Sadly the NCCAM has requested $122 million for its FY 08 budget and they’ll likely get it. After decades of research and tons of cash spent what do we have to show for it, nothing. Well not exactly nothing we have more studies showing that none of it works better than other placebo effects. When are we going to wake up and smell the coffee, disband the NCCAM and give the money to NIH to help us actually improve health care.
It’s one thing for private individuals in the US to waste their own $40 Billion per year on placebo effects but, it’s totally unfair to spend my tax dollars on studying these bogus treatments. No matter how many CAM studies show there ineffectiveness, people will keep spending their money on quackery. Many of these CAM practices have been shown ineffective for centuries yet people keep buying in do to wishful thinking and deluded or fraudulent practitioners. 😦
Hat tip to Orac for pointing this out this insanity.
Paul Hutchinson's Blog 