Part of the problem, I think, is that a lot of people think "homeopathic" means "herbal," and it's worth telling them that no, it means "there's no actual medicine in here." (Well, not usually: the rules are so loose that actual medicines, or poisons, can be called "homeopathic" with a label like 1X.)

I don't think that other people are stupid: I think they are ignorant, in some cases because they've been lied to. the person who can't get health insurance, or whose insurance won't pay for what she needs, generally knows this. the person who sees three different things labeled "cough medicine" on the same shelf may not realize that one of them is essentially distilled water. or they may believe "they wouldn't be allowed to see it if it didn't work," not knowing that the law says that you can sell any old thing if you first convince the other homeopaths to add it to the official homeopathic pharmacopeia. i figure telling friends and acquaintances this is at least as good a use of my time as doing sudoku puzzles or rereading brain candy, both of which i also do.