Natural remedies crackdown
http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7731974%255E
952,00.html
Malcolm Cole, national political correspondent
01nov03
MAKERS of alternative medicines will have to provide proof that their
products provide the claimed health benefits, under a shake-up of the
complementary health industry.
Manufacturers of complementary medicines will also face strict, quality
control measures, if the recommendations of an expert review panel are
adopted by the Federal Government.
The panel was set up to investigate the $800 million industry after the
widespread Pan Pharmaceuticals recall in May this year, and the
company's subsequent collapse.
It has called for the powers of the Therapeutic Goods Administration to
be dramatically increased so it can test the claimed benefits of herbal
remedies and alternative medicines.
The panel has urged state and federal health ministers to develop a
regulatory regime for complementary medicines. And it has warned of
potential health dangers from combining alternative medicines with
prescription drugs.
Following the 1600-product Pan recall, it was revealed the safety
testing standards for alternative medicines were significantly lower
than the standards for pharmaceutical drugs.
It was also revealed the makers of alternative medicines were not
required to prove their products actually delivered the health benefits
that they were claimed to provide.
Committee chairman Michael Bollen said there was responsibility on all
healthcare providers to behave ethically, and to give honest information
about the likely benefits of their products.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Trish Worth said the review had
exposed flaws in the safety standards of the complementary medicines
industry.
Ms Worth said she would pressure the Government to move to strengthen
the TGA's powers, in line with the report's recommendations. And she
would "urge my counterparts in the states and territories to introduce
nationally consistent regulation to license practitioners of
complementary medicines".
The Complementary Healthcare Council said it was prepared to work with
the Government in implementing some of the recommendations, but it
warned that extra regulation would drive up prices.
Council executive director Val Johanson said the industry believed it
had "a very good regulatory system as it is".
"And I think any changes to that regulatory system need to be looked at
very carefully in terms of their impact to ensure they're . . .
appropriate and beneficial in terms of consumers," she said.
The Australian Consumers Association said the proposed new regulatory
arrangements were "tough but fair", and would offer unprecedented
protection to consumers.
ACA health policy officer Martyn Goddard said alternative medicines
should face the same regulation as prescription drugs.
"The present regulations do not appear to recognise the basic fact that
any substance that causes a change in bodily function is, by definition,
a drug," he said.
But the federal Opposition said the panel failed to examine whether the
TGA's auditing and monitoring process for complementary medicines was
adequate.