Nowadays, a growing number of people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor. Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?
(From IELTS Cambridge 17)
(Chinese)
現在，越來越多有健康問題的人選擇替代藥物和療法，而不是醫生推薦的常規治療。 雖然替代藥物可能有效，但我認為這是一種消極的發展，因為許多替代藥物沒有達到與主流療法相同的標準，在緊急情況下往往不那麼有用。 首先，許多替代品沒有受到嚴格監管。
More and more people with health issues are now choosing alternative medicines and therapies over conventional treatment recommended by their practitioners. While alternative medicines could be effective, I believe this is a negative development because many alternatives are not held to the same standards as mainstream treatments and are often less useful in emergencies.
在大多數國家，替代藥物不被歸類為藥物。 因此，它們在療效和安全性方面，或者在行銷方式上，都不受同樣的監管。 這一點可以從草藥中看出來，這些草藥謊稱含有影響療效的特殊成分，但卻沒有任何證據證明這一點。 替代療法也是如此。 許多此類療法並非由監管委員會允許工作的註冊執業醫師實施。 因此，無法阻止不道德甚至不安全的做法發生。
To begin, , many alternatives are not strictly regulated. In most countries, alternative medicines are not classified as drugs. Consequently, they are not subject to the same regulations in terms of efficacy and safety, or in the way that they are marketed. This can be seen in herbal remedies which falsely claim to have special ingredients that affect effectiveness, when there is no evidence of this. The same can be said for alternative therapies. Many of these therapies are not conducted by registered practitioners who are permitted to work by a regulatory board. As a result, there is nothing to stop unethical or, even, unsafe practice from taking place.
此外，非常規醫療在緊急情況下也不那麼有用。 它們需要時間才能發揮作用，而傳統療法則是為了快速見效而開發的。 如果需要立即緩解病情或症狀的人選擇替代療法，他們可能會錯過治療疾病的機會。 想想那些需要盡快切除腫瘤的病人。 如果他們拖延手術，希望非主流療法能夠奏效，那麼腫瘤可能會生長並擴散到身體的其他部位。
In addition, non-conventional medical treatments would not be as useful in emergency situations. They take time to work, whereas conventional treatments are developed to take effect fast. If people with conditions or symptoms that need to be relieved right away opt for alternative therapies, they might miss the window of opportunity to cure their diseases. Consider patients who require tumor removal as soon as possible. If they delay surgery in the hopes that a non-mainstream treatment would work, the tumor might grow and spread to other parts of their bodies.
總之，現在人們在健康問題上有一種趨勢，就是嘗試用替代醫學來取代傳統療法。 在我看來，替代藥物和療法的使用增加應被視為一種負面發展，因為缺乏監管，而且在緊急情況下無效。
In conclusion, there has been a trend that people health issues are now experimenting with alternative medicine in place of traditional treatments. As far as I am concerned, the increased use of alternative medicines and therapies should be viewed as a negative development due to a lack of regulation and their ineffectiveness in emergency situations.