替医療のトリック Japanese Ни кошелька, ни жизни. Нетрадиционная медицина под следствием Russian Salvekvick och kvacksalveri Swedish
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Simon Singh, Edzard Ernst |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Alternative medicine |
| Publisher | Bantam Press |
Publication date | 2008 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 0-593-06129-2 |
| OCLC | 190777228 |
Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (North American title: Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine)[1] is a 2008 book by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst.[2][3][4] The book evaluates the scientific evidence for alternative medicines such as acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, and chiropractic,[2] and briefly covers 36 other treatments. It finds that the scientific evidence for these alternative treatments is generally lacking. The authors concluded that homeopathy is merely a placebo.[5]
Although Trick or Treatment presents evidence that acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal remedies have limited efficacy for certain ailments, the authors conclude that the dangers of these treatments outweigh any potential benefits. Such potential risks outlined by the authors are contamination or unexpected interactions between components in the case of herbal medicine, risk of infection in the case of acupuncture and the potential for chiropractic manipulation of the neck to cause delayed stroke.
The book, dedicated in an ironic fashion to Prince Charles, is critical of his advocacy of alternative medicine and the actions of his now-defunct The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health.
- ^ ISBN 0-393-06661-4
- ^ a b Murcott, Toby (12 June 2008). "Complementary cures tested". Nature. 453 (7197): 856–857. Bibcode:2008Natur.453..856M. doi:10.1038/453856a.
- ^ Metcalf, Fran (20 June 2008). "Alternative medicines draws fire". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
- ^ Marcus, Donald M. (6 November 2008). "Book Review". The New England Journal of Medicine. 359 (19): 2076–2077. doi:10.1056/NEJMbkrev0805020.
- ^ Leggatt, Johanna (8 November 2008). "Complementary medicine: seeking out alternatives". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2009.