traditionally placebo, not

First they are not allowed to call themselves specialist (even property agents can call themselves "Ang Mo Kio Specialist"), then they are being called "placebo treatment" by a senior writer of a local newspaper. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is getting poked left right centre like acupuncture needles.

First thing first, I believe in TCM. I drink herbal tea when I feel heaty. I massage with medicated oil when I get bruises. I use suction cups when my back feels tired. I'm an engineer, how unscientific that is. Some skeptics of TCM label TCM as unscientific. In secondary school we learned that science can be broadly classified as theoretical and empirical. If centuries old knowledge is not empirical science, then what is? You are unwell, you undergo the treatment, you recover, #proven.

I don't know how much people know about TCM. Is it limited to poking dozens of needles on the back, drinking bitter black liquid, that sort? Have they read Li Shizhen (李时珍)'s 本草纲目? The 本草纲目 records close to 2000 herbs, listing their medical properties, side effects, etc. So, if it is not written in English, it is not science?

The fact that Ministry of Health regulates TCM through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Act shows that it is being recognised. You don't see loan sharks and robbers getting regulated, do you?

To put it crudely, some people shit sitting, others shit squatting. What works for you may not work for others, but that doesn't mean you should rule others out (ie, if you shit sitting, you don't say shit squatting is not shitting, do you?) As for me, both work for me. In China, they call it "river crab".