Homeopathy is no more effective than a placebo , a national medical review has found . The National Health and Medical Research Council recently conducted a study into evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy for treating health conditions , concluding that this method of therapy is ineffective . It further warned that those who choose homeopathy treatments over others 'may put their health at risk ' . Yet the Australian Homeopathic Association has criticised the NHMRC 's 'biased ' review , saying homeopathy is one of the most used medical systems in the world - among them being about one million Australians . Homeopathy is a type of alternative and natural form of medicine , which is based on the notion that substances that may cause illness in a healthy person can treat those symptoms in a person who is unwell . Consequently about $ 10 million is spent on homeopathy by Australians , according to the World Health Organisation . Scroll down for video . The National Health and Medical Research Council recently conducted a study into evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy for treating health conditions , concluding that this method of therapy is ineffective . The study further warned that those who choose homeopathy treatments over others 'may put their health at risk ' The NHMRC 's conclusion , released on Wednesday , is based on the findings of more than 1800 papers . Although there were some studies which showed that homeopathy was effective , the NHMRC states they were assessed as being 'small or of poor quality ' . 'These studies had either too few participants , poor design , poor conduct and or reporting to allow reliable conclusions to be drawn on the effectiveness of homeopathy , ' it states . From the research , the NHMRC further warned that homeopathy should not be used as an alternative to treat health conditions that are chronic or serious . 'People who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness , ' the study states . 'Those who use homeopathy should tell their health practitioner and should keep taking any prescribed treatments . ' About $ 10 million is spent on homeopathy by Australians , according to the World Health Organisation . NHMRC 's CEO Professor Warwick Anderson says all medical treatments should be supported by reliable evidence . 'NHMRC 's review shows that there is no good quality evidence to support the claim that homeopathy works better than a placebo , ' he said . Homeopathy is a type of complementary and alternative medicine , according to the National Health and Medical Research Council . It is based on two main ideas : . Homeopathic medicines include pellets placed under the tongue , tablets , liquids , ointments , sprays and creams . 'From this review , the main recommendation for Australians is that they should not rely on homeopathy as a substitute for proven , effective treatments . ' But in an open letter to Professor Anderson , the Australian Homeopathic Association accused the authors of the NHMRC review of being biased . 'Homeopathy is one of the most used medical systems in the world , with an estimated one million Australians choosing homeopathy as part of their health care , ' the association said in a statement . 'In Europe over 30 million people use homeopathic medicine , in India over 100 million people depend solely on homeopathic medicine . ' The association says homeopathy is not ideally suited to systematic reviews such as the NHMRC 's as the therapy is ' a holistic system of medicine that focuses on the unique situation of each individual 's overall health ' .
Medical study found there is 'no good quality evidence ' that homeopathy is effective in treating health conditions . Comment: It further warned that those who choose homeopathy treatments over others 'may put their health at risk ' Each year Australians spend about AUS $ 10 million on homeopathic medicines , the World Health Organisation reports . According to the Australian Homeopathic Association , the treatment is used by about one million Australians . The association further states the NHMRC review is biased .