A bill aiming to regulate acupuncture and naturopathy in Cyprus has become a battleground, pitting three major organisations against the parliamentary Health Committee.
The Pancyprian Medical Association, the Federation of Patient Associations of Cyprus, and the Pancyprian Association of Physiotherapists issued a joint statement, accusing the Committee of having “chosen to ignore the evidence-based warnings of the scientific community.”
The bill, set to be re-examined on Thursday, introduces concepts without scientific grounding, such as “energy diagnosis,” “meridians,” “energy flow,” “iridology,” and “quantum biofeedback.” The three bodies describe these provisions as an attempt to institutionalise practices “lacking scientific evidence and international recognition.”
Even more concerning, according to critics, is that the bill provides for the creation of professional registries, the award of protected titles, and the establishment of Registration Councils — thereby, in their view, granting unjustified institutional standing to practices of dubious quality.
“This bill carries the risk of turning charlatanism into a legally established profession,” warn doctors, patients, and physiotherapists, recalling that in the vast majority of European countries, acupuncture is practised exclusively by physicians or recognised healthcare professionals.
At the same time, they point out that numerous serious public health bills remain pending before the very same Committee — apparently left gathering dust.
