Continued Threat To The Availability Of Herbal Remedies

EDM number 133 in 1994-95, proposed by Peter Hain on 25/11/1994.

That this House regrets that the recent announcements by the Minister on the continued availability of herbal products are not sufficient to satisfy the concerns of Right honourable and honourable Members or herbal practitioners; notes that in a Written Answer to the honourable Member for Neath on 22nd November, Official Report, column 86, the Minister acknowledged that his attempts to safeguard the future availability of herbal remedies could not be relied upon because his defence that herbal products are not industrially produced, and thus fall outside the scope of the European directives, could be challenged in British and European courts which, he said, are independent bodies whose decisions cannot be fully predicted; believes that herbalists should expect a more robust and permanent protection from Her Majesty's Government; urges the Minister to return to the European Commission to seek further guarantee or a new European Directive the purpose of which is to guarantee the continued availability of herbal products throughout the European Community; further regrets that the Minister has failed to clarify whether his temporary protection applies only to the production of herbal remedies or also to their supply, and that he has left unclear the position of products supplied directly to herbalists for use in their preparations rather than to the public; and believes that the Minister should refrain from laying the Medicines for Human Use (Marketing Authorisations, Pharmacovigilance and Related Matters) Regulations until these matters are satisfactorily resolved.

This motion has been signed by a total of 85 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.