‘It’s a win for common sense’

Homeopathy is a system of alternate medicine that has limited scientific backing. Source: Supplied

SCIENCE: 1, anti-vaccination movement: 0.

An online homeopathy business who told consumers the whooping cough vaccine was "unreliable at best" and "largely ineffective" has breached Australian consumer law, the federal court has ruled.

On Tuesday, the court found that Homeopathy Plus! engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to statements and articles on its website about the whooping cough vaccine. Homeopathy Plus! claimed that the vaccine for whooping cough is ineffective and unreliable and that homeopathic treatments were an effective alternative.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission first examined the matter in 2012 and says the court's ruling is a significant victory "for common sense".

"We were worried if people were reading these kind of statement they would choose not to have the vaccine and rely on one of these homeopathic treatments," the ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court told news.com.au. "There are real public safety risks that come from that kind of statement."

A child receives an injection. Source: Supplied

Ms Courts said the court heard a significant amount of medical evidence.

"They heard from three medical experts and Homeopathic Plus also called some medical evidence. But the court found that there was no credible scientific basis for the claims that Homeopathy Plus! was making and that there is ample evidence that the whooping cough vaccine does a good job in protecting the majority of people."

Homeopathy Plus is an online business that sells homeopathy products and advocates for homeopathy treatment. A spokesman was unable to provide comment to news.com.au.

On the business' Facebook page — which was more than 27,000 fans — the organisation thanked its supporters "who wished for a different outcome".

The matter will return to court in February to when it will hear submissions on penalty notices. The maximum penalty for breaching consumer law is $1.1 million for a business and $220,000 for an individual.

Whooping cough is a highly infectious respiratory disease which is most serious in young children.

Medical professionals have expressed concern at the anti-vaccination movement, which has gained momentum in some wealthy Australian suburbs.

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