By Guy Chapman
Healthcare in the UK is structured fundamentally differently from that in the US. In fact this is true of most of Europe, where state funded healthcare is the norm and copayments are typically small or non-existent. One of the more visible differences is that doctors typically do not advertise at all, and drug companies are not allowed, by law, to advertise prescription drugs to the general public.
With real healthcare essentially free at the point of delivery - and at a very high standard - you’d be forgiven for thinking that quackery would not get a look-in. If only this were so. The country is awash with homeopaths, naturopaths, reiki “healers”, chiropractors and the like. And yes, cancer quackery too.
And that’s where it gets interesting.
Healthcare in the UK is structured fundamentally differently from that in the US. In fact this is true of most of Europe, where state funded healthcare is the norm and copayments are typically small or non-existent. One of the more visible differences is that doctors typically do not advertise at all, and drug companies are not allowed, by law, to advertise prescription drugs to the general public.
With real healthcare essentially free at the point of delivery - and at a very high standard - you’d be forgiven for thinking that quackery would not get a look-in. If only this were so. The country is awash with homeopaths, naturopaths, reiki “healers”, chiropractors and the like. And yes, cancer quackery too.
And that’s where it gets interesting.
