EU Health Directive
What is going to happen to our ability to obtain alternative medicines when this ridiculous EU directive comes into force and why isn’t someone with clout doing something about it? Where will I get the products I so often successfully use?
I first wrote about the EU threat to the over-the-counter availability of herbal medicines more than 10 years ago and find it hard to explain why nobody appeared to take this concern seriously until the EU adopted its directive last year; (i.e. once the horse had already bolted).
The fact is, although there are some 300 nutrients likely to be swept off the shelves unless companies produce safety dossiers, we do not really know which supplements and remedies will survive and which we will lose. I have in my possession, for example, a list of almost 300 herbs which have been submitted to the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) for approval and only two or three of these,(all little known and so not currently widely on sale anyway), have been marked as unlikely to meet new safety criteria.
The deadline for approval for herbal remedies has been extended until March 2004 and until then, if a manufacturer can show evidence of safe usage of a particular herb for at least 10 years in Europe and/or 15 years outside the EU, then the chances are this herb will make it onto the approved list. After that time, the manufacturers will have to jump through hoops to meet the same stringent and costly safety regulations that are applied to pharmaceutical drugs.
Currently, the natural medicines most under threat are those which make medical claims on the packaging and this has always been the case. For example, the anti-fungal herb, horopito is no longer available in healthstores as an alternative to cannestan not because of the herb itself, but because of the claims being made on the box.
The supplements we are most likely to lose over the next five years are those that combine nutrients and herbs and if that is the case, then instead of taking a combined vitamin C with echinacea for your cold, you will have to buy the active agents separately. My view on this is that those combination supplements, many of which come in from America, are often at the most expensive end of the market and you can already source and combine your own remedies more cost-effectively. I also think we will all be buying a lot more remedies off the Internet.
Remember, the stated intent of those bodies concerned with the directive is to ensure the continuing availability of a wide range of safe herbal products with the emphasis on the word safe. If you do feel you want to protest about the threat to supplements currently on sale, often at much higher dosages than you can buy over-the-counter in other parts of Europe, contact Consumers for Health Choice (01275-374446) which has already submitted a 1 million-strong petition of signatures to Parliament or visit the website at www.healthchoice.org.uk.