Homeopathy bill

It Is hard to believe £12 million is still being wasted by scottish health boards on largely useless homeopathy (your report, 23 October). supposed “active agents” are diluted to zero concentration and then what is then nothing but water is reported to effect cures.

Cures for what? the most that can be gained is a placebo effect, linked to just being able to talk to practitioners, a feelgood factor which is irrelevant to accepted medical treatments for physical illnesses.

Where are the objectively authenticated studies confirming that homeopathy treatments are effective for cancers, liver disease, renal failure, broken bones and all the other ailments which beset people.

By all means keep homeopathy available for those who find it somehow helps them, but not funded from the public purse – those who want it, and who apparently get the feel-good factor which is helpful in some way, should pay for it themselves, as they do with over-thecounter medicines including “herbal remedies”.

Asking for a review public provision, as the are reportedly doing, is of its tories point- less – being given just water is its own indicator.

(dr) Joe dArBy

seals

are the news scottish environment Protection Agency and scottish Natural heritage did not object to the planning application to site another 46 cages of factory farmed salmon in Loch Kanaird (your report, 23 October) raises serious questions about the ability or willingness of the scottish Government to protect our fragile marine environment.

Alex salmond and his ministers are unhealthily close to the aquaculture industry.

On their frequent meetings with Chinese politicians our government officials act as unpaid sales reps for salmon farms in scotland, the majority of which are owned by Norwegian parent companies. As Norwegian businesses beat the Chinese boycott of Norwegian goods by selling them tartan-tinted salmon we do nothing to curb the expansion of the industry and the pollution that brings to scottish sea lochs.

scottish

being

shot on a daily basis and scottish salmon and sea trout are being killed by sea lice which are endemic in factory farmed salmon.

these direct adverse effects of salmon farming cause great harm to the scottish tourist economy. the scottish Government should be forcing fish farmers to clean up their act instead of colluding with them in their myopic drive for profit.

John f roBIns save our seals fund OBjeCtOrs call the decision by highland Council to allow changes to a Wester ross salmon farm undemocratic only because they didn’t get their way.

they say that the council didn’t listen to the facts even though their facts are clearly wrong. My understanding is that this salmon farm is not expanding as claimed. It is simply replacing their existing cages with new. this will allow them to reduce the total number of fish as the new cages will allow a more effective management of the farm.

this is simply a case of “not in my back yard”, even though the farm has been operational since 1977. (dr) MArTIn JAffA

callander Mcdowell The re-offending plan is all well and good on paper. But will training prisoners in work skills guarantee them a job on release? No. Will anyone supervise them with their daily doses of medication given to them on release? No. It is a commendable effort by the authorities doomed to failure and already shunned by the majority of those who qualify for the scheme.

- View From The Shed Are we surprised by this? surely self improvement requires a certain degree of effort.

- Draco Was a Wimp What do you get for a £65 million upgrade?

- Frac The obvious way to cut re-offending is to make prison so hellish that anybody who has been there will be too scared to go back. that’s not going to take £65 million. It would By the look of their comfy cells it’s not hard to understand why they would prefer to just lie back and relax than listen to some misguided, well-meaning person telling them the facts of life.

- Creeker It seems to me that participation in these programmes should be mandatory. the assertion that the confines are too attractive is ludicrous.

- Melissmcmlx Why do we allow prisoners to opt out of these programmes?

- Livibudgie If prison was made significantly less attractive than it is at present, re-offending would drop as the possibility of a return to prison would be a viable deterrent. A far harsher regime along the lines of Cool Hand Luke would pay dividends in fairly short order.

- Hippounter