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The National Institute of Medical Herbalists has issued an urgent appeal for action. There is a government consultation taking place to decide on the future of herbal medicine in the UK. Sadly not many people know (because it hasn't been advertised by the government) that in order to protect the right for you and your families to access natural herbal medicines prescribed by professional medical herbalists you need to stick up your hand and say "yes please I want herbal medicine to stay." For guidance on how you can do this please have a look at

http://actnow.nimh.org.uk

There's a deadline! Your letters need to arrive at the dept. of health and with you MP before the 2nd November 2009.

After April 2011 under the new E.U. Directive THMPD you will only be able to buy licensed herbal remedies. Currently only 39 products have THRs (licenses) but hopefully there will more more over the next year. So for any other herbal preparations you need, you can only get them from a herbalist following a consultation.

Currently, herbalists have access to a wide range of herbal medicines and are able to custom blend prescriptions for you. In some situations herbalists have some traditional blends going back hundreds of years. If herbalists are regulated they will be able to continue to supply their patients with a range of herbal remedies and will be able to supply traditional blends. If they are not regulated then there is no certainty as to what herbal medicines will continue to be available for professional herbalists to use. The basis of the restriction and reduction in herbs available to praciticing herbalists who are not regulated is that without regulation there can be no guarantee as to who is qualified, safe and effective as a herbal practitioner. Without regulation then anyone can say they are a herbalist. Because some plants can be dangerous if administered incorrectly, or if wrongly prescribed or if given following a wrong diagnosis, and because herbalists aren't currently regulated so no-one can really tell who is well trained and fully qualified - the governement are likely to take the more potent herbal medicines out of the reach of everyone. If herbalists were regulated then these more powerful herbs would continue to be available to those who satisfy the requirements for regulation.

HOWEVER the government are back tracking on regulation meaning that herbalists may not get regulated as was agreed (most herbalists want to protect the future of herbal medicine by being regulated). This is likely to result in herbal medicine practise being severely restricted and herbalists being forced to adhere to impossibly expensive licensing regualtions etc. Leading to a very unsafe future for herbal medicine in the UK.

If you value herbal medicine (that is to say natural plant medicine rather than the standardised and licensed pharmaceutical creations) then please act now. The deadline for the government consultation is the 2nd November.

Not acting is saying no to a safe future for herbal medicines.

http://actnow.nimh.org.uk

I hope you don't mind me writing this up here, I'm a new member but I need to get this message to as many people as possible and I thought you'd be sympathetic and active ears.
I really thank you for reading all this and hopefully for writing to the dept. of health and your MP.

Nice one Holly,

i was just thinking about putting something on here about this. The Herb Society also has some guidelines on the consultation.

Cx

Well I have never used herbal medicine but I am getting a little fed up with this government banning everything under the sun. I've downloaded the letter and will print it out as soon as I find out who my MP is.

Cheers
Zoe

http://www.writetothem.com/

You should find the addresses you need on that link.

As far as I know its a devolved issue but everyone has agreed to act on consensus => its worth writing to your regional MPs too...

personally , I e-mailed all the parties that have put up a rep at various elections in my area to ask what their stance is on the issue. Yet to hear back from them though. The Greens did acknowledged the e-mail and said they'd pass it on and the Conservatives asked me to send my attachment in a readable format (I had sent it word 2007 but they couldn't read that...)

It would be best to change the wording of the letter slightly so it doesn't look like a standard response. If everyone sends the same letter it doesn't count and your letter may not be registered. Thanks for taking the time to protect an age old tradition.

Hi there,

Here's an online petition to Gordon Brown to intervene on the 2nd Nov consultation for regulation of Medical Herbalists. Please everyone take a look, sign if you wish, and send link to all your friends, post on networking sites etc.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/herbal-ban/#detail

Please don't delay -

**DEADLINE IS TOMORROW: MON 26th October 2009**

Thanks all you Herbal Medicine Lovers,

Fiona xx

Yet again they want to take one of our choices away...

Not the best of newspapers but the Daily Mail have picked up on this potential ban so at least word is starting to get out there about this.

vicki wrote:Yet again they want to take one of our choices away...

Not the best of newspapers but the Daily Mail have picked up on this potential ban so at least word is starting to get out there about this.

The Daily Mail?

The same paper that supports Fox Hunting? That supported Clause 28?

It's funny what people will say in order to get elected....

Good luck with getting Herbal medicines kept. But dont expect any better from any political party.

Isn't this all just scaremongering? I signed a similar pettition and this is the response it recieved: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page21468

No its not scaremongering. Codex Alimentarus is an entirely different matter. This is about the future of Herbal Medicine. Here is a link to the response to the petition mentioned above by filuminate:

http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page21577

It seems over 5000 responses to the consultation were submitted. Meaning that a decision may be delayed until the Summer.

I like herbal medicine. If there's a herbal alternative to traditionally prescribed medication then I always prefer that. It would be pretty bad if they restricted herbal medicines. Better take action then! Thanks for the info!

This is ridiculous !! Herbal medicine has been used successfully for many thousands of years to naturally treat many ailments successfully instead of using manufactured drugs. So are we now going to be banned from rubbing dock leaves on ourselves when we get stung from nettles ? ooooh - I am so angry at this !!!!!