Third, the disease structure has changed over time in a number of ways. The majority of diseases that were the major causes of death in the early decades of the 20th century are no longer in that position.For example, mortality trends from 1900 to 1973 show that deaths due to infectious diseases such as measles, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and typhoid fever have dropped drastically (McKinlay and McKinlay, 1977). Furthermore, there has been a substantial increase in nonbiologically originated causes of death such as accidents and suicides, which are among the top ten causes of death in the United States today (Weitz, 1996).Finally, there has been an increase in conditions such as cancer and heart disease whose aetiologies have social and behavioural components. These diseases were the top two causes of death in the United States in 1990 (US Department of Commerce, 1993). Scientific medicine, with its narrow biological focus, is not equipped to deal with the new disease structure whose proper treatment requires taking into account social, psychological and environmental factors. Alternative medicine is more responsive to the requirements of the new disease structure and more in touch with consumer demands than scientific medicine.