§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action she will take to ensure that the Committee for Proprietary Medical Products of the EC consults appropriate professional and consumer bodies at European level in respect of the continuous sale of herbal products;
(2) what representations she has received from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists regarding the recommendations of the Committee for Proprietary Medical Products of the EC that certain herbs should be removed from supply;
(3) if she will consult the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and other bodies representing consumer interests about the work of the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products of the EC;
(4) what information she has about the recommendations of the Committee for Proprietary Medicines of the EC in respect of the continued sale of herbal products; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe European Community Committee for Proprietary Medicines—CPMP—does consult rnember states, industry representative bodies and other interested parties on all draft guidelines.
Representations were received from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists—NIMH—that it had not been consulted about a list of herbs withdrawn for safety reasons compiled by the CPMP. The NIMH was advised that the list was simply a factual record of those herbs which had already been withdrawn nationally from 826W medicinal products by one or more member states and that the list had been sent to the European Scientific Co-operative for Phytotherapy—ESCOP—in response to ESCOP's proposals for monographs on certain herbal ingredients. The list was published in the recent annual report of the CPMP.
Authorisations relating to particular medicinal products are the responsibility of the regulatory body of the member state concerned.