Michael McIntyre's response to the BMJ article on Aristoloch
Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:08 pm
Michael McIntyre's response to the BMJ article on Aristolochia
BMJ article Herbal medicine might be responsible for high incidence of urinary tract cancer
http://www.nimh.org.uk/wp-content/titko ... cancer.pdf
Dear Editors,
Your news item 'Herbal Medicine might be responsible for high incidence of urinary tract cancer' mentions that the use of Aristolochia has been banned in Europe for a decade. In fact, in the UK, the use of Aristolochia was first prohibited 13 years ago - a ban made permanent by the Medicines (Aristolochia and Mu Tong etc.) (Prohibition) Order 2001.
These measures have had the full support of the responsible UK herbal community. In 2008, I urged Ben Bradshaw, then Health Minister, to press ahead with statutory regulation of herbalists in the UK citing the Belgian Aristolochia tragedy as one reason why such regulation should take place to assure that herbal practitioners and the herbs they prescribe were subject to controls. In February 2011, the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, announced that herbalist would be statutorily regulated and legislation to this end is currently being prepared by the Department of Health.
Edzard Ernst is entitled to his rather bizarre view of herbal practitioners, but millions of UK citizens clearly do not agree with him as herbal medicine remains remarkably popular. Research by Ipsos MORI for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in November 2008 found that one in twenty Britons had consulted a practitioner of traditional Chinese Medicine and that around one in twelve had consulted a practitioner of Western herbal medicine. The Government's sensible decision to regulate herbal practice will ensure that herbal treatment is provided by well trained practitioners using quality assured herbs from dependable suppliers.
Yours sincerely,
Michael McIntyre
Chair European Herbal and Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (EHTPA)
Source: NIMH
BMJ article Herbal medicine might be responsible for high incidence of urinary tract cancer
http://www.nimh.org.uk/wp-content/titko ... cancer.pdf
Dear Editors,
Your news item 'Herbal Medicine might be responsible for high incidence of urinary tract cancer' mentions that the use of Aristolochia has been banned in Europe for a decade. In fact, in the UK, the use of Aristolochia was first prohibited 13 years ago - a ban made permanent by the Medicines (Aristolochia and Mu Tong etc.) (Prohibition) Order 2001.
These measures have had the full support of the responsible UK herbal community. In 2008, I urged Ben Bradshaw, then Health Minister, to press ahead with statutory regulation of herbalists in the UK citing the Belgian Aristolochia tragedy as one reason why such regulation should take place to assure that herbal practitioners and the herbs they prescribe were subject to controls. In February 2011, the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, announced that herbalist would be statutorily regulated and legislation to this end is currently being prepared by the Department of Health.
Edzard Ernst is entitled to his rather bizarre view of herbal practitioners, but millions of UK citizens clearly do not agree with him as herbal medicine remains remarkably popular. Research by Ipsos MORI for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in November 2008 found that one in twenty Britons had consulted a practitioner of traditional Chinese Medicine and that around one in twelve had consulted a practitioner of Western herbal medicine. The Government's sensible decision to regulate herbal practice will ensure that herbal treatment is provided by well trained practitioners using quality assured herbs from dependable suppliers.
Yours sincerely,
Michael McIntyre
Chair European Herbal and Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (EHTPA)
Source: NIMH