Other critics (UK)

Richard Dawkins, an English evolutionary biologist and author, in an essay in his book A Devil's Chaplain 2003 chapter 4.4, has defined alternative medicine as a "set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested, or consistently fail tests."^[139] Another essay in the same book chapter 1.4 quoted from an article by John Diamond in The Independent: "There is really no such thing as alternative medicine, just medicine that works and medicine that doesn't."^[12] Dawkins has argued that, if a technique is demonstrated effective in properly performed trials, it ceases to be alternative and simply becomes medicine.^[140]

As it relates to ethics, in November 2011 Edzard Ernst stated that the "level of misinformation about alternative medicine has now reached the point where it has become dangerous and unethical. So far, alternative medicine has remained an ethics-free zone. It is time to change this."^[141] Ernst requested that Prince Charles recall two guides to alternative medicine published by the Foundation for Integrated Health, on the grounds that "[t]hey both contain numerous misleading and inaccurate claims concerning the supposed benefits of alternative medicine" and that "[t]he nation cannot be served by promoting ineffective and sometimes dangerous alternative treatments."^[142] In general, he believes that CAM can and should be subjected to scientific testing.^{[143][n 13]}