Declaration of interests MC

Declaration of interests for Mike Cummings (MC)

MC is the salaried Medical Director of the British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS), a membership organisation and charity established to stimulate and promote the use and scientific understanding of acupuncture as part of the practice of medicine for the public benefit.

MC is an associate editor for Acupuncture in Medicine.

MC has a very modest private income from lecturing outside the UK, royalties from textbooks and a partnership teaching veterinary surgeons in Western veterinary acupuncture. MC has no private income from clinical practice in acupuncture. His income is not directly affected by whether or not he recommends the intervention to patients or colleagues, or by whether or not it is recommended in national guidelines.

MC has not chaired any NICE guideline development group with undeclared private income directly associated with the interventions under discussion. He has participated in a NICE GDG as an expert advisor discussing acupuncture (CG88).

MC has used Western medical acupuncture in clinical practice following a chance observation as a medical officer in the Royal Air Force in 1989. His opinions are formed by data that spans the range of quality and reliability, much of which is in the public domain.

MC has a logical mistrust of the motives of anyone who advertises an interest or hobby in being a ‘Sceptic’, as opposed to using appropriate scepticism within their primary profession, or indeed organisations that claim to promote generic ‘science’ as opposed to actually engaging in it.