Herbal preparations are still not regulated as medical treatments. They are considered foods or food additives. Legally, there is no requirement to prove effectiveness, to demonstrate safety, or to prove that what is written on the label is actually in the container. In contrast, the pharmaceutical industry is obliged to test and document the good and bad effects of each of their products. Quality control is de rigeur, and if a patient suffers an unexpected side-effect, the pharmaceutical company is liable.
Herbal producers have no such liability.
It is not up to the medical profession to accept or disprove such practices if they cannot do so on their own. Many chiropractors do just that, since after all, one never knows when the spine may misalign. The debate about alternative medicine is about faith and belief versus science and evidence. Peter B. C t is a family physician in Ottawa.