Herbal Medicines Directive

[patkins]

Done. Thanks for the oppertunity.

[reddevil157]

Done, cause I believe WE should have the choice, which medicine we use.

[drawflex]

what a load of shit... lots of the drugs used now are derrived from, or synthesised using natural sources.. the ones that are any good are just called... medicine.

And natural doesn't mean safe, or pure by any means.

[nara]

.. the ones that are any good are just called... medicine.

And natural doesn't mean safe, or pure by any means.

Two excellent points!

[evs]

what a load of shit... lots of the drugs used now are derrived from, or synthesised using natural sources.. the ones that are any good are just called... medicine.

And natural doesn't mean safe, or pure by any means.

Google this
How many people die from prescription drugs?
Then Google this.
How many people die from herbal remedies?
Then take in to account the chemicals added to prescription drugs.
I think I know which one I?d want.

[nara]

Then take in to account the chemicals added to prescription drugs.

Did you do science at school?

[reddevil157]

nara, you seem dead against this... do you not think ppl should have the choice to use alternative medicine if they wish ?

[barrowmanandrew]

well i've been sitting on the fence on this one, listening to arguements for and against.

i've been swayed and decided to sign.

reasons:

1. i accept there may be dangers, but there are far more dangerous things legally allowed around now.
ie. smokes, booze, cars, all of which will no doubt kill a staggering amount more than any herbal remedy.

2. passing the stringent tests does not guarantee saftey, as was previously mention. falidimide....
there are also other medicines that are addictive, like sleeping pill, anti deppressents....
i think these can cause real harm too.

3. i'm ~~~~in sick of the EU telling us what we can and cannot do....
we are ~~~~in adults ffs, leave us alone.......

on balance,
i feel its not that much of a problem in the grand scheme of the things.
banning is a bit draconian...
maybe some sort of comprimise where the medicines carry warnings or summit.( they might already do it, i don't know)

as has been posted ,
if public health is their main concern, the tobacco should be their top priority.....

[nara]

nara, you seem dead against this... do you not think ppl should have the choice to use alternative medicine if they wish ?

Of course they should. A lot of herbal medicines are beneficial and many mainstream drugs are based upon them. Many herbal medicines are useless, but essentially harmless. Some are positively dangerous.

The whole marketplace for herbal remedies is unregulated. It's a goldmine for snake-oil peddlers and quacks.

If a product is going to advertise itself as beneficial, it shouldn't be worried about submitting itself for testing.

[tshirtman]

Google this
How many people die from prescription drugs?
Then Google this.
How many people die from herbal remedies?
Then take in to account the chemicals added to prescription drugs.
I think I know which one I?d want.

and you could turn that on it's head,

how many people are cured with prescription drugs,
and how many people are cured with herbal remedies

and just because prescription drugs may have severe side effects, doesn't necessarily mean there bad,
take Chemotherapy for example.

[Evastar]

i haven't said anywhere that i don't agree with prescription medicine, and i haven't for one minute suggested that people take herbal medicine exclusively, what i am saying is that people should have the choice.

and if you watch the video on the link you will see that a lot of companies can't afford to undergo the testing required to licence something as a drug.

as i already said if a product is around thousands of years they will already know if there are major side effects from it.

[tshirtman]

I agree some herbal remedies are very effective, and i have used some myself, sulphur proved very effective for a number of ails,

but I think it's unwise that certain people criticize all prescription drugs, where would we be without antibiotics

[Evastar]

I agree some herbal remedies are very effective, and i have used some myself, sulphur proved very effective for a number of ails,

but I think it's unwise that certain people criticize all prescription drugs, where would we be without antibiotics

unfortunately we could end up without antibiotics pretty soon, as more and more strains of bacteria develop resistance to them, look at mrsa and c. diff, very hard to treat and kill lots of people.

[chroma]

unfortunately we could end up without antibiotics pretty soon, as more and more strains of bacteria develop resistance to them, look at mrsa and c. diff, very hard to treat and kill lots of people.

Gets worse than that, i read a recent study where 1 in 4 cuts of meat in Supermarkets had antibiotic resistant strains in them because industrial farmers feed animals up on antibiotics :/

[Snowy79]

I'm all for licensed Herbal Medicines just out of safety and also to cut out the quacks. If the herbs are proven to work I don't see the problem with them being given the green light.

The big issue you have at the moment is a lot of the info out there is paid for by the relevent companies with an interest in it. I can safely say that if a trial of a medicine says it is safe and beneficial the Laboratory or Professor that puts his/her name to is is someway linked to the producers. Whether it is a sponsorship of a wing of a Hospital or grant to investigate something not linked and the same goes for Herbal and Homeo Pathetic Remedies.

The only difference is if a Licensed Medicine screws you up you have some comeback. If a Herbal Remedy screws you up who do you blame. Add to this you don't know the purity or source of the Herb.

If licensing comes in and Herbs can be proven to be effective you can guarantee it will be produced, marketed and sold just as it is today, the only difference is the Herbs that don't work will no longer be sold and the public will have a more informed selection and not waste money on Snake Oil Remedies.