In the UK, statutory regulation of practitioners of herbal medicine and acupuncture has been advocated by a House of Lords’ Select Committee and by three subsequent Dartment of Health (DH) working groups as well as the vast majority of respondents to a previous DH consultation on this subject (the Pittilo consultation and report). The NIMH is strongly in support of statutory regulation of this sector. They feel that only statutory regulation of this sector can enable the public to identify qualified practitioners and maintain the availability of a full range of herbal medicines in herbal practice. The same discussion is going on in other countries, the Netherlands for example.
Is it true that statutory regulation will protect the public against the risks of alternative medicine? Many people think not and we agree with them. The pitfalls and downsides of the suggested regulations have been aptly described in a submission that was sent to the Pittilo consultation. You can read it here. There is a summary on DC’s Improbable Science, as well as extensive information on the Pittilo report itself.
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