&#62; If it keeps people from abusing antibiotics then I'd say it's money well spent. Unless you'd prefer getting MRSA.<p>It's the healthcare professionals that should be stopping people from taking antibiotics like candy. It's everyone else that should understand that having an unhealthy sense of entitlement to whatever drugs they can get is a bad thing.<p>&#62; And if it makes them feel better, then why give them real medicine with real side effects? Side effects which, in aggregate, would cost billions to deal with.<p>Because people have suffered needlessly and even <i>died</i> as a result of ignoring good advice from their doctors in lieu of this quack medicine. How much extra is being spent because they waited forever for whatever they had to go away with homeopathy but it didn't and maybe even got worse? If it was only something as trivial as a case of the common cold or something I don't think people would be arguing too much with you. But there are people out there seeking these out as a substitute for things as serious as cancer treatment.