A dramatic surge in the popularity of "urine therapy" in Cameroon has prompted the government to ban its consumption and threaten persistent offenders with jail. The health minister acted last week after a book about "urinotherapy", published in Switzerland, entered the best-seller list in Cameroon, prompting enthusiastic experimentation by readers.One newspaper hailed urinotherapy as a universal cure-all which could tackle scores of afflictions, including cancer, snakebites and infertility. Testimonials to the benefits of urine consumption dominated radio phone-ins and the letters pages of newspapers. "I had haemorrhoids for five years and nothing gave me relief. But six months ago, I started drinking half a glass of my urine every morning and I am practically healed," a shopkeeper from the capital Yaounde wrote to Le Messager newspaper. A magistrate claimed: "For several years I haven't had a hair on my head, but since I started drinking my urine it's started growing again - it's extraordinary."
| I dunno Fred, think it's worth it? |