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Regulating herbal practitioners – what’s the hold-up?

On 16th February 2011, then-health secretary Andrew Lansley MP promised to make herbal medicine a state-recognised profession. Now, the UK government may be about to break this promise.

Ironically, the various skeptic groups who complain the loudest about how herbal medicine is ‘completely unregulated’ have also been the most vociferous opponents of statutory regulation of herbal medicine practitioners. Shifting their goal posts, they now complain that regulation would legitimise a profession that doesn’t deserve it.

However in the Department of Health analysis of the consultation responses regarding the regulation of practitioners of herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncturists it was noted that there was a clear majority of responses (85%) in favour of statutory regulation, the main benefits being:

» Qualified practitioners – ensuring practitioners are qualified will be an important measure for assuring patient safety.

» Quality and safety of practice – enhanced quality of practice/products and safety would constitute an obvious benefit to practitioners as well as to the public

Frustratingly many people who took part in the government consultation felt that there were real risks attached to the use of herbal medicine, as well as acupuncture and TCM, and that regulation could help mitigate these.

We disagree about the risks.  Random case studies, taken out of the context of the continuum of harm done by improperly used medicine (conventional and complementary), are very poor arguments against the use of herbal medicine.

And, as the specially commissioned graphs on relative risk for the UK and EU which we published in 2012 show, compared to many other things we do in our daily lives herbal medicine has a spectacular safety profile.

We do, however, agree that statutory regulation would give consumers and practitioners of herbal medical healthcare more security.

So why the change of heart?

Under current EU legislation, state regulation of herbalists would make them ‘authorised health-care professionals’. This would allow them to continue prescribing individualised medicines to their patients, following a one-to-one consultation.

In the UK, herbalists have had this right since it was granted to them by King Henry VIII in the 16th century. It took until 1968 for it to be formally written into UK law.

Now in 2013, the government is bending to pressure from the EU which believes that the so-called ‘herbalist’s exemption’ in the 2012 Human Medicines Regulations is incompatible with current EU legislation. In this, as in most things the UK has the authority to disregard the EU’s views and legislate as it sees fit for its own people.

If the UK government breaks its promise to herbal medicine practitioners, it will mean that:

» UK herbalists will be unable to make up individual remedies for their patients.

» The 8 million UK citizens who rely on, use or have used herbal medicines prescribed by practitioners will lose this lifeline – as will future generations.

» Healthcare choice in the UK will be reduced even further.

If you care about healthcare choice and about quality healthcare please make your voice heard.

Write to your MP and ask him or her to urge the government to keep its promise on herbalist statutory regulation.

You can find more information on how to do this in our story (right). There is a suggestion for general points to include in your letter, but for the greatest impact please write personalised letter – MPs will take far more notice if you do.

Pat Thomas, Editor