Fight to get herbal medicine recognised in law.

A HERBALIST with a Huddersfield practice is fighting to get herbal medicine regulated by the Government. Sue Salmon, of Healing Hands Complementary Therapies of Moldgreen, claims thousands of jobs are at risk if the Government backs down from a commitment to introduce a system of statutory regulation.

This means it could fall under European Union law which may end in an outright ban on the production and sale of herbal remedies A decade ago the UK government, aware that virtually anyone could set up as a producer or dispenser of herbal medicines, proposed a system of qualification and accreditation for herbalists. But a public consultation period on those proposals comes to an end on November 16.

Ms Salmon said: "It seems that there is now a very real possibility that the Government will not take the important step of statutory regulation for herbal practitioners. I find this gravely worrying.

It has grave implications for any member of the public who wishes to use herbal medicine.

"If statutory regulation does not go ahead then what I can provide for the patients in my practice will in the future be severely restricted."

She said that there was a real risk that, in a time of recession, many herbal manufacturers, suppliers and practitioners would go out of business.

The future livelihood of hundreds of herbal students currently studying at universities would also be jeopardised.

Ms Salmon wants people who believe in legitimising herbal medicine to log on t o a c t n ow. n i m h. o r g. u k o r www.ehpa.eu