Prescribing rights
  St John's worts
  Pharmacy technicians
  Prescription guidelines
  Professional development
  In-store pharmacies
  The Society
  Prescription chanrges
  Foot & mouth disease

Foot & Mouth disease

Homoeopathic borax

From Professor J. J. Perrin, MRPharmS

I could not agree more with Bill Bowman (PJ, April14, p506) concerning homoeopathic borax (PJ, March 24, p379). Clearly the contributed article was designed to promote the sales of homoeopathic borax to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. Already this national emergency has been mishandled by authorities and bad decisions by individuals in the farming communities have apparently contributed to the spread of the disease. I am horrifed to think that quackery in pharmacy may have contributed to this spread following a thinly veiled advertisement in the PJ. I question whether any pharmacist who sold homoeopathic borax in connection with the foot and mouth epidemic is really fit to be practising pharmacy.

John Perrin
Professor Medicinal Chemistry
University of Florida
United States

The original item (PJ, March 24, p379) was commissioned from Dr Steven Kayne because we were aware that enquiries were being made by farmers about the role of borax as a prophylaxis for foot and mouth disease. However, careful reading of the item does not support Professor Perrin's interpretation that Dr Kayne or The Journal were advocating its use.
—EDITOR.

Previous (Prescription charges)
Send your letter to The Editor