Difference between revisions of "Merseyside Skeptics Society"
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The stunt was reported to have taken place "at branches of Boots [which sells homeopathic remedies] in places such as Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, London, Leicester, Edinburgh and Birmingham".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8489019.stm Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose'], BBC News, 30 Jan 2010</ref> Someone called [[Michael Marshall]] of the MSS told the BBC that similar stunts were "also planned in Canada, Spain, the US and Australia", an oddly ambitious campaign for a small Merseyside group.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8489019.stm Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose'], BBC News, 30 Jan 2010</ref> | The stunt was reported to have taken place "at branches of Boots [which sells homeopathic remedies] in places such as Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, London, Leicester, Edinburgh and Birmingham".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8489019.stm Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose'], BBC News, 30 Jan 2010</ref> Someone called [[Michael Marshall]] of the MSS told the BBC that similar stunts were "also planned in Canada, Spain, the US and Australia", an oddly ambitious campaign for a small Merseyside group.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8489019.stm Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose'], BBC News, 30 Jan 2010</ref> | ||
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| + | The stunt attacking homeopathy coincided with evidence being given to a UK government [[Science and Technology Committee]] hearing on the continued funding of homeopathy by the NHS. Unsurprisingly, the Science and Technology Committee concluded "that the NHS should cease funding homeopathy. It also concludes that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy. As they are not medicines, homeopathic products should no longer be licensed by the [[MHRA]]."<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/science_technology/s_t_homeopathy_inquiry.cfm MPS URGE GOVERNMENT TO WITHDRAW NHS FUNDING AND MHRA LICENSING OF HOMEOPATHY], Science and Technology Committee, UK Parliament website, accessed 27 Feb 2010</ref> | ||
==People== | ==People== | ||
Revision as of 17:46, 27 February 2010
The Merseyside Skeptics Society (MSS) is a group based in Merseyside, UK which calls itself
- a non-profit organisation which aims to develop and support the skeptical community on Merseyside. The society was founded in February 2009 and holds regular social events in Liverpool City Centre.[1]
The group runs a website called merseysideskeptics.org.uk. Its founder is Mike Hall, who registered the web domain on 30 January 2009.[2]
Contents
Activities
The MSS, in its website section called AntiAntiVax, defends vaccinations of many types against their critics.[3]
It criticizes alternative and complementary therapies/medicines and has prominent links (headed "Great Resources"[4]) to the Quackwatch website, Skeptic magazine, and the James Randi Educational Foundation.[5]
There is considerable similarity in the stance of MSS with that of Sense About Science, with both groups claiming to stand up for science. The MSS states on its website, "we adhere to principles of scientific skepticism, a position which seeks to establish the veracity of scientific and historical claims through a logical and impartial evaluation of the available evidence."[6]
There is also considerable overlap in the campaigns of Sense About Science (SAS) and the MSS. The MSS website has a prominent link to Sense About Science's "Keep libel laws out of science" campaign.[7] Just as (as of February 2010) SAS's "Keep libel laws out of science" campaign focused almost entirely on the case of science writer Simon Singh, who was sued by the British Chiropractic Association for claiming that chiropractic was "bogus" (see Sense About Science, so does the MSS.[8] As at February 2010, both organisations fail to mention on their sites the otherwise widely reported libel case launched by SAS funder GE Healthcare against whistleblower radiologist Henrik Thomsen, after Thomsen drew attention to what he believed were serious health risks of GE Healthcare's Omniscan product (see GE Healthcare, Sense About Science).
Attacking homeopathy
Similarly, both the MSS and SAS criticise alternative medicine such as homeopathy. They both prominently publicised the MSS's stunt of a mass overdose of homeopathic remedies, called "Homeopathy: There's Nothing In It" (on the basis that none of the overdosers suffered any immediate ill effects from the overdose).[9][10][11]
The stunt was reported to have taken place "at branches of Boots [which sells homeopathic remedies] in places such as Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, London, Leicester, Edinburgh and Birmingham".[12] Someone called Michael Marshall of the MSS told the BBC that similar stunts were "also planned in Canada, Spain, the US and Australia", an oddly ambitious campaign for a small Merseyside group.[13]
The stunt attacking homeopathy coincided with evidence being given to a UK government Science and Technology Committee hearing on the continued funding of homeopathy by the NHS. Unsurprisingly, the Science and Technology Committee concluded "that the NHS should cease funding homeopathy. It also concludes that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy. As they are not medicines, homeopathic products should no longer be licensed by the MHRA."[14]
People
Funding
Clients
Publications
Contact
- Address:
- Phone:
- Email:
- Website:
Resources
Notes
- ↑ Who are we?, Merseyside Skeptics Society website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Merseyside Skeptics web domain WhoIs? screengrab, taken 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ The Truth About The Evils Of Vaccination, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Great Resources, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Podcasts page, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ What isn’t skepticism?, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Merseyside Skeptics link to SAS libel laws campaign, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Libel laws and Simon Singh, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Libel laws and Simon Singh, MSS website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Alternative Medicine, SAS website, screenshot taken 27 Feb 2010
- ↑ Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose', BBC News, 30 Jan 2010
- ↑ Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose', BBC News, 30 Jan 2010
- ↑ Sceptics stage homeopathy 'overdose', BBC News, 30 Jan 2010
- ↑ MPS URGE GOVERNMENT TO WITHDRAW NHS FUNDING AND MHRA LICENSING OF HOMEOPATHY, Science and Technology Committee, UK Parliament website, accessed 27 Feb 2010
