The European Commission is to start a discussion process on traditionally used herbal medicines and, in the interim, no new controls are to be proposed in the United Kingdom.
The European Commission and the member states of the European Union had agreed in September that the European Pharmaceutical Committee should investigate the creation of a new regulation category of "traditionally used medicines", which would cover herbal medicines.
Speaking at a Health Food Manufacturers Association seminar in London on November 2, Lord Hunt (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health) said that, although he welcomed this decision, it would take some time to reach and implement any agreement.
In view of this, "any temporary UK scheme might well be short lived and would not give business the certainty or stability to plan for the future," he said. He felt it was better for the UK to concentrate on moving the issue forward in Europe, rather than acting in isolation.
The herbal medicines industry is concerned that possible regulation will drive large numbers of products off the market because the cost of testing and licensing them would not be commercially justifiable. Many herbal medicines currently escape licensing requirements because they are legally regarded as food supplements.