Ban the Herbs

I knew this was going to happen; the EU passes legislation on herbal products and suddenly it's a ban on all things good and natural.

Except as you might expect it's not. As it stands I can take my lawn cuttings, liquidise them, and sell them as a 'health' drink; I can dilute them 1,000,000 times in water and tell you it will cure your arthritis. I need no qualifications to do this; I require no proof that my product does what I claim.

What this legislation does is change that. If I want to prescribe something that purports to have medicinal benefits I have to be qualified. If I want to sell something that has the same claims it needs to be licensed just like every other medical product out there.

Read the instructions on some 'proper' medicine "Don't take if pregnant"; "Do not give to children"; "Do not use on open wounds"; "Do not operate heavy machinery". Those aren't there to stop people suing the company (well okay they are a little) they're put on these products because the tests run on them show that they can have side-effects if you do these things. They're honest to goodness warnings - don't take if pregnant because we know they can have an adverse effect in a significant number of the pregnant.

Herbal 'remedies' and homoeopathic 'remedies' run no such tests. They have no idea what their product is going to do to you if you're pregnant; if you've a heart condition; if you're young; if you're old; if you're taking other medication; if you're taking other 'remedies'.

So no we aren't going to see a ban on herbal shampoos unless they're claiming the herbs cure something and we won't see a ban on cosmetics unless they're claiming they'll cure that cold sore.

Why would anyone oppose this type of legislation? You know except those who are currently profiting from the current system of course.