Representing Homeopaths in Europe. A response from ECCH to the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Health in Europe; a strategic approach

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1 The European Council for Classical Homeopathy School House, Market Place, Kenninghall, Norfolk NR16 2AH United Kingdom Telephone & Fax: (44) Representing Homeopaths in Europe A response from ECCH to the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Health in Europe; a strategic approach "There is growing evidence that focusing holistically on wellness can reduce healthcare costs by emphasizing prevention over treatment," The Economist January 07 Introduction to ECCH The European Council for Classical Homeopathy is a council of 27 professional associations of homeopathy practitioners active in 23 European countries including 16 EU member states. Established in1990 it has a secretariat based in the UK and is run by a small executive of parttime paid officers. ECCH is a member of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the European Forum for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (EFCAM) and has NGO Participatory Status with the Council of Europe. This response can also be considered the formal response from the European Forum for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (EFCAM) of which ECCH is a member. Both ECCH and EFCAM advocate for a more holistic and integrated approach to health based primarily in prevention and utilising the best of conventional and complementary health care for each patient based on individual needs. CAM the link between Prevention and Conventional Medicine The EU Commission and Member States have grasped the nettle of prevention and the fact that lifestyle and environmental factors play a major role in determining how and when citizens become ill. Conventional medicine with its focus on disease has developed interventions that treat and manage the end points of people becoming ill and has a myriad of screening techniques to catch disease in its early stages. What connects the two aspects of prevention and treatment of diseases is the appreciation and treatment of the patient as a whole integrated living system interacting with their life environment. Complementary medicine, and homeopathy in particular, takes this approach and applies treatments in order to restore patients to health before they come to the point of needing drugs to manage their condition or surgery. The CAM approach works to stimulate and support the patient s own self- healing homeostatic mechanism and through in-depth case-taking helps to identify the causative factors in the patient s lifestyle to encourage them to alter their lifestyle. Additionally CAM approaches address a range of illnesses conventional medicine has no answer for it fills effectiveness gaps. This is why increasing numbers of patients seek out such treatments. In our view there needs to be a greening of health care where wellness through prevention is the first priority, holistic treatment is the first choice when people first become ill and disease targeted pharmaceuticals and surgery are used when the first two options have not been successful. Response to the EU Health Strategy Consultation 1. How should we prioritise between and within all these areas to focus on those which add real value at the EU level? In which areas is action at the EU level indispensable, and in which is it desirable? For example, is there a means to use the Healthy Life Years indicator or other outcome measurements to give weight to areas on which the EU should concentrate? P. 1 of 4 pages ECCH Response to EU Health Strategy Consultation

2 Core issues: the time has come for health to be put at the centre of EU policy making. David Byrne Enabling good heath for all July 2004, In relation to prosperity, population health is a key factor for productivity and growth, and this is reflected in the Lisbon agenda; DG Sanco Health in Europe: a strategic approach The Lisbon Agenda: a comment Is the drive for prosperity and competitiveness good for health and happiness? Whose agenda does it serve? Should health and happiness of citizens be factors that are only considered for the fact that they serve the Lisbon agenda or should the Lisbon agenda actually be re-focused to serve the health and happiness of EU citizens? Is the constant drive for more a good thing? The rapid industrialisation and commercialisation of life has brought us global warming, a factor that in the long-term could have huge impact on the health of citizens. Amongst citizens there is an increasing level of alienation and rising mental ill-health together with high levels of chronic disease, much of it related to work-stress of one kind or another but also due to the constant barrage of commercial pressure to spend money on wave after wave of new products. Levels of personal debt across the EU are at record levels. Do the rising tide of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and mental disease across the EU indicate that the current approach to health care is fundamentally faulted? And does it point to something deeper, in the economic agenda that seeks to generate ever greater profits for huge global corporations, including the pharmaceutical industry? Prevention Thankfully the issue of prevention has now been taken on board by the EU and the basic CAM naturopathic principles of good diet, adequate exercise, adequate liquid consumption, clean air, etc. have been recognized as fundamental to preserving good health and preventing disease. We also welcome the strong focus on preventing smoking and alcohol abuse that has finally emerged in EU policy. These new areas are indispensable aspects of continued EU focus. One area where the EU has failed is in allowing a weak REACH to be passed through allowing thousands of potentially dangerous chemicals to be ineffectively regulated. REACH should be brought back to the legislative table for review as early as possible Health Inequalities Access to the benefits of CAM is an important area where inequalities exist. Because so much CAM provision is in the private services sector it is only those who can afford to pay for it that have access to it. It is well known that the better socio-economic strata of society live longer healthier lives and their use of CAM in achieving that statistical difference needs to be researched. Of course there are many other factors involved and a continued focus on this area is indispensable. Integrating CAM s holistic perspective and practices into national health care provision is essential for this aspect of health inequalities to be addressed. Making Healthy Choices People who make healthy choices tend to choose CAM as part of their health care provision. More than just about diet etc. it is also a reflection of people taking more responsibility for their own health. No longer relying on the man in a white coat they are stepping outside the prescribed model of health care and making their own informed choices. In order to do that effectively they need information that is clear and unbiased. This includes information on both CAM and conventional pharmaceuticals. The Information to Patients initiative should provide information on drugs and CAM and should be the job of an independent EU body Health in all policies Article 152 of the EU Treaty states that a high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities. Fundamentally every policy area impacts on health one way or another. The totally inadequate funding of the health budget by the EU must be challenged on this basis and the role of DGSANCO strengthened. The recently adopted REACH directive was weakened in the end to meet the demands of industry and as a result thousands of chemicals of potential threat to human health remain P. 2 of 4 pages ECCH Response to EU Health Strategy Consultation

3 inadequately regulated. Yet the rising tide of cancer across the EU is one area where chemicals in people s ever day environment are clearly implicated. The directive must be reviewed within a short time-scale and an attempt made to strengthen it in identified areas. CAP reform The phasing out of subsidies to grow tobacco has been an EU success story( together with the current smoking ban agenda). Another area that needs tackling is that of Intensive modern farming which is producing de-nutrified food that is lacking in essential minerals, trace elements and vitamins. CAP should be made far more supportive of a return to more local, sustainable and organic farming practices so as to increase the quality of nutrition of EU citizens. The relationship between the large supermarket conglomerates and the agriculture industry needs to be investigated at EU level. Supermarkets continually drive down the prices paid to farmers who are at the same time paid subsidies by the EU. In essence the EU is subsidising supermarket profits. The rise in chronic illness Despite the sectoral approach of previous EU health policy frameworks and despite the billions invested in research by the pharmaceutical industry and other research interests there is a rising tide of cancer across Europe with breast cancer in particular increasing at an alarming rate. The pharmaceutical industry constantly looks for drug treatments and preventions for this disease but what is needed is an in depth investigation into the causes in order to prevent it happening. The pill and HRT have been implicated in the rise in certain cancers in women but there are other factors involved including diet and chemicals in the very day environment, cosmetics etc. Stress is a commonly identified factor in the rise in mental health problems and physical conditions such as heart disease and cancer. One large source is work stress due often from people working long hours in unrewarding jobs. Here again the large commercial industries are implicated as they seek to make ever increasing profits at the expense of their workers and their workers health. Homeopathy and CAM practices in general have a huge contribution to make in treating these people in that it is the whole person that is taken into account, and listened to, and not just some diagnosable condition that is then prescribed for. If stress is the cause then how individuals deal with it needs to be assessed and supported holistically not just the resulting disease process. Global Health Issues The high mobility of the World s population and the transport of food around the globe means that it is inevitable that transmissible diseases are going to spread rapidly around the planet. While the EU may set bio-safety standards for food produced and transported within it, it cannot do this for countries outside its borders. Through past EU intervention anti-biotics in the animal food industry have been drastically produced but this is not the case outside the EU. For animal food products in particular far greater emphasis in policy making should be placed on food being grown and sold locally to promote and protect human and animal health. An additional benefit to such policy is a reduction in food miles and their impact on the environment. The role of herbal and homeopathic medicines in animal food production should also seriously be investigated as a substitute for anti-biotics and other chemicals in the human food chain. Preliminary data already exists but central funding is needed to seriously investigate these avenues. 2. What should we realistically aim to achieve in practice in these areas of work? What broad objectives should we set for the short term and long term 5 years and 10 years? An in-depth review and focused research is needed into the causes of ill-health in the EU over the next 10 years. That research should be carried out independently of the pharmaceutical industry which has too narrow a focus. The research and analysis should not stop at the simple physical causes of disease but should go into the very nature of 21 st century life. Climate change is already apparently running out of our control, along with this are predictions of epidemics of cancer, diabetes, obesity, HIV/AIDS, mental disease, anti-biotic resistant superbugs etc. Deep analysis at the causal level is needed if these juggernauts are to be turned around. P. 3 of 4 pages ECCH Response to EU Health Strategy Consultation

4 3. Are there issues where legislation would be appropriate? What other non-legislative instruments should be used for example, a process similar to the Open Method of Coordination? How can we make better use of Impact Assessment? All instruments at the EU s disposal should be used as and when appropriate. Health impact assessment should be practised across the board in all areas of EU policy. As pointed out elsewhere all policies impact on health. 4. How can different approaches be used and combined, for example approaches to different health determinants, lifecycle approaches, and strategies on key settings (education, the workplace, health care settings)? A holistic approach to understanding health and wellbeing is essential. Wellness and ill-health are multi-factorial in what influences them. CAM is already being combined effectively with conventional medical approaches in a small but growing number of settings. These innovative developments in integrated health care need to be analysed as a means of finding a new kind of health care that is more holistic and preventive in its approach as well as in the long run being more economical. Millions of people advancing into senior years dependent on long-term multi - prescriptions of drugs in not the answer and neither can it be called good health Information is the key and a coherent cross-sectoral approach is essential to getting key messages across in all settings. 5. How can we ensure that progress is made and that objectives are met? For example, should indicators or milestones be used? What measures or indicators could show real short term change, within the early years of the Strategy? Indicators and milestones should be used in all areas. BUT it is important to consider which indicators and milestones should be used and who sets them. Asking the wrong questions produces mis-leading data. Declining levels of the various diseases named above would be obvious indicators. Decreasing dependence on conventional drugs would be another. Health and happiness are synonymous and indicators for both should be prime measures. 6. How do we ensure that the Strategy adds value to actions at Member State level? How can the responsibility for implementation be shared between the EU and Member States? Member states acting in isolation are enriched by knowledge of the broader spectrum of health related information from across the EU. Comparative data collected by the EU is enormously helpful in highlighting differences in member state situations and for identifying causal factors in those differences. The work of WHO in this area is a good example. Despite Article 152 s protective clause, the increasing mobility of citizens, the growing number of common health threats and pan-eu increases in chronic diseases such as cancer etc. means collaborative action between member states health services at EU level is essential to create a more level playing field for patients and service providers. 7. How could methods for involving stakeholders be improved? How can we create innovative partnerships with stakeholders? This question would seem to imply that the DG SANCO is not happy with how the Health Forum is functioning. Neither are we. Certainly, despite its wide use in the EU, CAM so far has not achieved a representative seat at the Health Forum Council. This should be facilitated as soon as possible in order to bring its holistic message to the table. Additionally we feel it would be useful for the Commission to engage directly with a broad platform of CAM users and CAM service and product providers to investigate the area more effectively and its potential role in a developing a greener and more holistic approach to health in the EU. Stephen Gordon General Secretary, European Council for Classical Homeopathy (ECCH) Coordinator, European Forum for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (EFCAM) P. 4 of 4 pages ECCH Response to EU Health Strategy Consultation

5 This paper represents the views of its author on the subject. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission's or Health & Consumer Protection DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.