§ Mr. Eric Illsley (Barnsley, Central)It is my pleasure to present a petition organised by Consumers for Health Choice, the Health Food Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Health Stores and others. The petitioners are constituents of mine who attended Holland and Barrett health food shops.
The petition declares:
Government proposals would give the Medicines Control Agency virtually unlimited powers to classify safe products as medicines. This would mean that the Medicines Control Agency could remove at a stroke products that are vital to the good health of many consumers and are currently sold under food law. This is an abuse of the democratic process and a denial of freedom of choice.The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Department of health to reconsider its proposals and to introduce an immediate moratorium preventing the Medicines Control Agency from declaring these safe products to be medicines except on the grounds of illegal claims or safety, and, further, to introduce new legislation appropriate to the special needs of safe, natural health products.And the Petitioners remain, etc.To lie upon the Table.