Herbal Remedies under Threat from 'Ludicrous' Law

[Guest guest]

(This is what has happened last year in the EU; the Bill that was just rammed though in the US is very similar to what they have in the EU, can you see what we will have to contend with! our freedom to herbs and supplements are being taken away!)

 

"Zeus" < info

Herbal Remedies under Threat from 'Ludicrous' Law

Herbal remedies under threat from 'ludicrous' law

By Nicole Martin

(Filed: 31/10/2005)

 

 

 

The sale of popular herbal remedies could be banned because of an

"unworkable and impractical" European law, health campaigners said

yesterday.

 

The European Union directive, which came into force yesterday, was

introduced to ensure that natural products sold over the counter were

safe and of a high standard.

Previously, most herbal remedies were available in Britain under

Section 12 of the 1968 Medicines Act as "medicines exempt from licensing".

 

Under the new directive, manufacturers will have to provide evidence

that their products are safe before they are given a licence. Only

products which have been on sale in the EU for 30 years will be

automatically approved.

 

Campaigners, including the actress Jenny Seagrove, attacked the

directive as "ludicrous" and warned that companies could be forced out

of business because of the high cost of conducting safety tests. She

said: "The herbal remedy market should be regulated to ensure consumer

safety, but this directive is far too heavy-handed."

 

Sue Croft, of Consumers for Health Choice, a European lobby group,

said the directive would deprive consumers of some of the most

effective herbal remedies.

 

"The directive lays down unduly onerous burdens on industry, for

smaller businesses in particular, and jeopardises the future of many

safe, popular and effective herbal remedies," she said.

 

"It insists that manufacturers prove the 'stability' of its products,

meaning they must show that all the active ingredients work. That's

easy when you are dealing with a pharmaceutical drug. . . but hugely

difficult when you are dealing with a combination of plants, which can

be made up of up to 100 components. That's just impossible, unworkable

and impractical."

 

She also attacked the directive for excluding herbalists, which means

that while "standards are to be imposed on the manufacturers and

health food shops, herbalists can carry on making up bespoke remedies

in their kitchen".

 

About five million people are thought to be treated by complementary

practitioners a year.

 

Campaigners said that "single" remedies such as echinacea, which helps

to fight off colds, will survive the directive. Not so fortunate will

be "combination" products, such as bilberry extract with ginkgo biloba.

 

The law comes into force only two months after the introduction of

another EU directive, which banned the sale of more than 300 vitamins

and minerals.

 

Designed to harmonise the sale of vitamin and mineral supplements

across the EU, it contains a list of approved nutrients that can be

sold in Europe. The law also follows a study, commissioned by the

Prince of Wales, recommending that complementary therapies should be

more widely available on the NHS.

 

Some manufacturers will have until 2011 to comply with the law, which

was enforced by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory

Agency, part of the Department of Health. Roy Alder, its director of

executive support, said: "This legislation. . . will allow for more

informed choices as registered products will be accompanied by

reliable information about the product and how to use it."

 

_______

 

Sepp Hasslberger

 

 

Some implementation date on the EU herbal medicines directive seems to

have come along - BBC reports. They carry the official line of "it's

all for the protection of the public".

 

How the authorities can get away with it without any outcry at least

from manufacturers, but also from herbalists, is a bit of a mystery.

 

Kind regards

Sepp

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4389616.stm

 

Stricter rules for herbal drugs

Herbal medicines face greater regulation under the directive

 

Firms which make herbal medicines must now get their products approved

by an independent agency after the introduction of a new law.

 

The EU directive, designed to ensure that people who buy the products

will have a guarantee of their quality and safety, came into effect on

Sunday.

 

Until now, the government says, consumers have not known which herbal

remedies are of an acceptable standard.

 

Companies will now have to provide evidence of a new product's safety.

 

Before new remedies can be registered and sold, information about how

they should be used must also be approved.

 

The government adds that before the directive was introduced,

reputable companies following high standards were left at a commercial

disadvantage while consumers were potentially at risk from unsafe

products.

 

Access calls

 

Last month, a report commissioned by the Prince of Wales said that

complementary therapies, including herbal medicines, should be given a

greater role in the NHS.

 

The report, by economist Christopher Smallwood, said patients with

conditions such as back pain and stress can benefit from some of the

therapies.

 

And back in August, a leading patients' group called for access for

all to alternative medicine on the NHS.

 

The Patients Association called for all GPs to provide patients with

the choice of using complementary medicine where it had been proven to

work.

 

Provision is patchy currently with well under a half of family doctors

providing some sort of access to alternative therapies.

 

forwarded by

Zeus Information Service

Alternative Views on Health

www.zeusinfoservice.com