Statements and Press Releases
Statutory Regulation of Practitioners coming at lastThe British Herbal Medicine Association welcomes and strongly supports the announcement today by the Secretary of State for Health of forthcoming statutory regulation of herbal medicine practitioners under the Health Professions Council (HPC). This has been under consideration ever since a House of Lords Select Committee reported on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2000, and 85% of respondents to the most recent public consultation in 2009 were in favour of statutory regulation. The government has now resolved years of uncertainty for practitioners and safeguarded their future as well as the best interests of consumers. The Health Professions Council has been asked to establish a statutory register for practitioners. Following creation of this register, only those practitioners who qualify for designation as “authorised healthcare professionals” will be able to commission unlicensed manufactured herbal medicines to meet the special needs of their patients. Regulation of practitioners will be underpinned by a strengthened system for regulating the medicinal products they use. Peter Bradley, Chairman of the BHMA commented: “A major step in the right direction. The government has made a sound decision and is to be congratulated. We look forward to a new scheme which will raise standards in herbal practice and give consumers continued access through practitioners to a wide range of important herbal medicines. Our thanks to all those who worked long and hard to achieve this excellent result”. 16 February 2011 BHMA Policy on Animal ExperimentationThe BHMA does neither conduct nor support research on animals in connection with herbal medicine or any other context; its policy is to promote the adoption of human alternatives to animal experiments in medical research.
BHMA Policy on the conservation of medicinal plantsThe BHMA considers the maintenance of biodiversity and the conservation of plant species in natural habitats to be vital to the interests of herbal medicine, the quality of the environment and the welfare of future generations. The Association supports the principles of sustainable harvesting and protection of endangered species, encouraging the cultivation of medicinal plants in preference to harvesting from the wild wherever practicable. In the usage of non-cultivated medicinal plants, members of the BHMA should ensure as far as possible that:
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