(15 April 2010)-- From April 2011, European legislation (EC Directive 2004/24/EC) which has already been passed in 2004 will come into force which will effectively mean that ALL Herbal medicines will disappear from the shelves in our High Streets or internet shops within the EU. Freedom of choice in medicine is being taken away. You will only have access to treatments which are Pharmaceutical Drugs based in order to treat your own and your families ailments. No Chinese herbs, No Ayurvedic (Indian) herbs, No Western herbs, NO MEDICINAL HERBS WHATSOEVER. Chinese medicine practitioners will lose access to the majority of the herbs and medicines on which they rely.
Consumers will NOT be able to buy any Chinese herbal products within the EU.
The Chinese herbal medicine which have been used safely for thousand of years by billions of people, have been deemed by the EU government as either 'too medicinal' or only permitted to be sold after obtaining a special licence which is extremely cost prohibitive for many manufacturers who produce these remedies. Since the law had passed in 2004, 6 years has been passed but NO a single Chinese herbal medicine has been approved a licence in the EU. Therefore, as it is stand now, ALL Chinese herbal medicine will be banned to sell inside the EU from 1st April 2011.
This legislation has been heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, who want to protect their profit and will stand to gain by this legislation. There is not any evidence to prove that herbal medicine present a significant risk to the public under previous and present legislation, when policed properly.
"In the case of something like Chinese medicine, the safety issue is a red herring because hundreds of millions of people safely use Chinese medicine already and incredible amounts of research, safety data, usage data, and AER data is available in Asian countries if the EU officials cared to look into it. A blanket ban on products that have been safely used by billions of people for centuries seems to fly in the face of the modern vision of a harmonious, globally integrated society. "
“Getting a classical herbal medicine from a non-European traditional medicinal culture through the EU registration scheme is akin to putting a square peg into a round hole. The regulatory regime ignores and thus has not been adapted to the specific traditions. Such adaptation is required urgently if the directive is not to discriminate against non-European cultures and consequently violate human rights.”
Despite the petitions and demonstrations from herbal practitioners and consumers, as in April 2010, the UK government is showing clear intention to enforce this ban.
Although there is still around 11 months away, some of our suppliers have already taken precautions to stop importing stocks in order to accommodate for this change in law and therefore, we are also reducing the stock level and stop stocking low demand products. We are expecting the shortage of supply on certain herbal products in coming months, as the UK based suppliers are calculating the risk of importing and stocking herbal products as the deadline of ban is looming. If you need to stock up some products but cannot find it or current stock is not enough to fulfill your order, please contact us.
We advise our customers to consider stocking up on any medications which you are particularly reliant on, as there is a great chance that they will no longer be available in the UK from next year. If You Rely on a Chinese Herbal Medicine to Keep You Well, Stock Up Before it's too Late!
Please raise the issue to your local MP and sign the petition
here.
For more information about this subject, please visit external sites:
(1)"Herbal drug crackdown: Millions face having to buy remedies on black market as Europe tightens the rules" (Dailymail.co.uk)
(2) "Prince Charles urges government to protect alternative medicine". (Telegraph.co.uk)
(3) "Andy Burnham plans to regulate Chinese medicine and herbal remedies" (Timesonline.co.uk)
(4) "Herbalists call for legal remedy to protect traditional medicines" (Scotsman.com)
(5) "The Current Situation on Herbal Medicine" (Napiers.net)
(6) Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM) (Rchm.co.uk)
(7) European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association.
(8) "Save herbal medicine" (Pranapositive.com)
(9) "Support Herbal Medicine" (gopetition.com)
(10) "Herbal Medicine Threatened in UK - join the campaign" (maharishi.co.uk)
(11) http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/regulateCHM/ (petitions.number10.gov.uk)
(12)"Will Chinese Herbal Medicine Survive in Europe?" (bluepoppy.com)
(13) saveourherbs (saveourherb.co.uk)
(14) "Herbal Medicine is under Threat ! - what's happening" (Foremanandjones.co.uk)
(15) "Department of Health consultation on regulation of practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine" (mhra.gov.uk, government site)
(16) "protect traditional medicinal cultures - campaign" (anhcampaign.org)
(17) "ANH Press Release: ANH set to challenge EU herb law" (anhcampaign.org, 22nd March 2010)
(18) "Government woefully short on detail on herbal regulation!" (nimh.org.uk, 01 April 2010)
(19) Watch Video on Youtube.com:
(a) SaveherbalMedicine.com - David Tredinnick MP
(b) SaveherbalMedicine.com - Tony Booker House of Lords
(c) SaveherbalMedicine.com - Alan Keen MP Labour recommendations and words of Support
(d) SaveherbalMedicine.com - Beverley Martin ICNM
(e) SaveHerbalMedicine.com - Dr T Z Ho - Consulate of Taiwan
(f) SaveherbalMedicine.com - Satish Sharma - The Vidya Academy presenting the Resolution
(g) SaveHerbalMedicine.com - Dr Anoop Kaur-BAAP
(h) SaveherbalMedicine.com - Brion Sweeney - The possible demise of Tibetan Medicine.
(i) SaveherbalMedicine.com - Anne Varley NIMH (Ireland)
(j) David Tredinnick MP joined the protest to show his support.
