Published: 2009-08-25 22:01:44
Author: MARILYNN MARCHIONE and MIKE STOBBE | Associated Press | July 30, 2009
ATLANTA — Americans spend about $34 billion annually on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such out-of-pocket spending in more than a decade.
Chiropractors, acupuncturists and herbal remedies are commanding more consumer dollars as people seek high-touch care in a high-tech society, the report released Thursday by the government shows.
"We are talking about a very wide range of health practices that range from promising and sensible to potentially harmful," said Dr. Josephine Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the federal agency that leads research in this field.
More research into which therapies work is critically needed, because the spending on them is "substantial," she said.
Some consumer advocates say people are wasting money on some products that rigorous studies already have shown don't work.
"Even in these recessionary times, a great deal of money is being spent on some forms of complementary and alternative medicine whose efficacy is questionable," said Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group.
Another advocate, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, who leads Public Citizen's health research, has long criticized the government for what he considers lax regulation of prescription drugs and mainstream medicine. Yet, he also sees problems with the widespread use of supplements.
"People think they are cleared" by the Food and Drug Administration, he said, when in fact they do not need proof of safety or effectiveness to go on the market.
The report is based on a 2007 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of more than 23,000 adults nationwide. An earlier report from this survey, released in December, found that more than one-third of adults use alternative medicine.
That includes a wide range of services from meditation and yoga to dietary supplements, such as echinacea and ginseng. Vitamins and minerals are not included in this report but will be addressed in a future one.