ONE of Manchester's top homeopathic consultants has hit back at claims that alternative medicines are useless.

A study by Swiss scientists published in The Lancet last week said the remedies were weak and nothing more than a tonic.

But Mohammed Zafar, senior homeopathic consultant at the A.Z Homeopathic Clinic in Levenshulme, disagrees.

He says he sees daily success stories that prove the worth of homeopathy, which has been around for 250 years.

"I refuse to believe the results of the study carried out in Switzerland," he said.

"We all know it works - we see positive results every day in our practice.

Important

"Thousands of children and animals have been treated with homeopathic remedies and have had their symptoms eased, which disproves the theory that the cure is all in the mind." The scientists from the University of Berne concluded there was "no convincing evidence" that homeopathic treatments were better than tonics or placebos, whereas conventional medicines had an "important effect".

But they said homeopathy may work if people believe in it - so success is a state of the mind.

Britons spend £130m a year on complementary medicines such as acupuncture, herbalism and reflexology.

Just this week the Prince of Wales, a passionate campaigner for homeopathy, commissioned a report into its benefits.

Mr Mohammed Zafar said: "There's a lot of money to be made from cures, which is why pharmaceutical studies are so quick to rubbish homeopathy. Pharmaceutical medicines have a lot to answer for.

Money-spinners

"They often have to be taken permanently to keep symptoms at bay and frequently other medicines have to be taken, too, to control side-effects. Therefore, the medicines they create become real money-spinners."

The Faculty of Homeopathy, the professional body that brings together GPs and hospital doctors who support alternative remedies, has also rubbished the report.

Dr Peter Fisher, clinical director of the Royal Homeopathic Hospital in London said: "My suspicion is that this report is being selective to try to discredit homeopathy."

And an overwhelming 98 per cent of people in yesterday's M.E.N. Debate poll thought that homeopathy worked.

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