Herbs can be great for curing ailments but some of them also have adverse effects. This means that it is important for their use to be monitored. Some products are safe in certain quantities, under certain conditions and others cannot be taken in conjunction with other medication.
In the USA there is no standardization for purity and dosage of herbal remedies. This is difficult to administer anyway as they may vary between plants and between species. Certain herbs are known to cause poisoning and are therefore not marketed as herbs in the hope that people will not therefore buy them thinking that they are safe to consume.
Many people claim that because herb use is such an ancient thing that there is no need to have any safety testing but it would certainly make them more widely accepted if there was some quality standardization and safety testing done on them.
Within Europe herbal medicines are regulated under the European Directive on Traditional Herbal medicinal Products. This was brought in because before each European country was responsible for regulating this themselves. Each herbal medicine must get approval under this directive before it can be sold. Exceptions to this are the remedies made up by a herbalist following a consultation. To be accepted the medicine must be able to prove that it is safe and effective and has been used for 30 years inside or outside of the EU. There are also specific rules that the medicine must not be for intravenous use, must be suitable for use without supervision by a doctor, can only be provided as a cure for the condition it has proved it is useful for helping, vitamins and minerals can be added but only if their use is ancillary to the herb and the medicine cannot only contain isolated active ingredients from plants. There are strict rulings on the labelling with regards to the medicinal claims that can be made.
There are worries with this ’30 year rule’ that any herbal remedies that were effectively used more than 30 years ago will never be able to be reintroduced and therefore people in the EU will never have the opportunity to be able to benefit from them. However, this ruling does protect them from buying remedies which are unsafe and unproven which could be a complete waste of money.
In the USA most herbal remedies come under dietary supplements and are therefore regulated under Food and Drug administration. Manufacturers do not have to prove the safety or effectiveness of their products but the product can be withdrawn from sale by the Food and drug administration if they feel that it is unsafe. This is obviously quite worrying because it means that the products are actually being tested on the consumers rather than having any safety tests first. It also means that they may not be useful for that person. With no tests on them, they may also interfere with medication already being taken or make medical conditions worse. However, it does mean that there is a much wider selection for people to choose from and they are able to use their own judgement as to what they should be taking rather than being constricted by legislation.
In the UK over the counter herbal remedies are regulated as supplements but those dispensed by a medical herbalist are regulated in the same way as medicines. This means that there could be some confusion as to whether something is a medicine or not. Supplements have been known to interfere with prescribed medicines and are not all suitable for everyone and so selling them off the shelf could put vulnerable people at risk.
Some herbs are much more heavily regulated and some completed banned such as cannabis. This is great because it protects people against poisoning themselves but many would argue that it takes away their freedom of choice.
There is no legislation to stop people growing and consuming their own herbs apart from the completely banned substances. This means that if it is not available, because it is not able to be sold, then it is possible to get it from other sources.
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