Could I sell bottled water as homeopathic medicine?

[MikeG]

Homeopathic medicines have concentrations so low that it is physically impossible to measure or detect the “active” ingredients in them.

What’s stopping me from bottling water and selling it as homeopathic medicine? Is there any way someone could prove that the medicine is ineffective or not as advertised?

[SenorBeef]

Assuming you mean the US:

Yes, that’s essentially exactly what existing homeopathic remedies are. If you don’t make a specific claim (“this stuff will cure cancer/aids/MS!”) but rather general claims “this will boost your immune system and promote health”, the FDA won’t be able to stop you. The laws on this country regulating medicines or “suppliments” that make no specific medical claims are extremely lax.

Homeopathic remedies aren’t even required to be homeopathic, which would at least render them harmless (and useless) because it’s just water. Zicam claims to be a homeopathic remedy but is actually loaded with enough zinc to damage people’s sense of smell.

[Yorikke]

No, I don’t think there’s anything stopping you from making a fortune doing this.

Joe

[Musicat]

Did you potentize it first by tapping it against a leather pad exactly 10 times while spinning around clockwise and reciting the Hahnemann good luck spell seven times? Gotta do that!

[MikeG]

What do you know, i found something effective on a homeopathy website!! Specifically, a virus which wiped out my hd.

[Duckster]

You will need a catchy name.

Just don’t use Dihydrogen Monoxide. It won’t sell that well.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

There’s an interesting question here, though. I’d assume that if I call something 30x calendula or whatever, I’m making a specific claim, and if I hadn’t actually diluted calendula 30x (or whatever, I don’t know how it’s supposed to work) but had just bottled some water, even though the water would be functionally equivalent to 30x calendula, I’d be committing fraud.

Same as if I said that I picked this rutabaga under a full moon, when really the moon was crescent, or if I said a rabbi had approved a particular kitchen’s kosher status when no such thing had happened. It might make no nutritional or scientific difference, but wouldn’t I be acting illegally?

[Don_t_Panic]

If you want to make a buck, though, you’d be better off selling bottled water as bottled water. It seems to be selling like hotcakes.

[Musicat]

@Left_Hand_of_Dorkness

There’s an interesting question here, though. I’d assume that if I call something 30x calendula or whatever, I’m making a specific claim, and if I hadn’t actually diluted calendula 30x (or whatever, I don’t know how it’s supposed to work) but had just bottled some water, even though the water would be functionally equivalent to 30x calendula, I’d be committing fraud.

Who could prove you didn’t? The “active” ingredients in homeopathic preparations are undetectable.

Same as if I said that I picked this rutabaga under a full moon, when really the moon was crescent, or if I said a rabbi had approved a particular kitchen’s kosher status when no such thing had happened. It might make no nutritional or scientific difference, but wouldn’t I be acting illegally?

There are companies like Kosher Overseers that oversee and certify that kind of stuff, so if you claimed kosher approval, you might be asked to prove it.

The trick is to claim something that cannot be proven, but sounds good.

[Hari_Seldon]

But first you will have to dilute it 10:1 100 times.

[TriPolar]

Why don’t you just sell bottled water? That’s profitable enough.

[Covered_In_Bees]

@Musicat

Did you potentize it first by tapping it against a leather pad exactly 10 times while spinning around clockwise and reciting the Hahnemann good luck spell seven times? Gotta do that!

Uh oh, is that how I’m supposed to be doing it? I better give some people a call then, I can’t remember if I was spinning clockwise or counter clockwise and my leather pad may have just been pleather.

[kanicbird]

@MikeG

Homeopathic medicines have concentrations so low that it is physically impossible to measure or detect the “active” ingredients in them.

What’s stopping me from bottling water and selling it as homeopathic medicine? Is there any way someone could prove that the medicine is ineffective or not as advertised?

Try it and see. One recent poster had the attitude that homeopathic medicine was not any different from water and actually considered just substituting tap water into ‘her?’ business of making them, but the spiritual powers that be would not allow it, procedure had to be followed strictly though ‘she?’ didn’t believe in it, and there was a person in her family who believed it would cure also - so all bases covered. She actually used her experience in making homeopathic medicine as a example of how it was bunk, though all she said was she followed strict procedures regardless of her feelings, and did OK in sales.

So you are free to try it to see if you succeed, it may not even be possible for you to do at all.

[Jackmannii]

It’s not just dilution, people! One must not forget the succussion!!!

Selling plain water without the sympathetic magic might be very hard to prove without a whistleblower at the company, but it’d still be (a laughable form of) fraud.

[Dano83860]

You could market it as a diet drink and make a killing.

[Wallenstein]

I’d be interested in the proper legal answer to LHoD’s point. If I am careful not to pass these off as “cures” for illness, do I actually have to use calendula or arnica to make my potion, or is tap water ok.

I know the customers won’t be able to tell the difference, but if I get inspected by Trading Stadards (or an equivalent body) so I have to show that I’ve been through the meaningless ritual before I sell my wares?

[Wallenstein]

In fact, it does look like in the EU there are rules which govern this:

A homeopathic medicinal product is defined in European legislation (Article 1(5) of Directive 2001/83/EC as amended by 2004/27/EC as: ‘Any medicinal product prepared from substances called homeopathic stocks in accordance with a homeopathic manufacturing procedure described by the European Pharmacopoeia or, in the absence thereof, by the pharmacopoeias currently used officially in the Member States. A homeopathic medicinal product may contain a number of principles’.

***Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency **
*
Lots more information hereif anyone is interested. My interpretation from a quick scan is that if you call a remedy “homeopathic” you do have to follow certain criteria, and you can’t just full up from the local spring (even if you like in Peckham).

[Wallenstein]

Sorry, lack of edit means several posts.

There is an exemption in the UK for herbal remedies which I guess might apply to homeopathy:

Section 12(1) allows a person to make, sell and supply a herbal remedy during the course of their business provided the remedy is manufactured or assembled on the premises and that it is supplied as a consequence of a consultation between the person and their patient. Section 12 (2) allows the manufacture, sale or supply of herbal remedies where:

the process to which the plant or plants are subjected consists only of drying, crushing or comminuting;
the remedy is sold without any written recommendation as to its use; and
the remedy is sold under a designation which only specifies the plant(s) and the process, and does not apply any other name to the remedy.

[dangermom]

@Dano83860

You could market it as a diet drink and make a killing.

Yeah! Or an energy drink.

[Musicat]

It would be an interesting court case if someone did use tap water and sell it as a homeopathic cure. The most logical defense is that it is exactly the same thing and no one can distinguish between a “real” preparation and a “fake” one. If I were the defense, I’d challenge anyone to come forward to present a test to tell the difference.