Snake Oil Science — The Truth about Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Like most young fields, CAM research lacks ‘internal criticism’ — while some forms of CAM are ancient, research into this area is in its infancy. Criticism, of course, frequently comes from the outside, often by people who ‘insiders’ find ill-informed. ‘Inside’ CAM, we see embarrassingly little critical evaluation. Barker Bausell most certainly comes from the ‘inside’ and he is definitely critical about CAM; this makes his book unusual, ground-breaking and, I think, important.

Barker Bausell describes himself as a research methodologist (for many years he has advised Brian Berman’s group on research methodology) and his book looks at CAM from this perspective. One might fear that this would make it dry and tedious. Not so — his book is highly informative, easy to read and full of entertaining wit and humour.

The reader is taken on a fascinating journey with intriguing landmarks. We learn about placebos and placebo effects, about the difficulties we often encounter in making valid inferences, about the necessity for scientific rigour and how to achieve it. The ultimate question which Barker Bausell asks is, do any of the CAM treatments really work? His answer is a clear and simple ‘no’ — they are ‘nothing more than cleverly packaged placebos’.

His verdict will disappoint many, but it will generate discussion of a type which is badly needed if this field is to have a future. You may agree or disagree with Barker Bausell’s judgements, but you cannot help but admire his intellect, his clarity of argument and his uncanny ability to focus on the things that really matter.

Bausell’s book is aimed at the consumer and is written in an entertaining style such that the consumer will understand most of the issues and enjoy reading the book. But in a way, it is too good a book to be read by the lay audience only. I warmly recommend it to healthcare professionals who work in CAM or have an interest in this area. One would have to search hard and long to find a more eloquent or intelligent critique of CAM!