HOMEOPATHY is unproven and its products should not be sold, a visiting critic of alternative medicine says.

British physicist Simon Singh, who was sued by the British Chiropractic Association for saying their therapies for children were bogus, said yesterday it was "obvious" that homeopathy "shouldn't be allowed" and couldn't be regulated by a code of ethics. "I take a fairly hard line," he said. "If anyone is making claims that can't be supported by evidence, these claims should be halted and these practices should be prevented."

He said recent cases showed that homeopathy  which relies on the principle of "like treating like" and diluted ingredients  can be dangerous.

Two weeks ago in the US a homeopathic remedy called Zicam, which claimed to treat the common cold, was withdrawn from sale after it was discovered the zinc it contained may have caused more than 900 people to lose their sense of smell.

Critics said the over-the-counter product's side effects had gone unnoticed because of less strict rules for marketing alternative medicine.