Greater enforcement is needed against fraudulent practitioners treating skin diseases with unlicensed products, an all-party parliamentary committee believes.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin published a report on its inquiry into fraudulent practice in the treatment of skin disease on December 13. It says that the written and oral evidence it received shows that there is "a real and largely unchallenged problem in this area". Four main problems were identified: herbal products being sold as "natural remedies" but which contained synthetic compounds such as cortico-steroids, patients not being told about active ingredients, patients being sold products with no active ingredients, and clinics making diagnoses leading to dangerous and fraudulent advice being given.
The report highlighted two instances where products sold by mail order had been found to contain potent topical steroids. It expressed concern that in neither case had the Medicines Control Agency pursued or prosecuted the companies involved and described this as "a potential loophole for all similarly minded companies". The press was also criticised by the report for the use of emotive headlines which "hyped" stories even when manufacturers were not making medicinal claims.
The report calls for the MCA to use its powers more widely to prevent the marketing of suspicious products. It also says that a medical regulator post should be created to make judgments on what was and was not allowable in terms of advertising.
Finally, it calls for a Government inquiry into the area of fraudulent medical practice which should not simply be confined to the treatment of skin.