More people than ever are using alternative medicine. But, as expert Dr Paul Offit explains, these untested therapies are ineffective, expensive and even deadly.

Now that homeopathic remedies are offered on the NHS, it’s clear that various therapies once considered alternative or complementary, have become mainstream – prescribed to burn fat, shrink prostates, alleviate colds, reduce stress, eliminate pain and prevent cancer. At the same time, uptake of effective vaccines such as MMR has fallen – a disturbing trend which, in the case of the MMR, has lead to a sharp rise in the number of measles cases.

In ‘Killing Us Softly’ Paul Offit reveals, alternative medicine – an unregulated industry under no obligation to prove its claims or admit its risks – can actually be very harmful. In ‘Killing Us Softly’ he exposes how:

• Homeopathic asthma preparations and bogus cancer cures have replaced life-saving medicines.
• Acupuncture needles have pierced hearts, lungs, and livers and transmitted viruses, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
• Chiropractic manipulations have torn arteries.
• Megavitamins increase the risk of cancer and heart disease—a fact well known to scientists but virtually unknown to the public.

Using real-life case histories to back his argument, Dr Offit shows us why any medical treatment – alternative or conventional – must be properly evaluated. ‘There’s no such thing as alternative medicine. There’s only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t.’

“Offit is a rare combination of scientist, doctor, communicator and advocate. . . . What is needed is more people like [him] willing to engage the skeptics in a debate that just will not go away.” (Financial Times, on Deadly Choices)

“Few scientists are willing to touch this third rail of science publicity; Offit grabs it with two hands.” (Newsweek, on Autism's False Prophets)

Paul A. Offit, M.D., is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. An expert in the field of vaccines, he is a recipient of many awards, including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of Maryland Medical School; the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Disease Society of America; and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. Visit his website at www.paul-offit.com.