Homeopathic product placement

I'm encouraged by news from the Center for Inquiry (CFI), a skeptical organisation in the US. They are suing the CVS and Walmart pharmacies for their placement of homeopathic products alongside real efficacious medical products.CFI refers to Homeopathy as “Fake Medicine”, which it surely is.

Most skeptics will have a reasonable understanding of homeopathy, but I like the plain language on CFI's website:

“Homeopathy is fake medicine. It doesn't treat or cure anything. It's based on junk science. But retailers and pharmacies will sell it to you anyway.”

Back in January, the CFI took a case under consumer protection laws, heard in the District of Columbia. CVS and Walmart made arguments that the Center for Inquiry had no standing as they didn't count as a consumer protection organisation. CFI were having none of that: CFI's Legal Director, Nick Little said:

“What CFI does is consumer protection, whether it is challenging psychics to stop acting as grief vampires, pressing state governments to properly regulate charlatans like acupuncturists and naturopaths, or suing in the DC Courts to stop mega-retailers misrepresenting homeopathy to their customers”

“Opposition to pseudoscience isn't a philosophical position alone; it has a purpose. Fighting quackery is about consumer protection, and that's what we told the court.”

Unfortunately, the trial courts decided that CFI didn't have standing in that their work was theoretical and didn't count as consumer protection. The courts thought that CFI just wanted to show that homeopathy was bunk and that was all.

Secondly, the trial courts asserted that CFI failed to show anything that could reasonably be considered deceptive to consumers. In particular, it appears that both CVS and Walmart put homeopathic products right beside more evidence-based products, leading consumers to think that the dodgy products were real. The trial courts' decision would mean that the retailers bore no responsibility for the product placement and signage.

Anyway, recently the appeals court has reversed the trial courts' decisions - CFI does have standing, and will have their day in court - and they've remanded the case back to the trial courts. It means that CFI will have their day in court, and importantly, will be able to go through proper discovery with the retailers, being able to question their employees on record and generally have to answer the allegation of fraudulent behaviour.

The case has a long way to go, but this is certainly a victory in being able to proceed and get the retailers to justify themselves in front of a jury. We will be watching the case closely.

You can read more about CFI's case on their website.