The night-walkers of Uganda

Key words 
2
alternative medicine:
medical treatment which uses methods that are different from the usual
Western scientific methods. 
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£200m boom as demand for ‘natural’ 
cures soars 
Leap in sales of alternative medicines led by 
women over 35
Caroline Davies
April 20, 2008
Alternative medicines are more and more popular 
in Britain. Sales of herbal and homeopathic 
remedies in chemists, health stores and 
supermarkets have doubled in the last ten years 
and are now worth £200m a year. 
And there is no sign that this trend is going to 
change. The majority of the people who buy 
alternative medicines are women aged 35 years 
and over. Sales will probably reach £265m in the 
next four years. The British Lifestyles report by 
Mintel says that natural cures now have “a better 
reputation for offering legitimate alternatives to 
pharmaceutical-based treatments”. 
One reason for the increase in sales is that the 
British government wants people to get advice 
from pharmacists. Because of this more people 
are trying alternative treatments instead of going 
to doctors. New EU laws require all over-the-
counter herbal medicines in the UK to have 
either Traditional Herbal Medicines Registration 
or full Marketing Authorization. These standards 
make people feel it is safer to buy alternative 
medicines.
Herbal medicines, which are made from plants 
and minerals, account for the fastest increase 
in sales. Scientific tests have shown there 
is evidence that some have positive effects. 
Homeopathic remedies are more controversial 
as critics say that they offer nothing more than 
a placebo effect. Homeopathy is a system of 
therapy based on the idea that illness can be 
treated with drugs in minute doses. 
Modern lifestyles, longer working hours and 
stress have all made people turn to alternative 
medicine. Although one in five people suffer 
from stress and insomnia, many do not want 
to tell their doctors, as they don’t want to have 
black marks on their medical records. Others 
don’t want people to know that they take 
antidepressants, while others worry that they 
might develop an addiction to pharmaceutical 
drugs. For many, alternative medicines are the 
natural answer. 
Edzard Ernst, professor of alternative medicine 
at Exeter University, said he was not surprised 
at the increase in sales. “The last time I checked 
there were 40 million websites promoting 
alternative medicine, and many herbal medicines 
do work.” 
“But homeopathy doesn’t work,” he said. “And 
people should know what they are taking, 
otherwise they could cause more harm than 
good. Some remedies don’t work well with 
prescribed medicines.” 
While researching his latest book about 
alternative medicine, Ernst said his co-author, Dr 
Simon Singh, visited ten homeopathic outlets and 
asked for protection from malaria. “All the outlets 
offered some, and the people were all very nice, 
but the nightmare begins when you return home 
from your holiday with malaria.”