Mistrust in medicine is widespread, as Sarah Neville’s Big Read shows. As she writes, healthcare workers and officials say falsehoods and conspiracy theories cost lives and exacerbate inequalities. But it is not just conspiracy theorists who are to blame (“How to treat health misinformation”, April 7).
The World Health Organization’s recent embrace of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) endangers the global trend to evidence-based medicine which demands scientific rigour and the highest quality data available.
TCM relies on finding harmony between Yin and Yang, not on the scientific method. Cures are derived from the body parts of animals, often endangered species like pangolins, big cats and rhinos.
The promotion of TCM, especially by official bodies, endorses practices that lack objective validation. The suspicion of medical institutions identified by Neville is not always unjustified.
Dora Henry
Retired Medical Scientist, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
