On reading of the new rules imposed on practitioners by the MHRA in the UK, it is obvious that these have little to do with Quality Controls of herbal remedies or with the “protection” of the public. For example, it is a new rule that the practitioner, not the patient, must pay for any prescription ordered. What has this got to do with quality controls? Be careful, if you let a patient pay a supplier for their herbs, the Government may raid your premises for such a crime!
Furthermore, practitioners are allowed to make up tablets in their own dispensaries but they cannot buy tablets made by herbal manufacturers. Surely, the GMP quality controls applied by herbal manufacturers are better than those of individual dispensaries? Also, a practitioner cannot buy any product for external use from herbal manufacturers but they can make up their own.
These new regulations have little to do with the “protection” of the consumer and more to do with the need of “regulatory” agencies to regulate and of drug companies to eliminate any competition from herbal remedies (no matter how small).
The restrictions imposed on individuals are even worse than those imposed on practitioners. An individual cannot buy a so-called unlicensed herbal medicine on the Internet and it is illegal for an individual to buy a herbal remedy from a country outside the EU. This is totally outrageous: how can a Government agency stop me from choosing the treatment I want?
It is time that we let our elected representatives know what we think of this.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
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