The Advertising Standards Authority on Friday ordered 150 homeopaths all over the country to stop advertising fake claims regarding autism cures.
The advertising watchdog has prosecuted five alternative medicine experts on counts of false claims of curing autism.
Cease therapy is based on the idea that certain environmental toxins and vaccines cause autism. Homeopathic experts claim to cure autism by dietary supplements and the elimination of these toxins.
The National Autistic Society states that autism is not a disease that can be cured; it is who people are. There is no data to link autism with vaccines and so-called toxins. Cease therapy can be potentially harmful, experts say.
Chief Executive of ASA, Guy Parker has warned homeopaths not to make direct or indirect claims that they can cure autism. He said that moving ahead, those failing to comply with the orders will be sanctioned further.
Cease therapy stands for Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression. The method involves dosing children with four to five times more Zinc than recommended levels, and large quantities of Vitamin C.
An overdose of Zinc can lead to weak bones, and that of Vitamin C causes vomiting and diarrhea.
London South Bank University Professor Nicola Martin said that Cease therapy is “based on no scientific foundation whatsoever”. She also added,
Psychologically it’s really harmful to give parents the idea that the way to love and nurture their autistic child is to try and cure their autism.
