Proposed Prohibition On The Sale Of Kava Kava Herbal Products

EDM number 1836 in 2001-02, proposed by David Tredinnick on 29/10/2002.

That this House notes that millions of consumers around the world regularly consume products containing the herbal remedy kava kava, because of its effect as a mild relaxant and to reduce anxiety; further notes with alarm that the Medicines Control Agency has proposed a complete prohibition on the sale of kava kava products based upon a small numbers of case reports of adverse effects from around the world; further notes that the source and provenance of some of the data upon which the MCA proposals are based are dubious and that the eminent toxicologist Professor Waller of the University of Illinois has published a comprehensive review which concludes that the evidence available does not support the assertion that kava kava poses a risk to public health; commends the specialist health food trade in voluntarily suspending sales of kava kava pending discussions on the matter; urges the Minister not to impose disproportionate and unnecessary restrictions on the sale of this popular and comparatively safe product which would have serious implications for specialist manufacturers and retailers and would deny consumer choice; and further urges him instead to negotiate with industry for appropriate label information.

This motion has been signed by a total of 73 MPs.