Do not assume

“New is better; Old is better!”

A treatment that is new and/or technologically impressive is not necessarily better or safer. The same applies to older, well established treatments.

New treatments are not necessarily better or safer than existing treatments. Alternatively, just because a treatment has been used for a long time, does not automatically make it the best option.

The length of time that a treatment has been in use gives no information about efficacy or safety. Some reactions/ side effects of treatments only become evident with time and so can only be discovered if individuals receiving the treatment are followed up over a long time period.

Alternatively, there are many cases where treatments that have been used for decades are shown to be less effective or potentially dangerous. For example, the inclusion of copper in supplementation regimens for cattle has been practiced for many years, however, recent studies have revealed that copper supplementation can be ineffective and, in some cases, causes toxicity.

BEWARE of basing treatment efficacy or safety on how new or old the product is.

REMEMBER: Safety and efficacy can only be judged by vigorous testing using fair comparisons.