A group of Italy's top doctors have signed a joint document railing against the spread of alternative medicine, as parliament considers legislation that would boost its role.
The physicians - led by former Health Minister and world famous oncologist Umberto Veronesi - claim these therapies risk depriving patients of effective cures, unlike modern medicine, which is based on centuries of science.
For this reason, they voiced their opposition to the provision of complementary therapies on the national health service.
They singled out homeopathy, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture and herbal medicine as examples of increasingly popular therapies whose usefulness is not certain.
"There is a danger of creating confusion and false expectations," the document read.
"The national health service has an obligation to offer only therapies of proven effectiveness and safety".
Recent surveys suggest that Italy's alternative medicine industry is booming.
According to a 2006 study by research institute Eurispes, homeopathic remedies alone have been used by at least 11 million Italians.
Several Italian regional governments have passed legislation enabling patients to obtain refunds of the cost of certain alternative treatments.
In Emilia Romagna, for example, acupuncture, homeopathy and herbal medicine are provided by specific national health service projects in the region.
Eight different bills concerning this issue have been presented to parliament, including one which would make it possible to teach alternative medicine courses at Italian universities.
"I think the state has the duty to make decisions that respect the right to health as established by the constitution," said Silvio Garattini, the director of the prestigious Milan-based Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute.
"It should only approve therapies that have a scientific basis. The bill under consideration is a proposal made by the alternative medicine lobby.
The joint document was signed by the members of three Italian medical associations, Galileo 2001, Gruppo 2003 and the Italian Society of Internal Medicine.
The MPs promoting the bills, meanwhile, counter that they are just seeking to regulate the sector in view of growing public demand for alternative therapies.
The World Health Organization has also highlighted the need for greater regulation of all strands of medicine and has expressed its support for alternative options.
"It is true that we should only offer treatments whose effects we are sure of," said Democratic Left (DS) Senator Ignazio Marino, who is a doctor and the president of the House's Health Committee.
"But it is also a good idea to evaluate the therapeutic resources of other types of medicine which have stirred interest among doctors and patients".
The Senate Health Committee is seeking to bring the various bills presented together into a single piece of draft legislation on alternative medicine for parliament to vote on.
The Committee is going on a alternative-medicine fact-finding mission to India next week.
