European Union bans Ayurvedic and herbal medicines
POSTED February 4, 2011 - 12:35 | POSTED BY Varma.gbsnp
Last edited by Silky Chandvani on February 4, 2011 - 13:14
Following a EU directive, a ban on the sale of Ayurvedic and herbal medicines will come into force from May 1 all across the Europe.
The directive, Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, 2004/24/EC, was issued in response to concern over non-beneficial effects such alternative medicine products produce in consumers.
The directive
The directive virtually makes it illegal to sell herbal medicines and the so-called food supplements without licence. That licence is costly to obtain.
To make matters more complicated and nearly impossible, the directive makes it mandatory for each seller to get a licence for each herb they want sell.
So, the seller must get as many licences as the herbs they want to sell. Once this directive comes into force, popular products like herbal tea and garlic capsules will be off the shelves.
According to transition measures, the products marketed before 2004 can continue to be in circulation till April 30, 2011.
What is in Store?
Many people use herbal and Ayurvedic medicines for conditions such as arthritis, migraine, flu etc. They buy these over-the-counter. The directive makes it impossible to get these medicines.
Consumers who have benefited from these medicines termed the EU directive “discriminatory and disproportionate."
