MHRA repeats warning on unsafe TCMs
Dangerous traditional Chinese medicines continue to be found |
A warning that there can be no guarantee of the safety or quality of
traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) has been reissued by the Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (PDF 160K).
The MHRA issued a similar warning three years ago (PJ, 6 October 2001,
p452).
The warning is being circulated again in the light of clear evidence
that problems with TCMs containing toxic, and often illegal, ingredients
persist, with the ingredients not always being declared on labels.
The MHRA says: “There is no reliable way for the public to identify
those TCMs which could be unsafe. In the light of this evidence we are
unable to give the public any general assurances as to the safety of
TCMs on the UK market. When buying TCMs people should always be aware
of the possibility of low quality or illegal products. They should not
take them if they are not labelled and [do not] include a list of ingredients
in English. Even then, clear labelling is not in itself a guarantee of
good quality standards.”
It explains that unlicensed products with potent and/or illegal ingredients
can reach the UK market in a number of ways. These can include a lack
of quality control and quality assurance in manufacturing, and in the
international supply chain, a failure of concerned parties to check what
is permitted in UK law, or intentionally criminal activity.
Safety and effectiveness of herbal
medicines were among the topics covered in a session sponsored
by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society “Can herbs improve your
health?” at the British Association Festival of Science held
in Exeter this week. Speakers included Peter Houghton, professor
of pharmacognosy at King’s College London, who said that
people taking herbal medicines in conjunction with conventional
medicines could be at risk of unknown interactions.
|
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader