HC Deb 22 November 1994 vol 250 c86W
Mr. Hain

To ask the Secretary of State for Health upon what basis she established her policy that herbal remedies are manufactured other than by an industrial process; upon what legal arguments she reached the conclusion that such a policy would protect the continued availability of herbal remedies; what assessment she has made of legal protection which would prevent future court decisions, both domestic and European, or future European directives from establishing a definition for the term industrial process which threatened the continued availability of such products; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sackville

European Community legislation requires herbal medicines to be licensed if they are industrially produced. Certain herbal medicines, which are currently exempt from product licensing requirements under section 12 of the Medicines Act 1968, are produced by a number of traditional processes. While courts of law are independent bodies, whose decisions cannot be fully predicted, we have concluded that the traditional processes in question fall outside the meaning of "industrially produced". The position of herbal medicines in the United Kingdom is therefore safeguarded under EC law.

We will continue to work with other EC member states and the European Commission to ensure that herbal medicines remain available to the many people in the Community who use them and to maintain existing public health safeguards.

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