A number indicated that they were likely to have points they wished to raise in writing. There was a brief discussion on the specific terms of the current draft, which mainly concentrated on identifying areas where Member States suggested greater clarity would be helpful. Member States were invited to submit written comments by the end of April. The MCA responded for the UK on 30 April 2001, taking account of discussions the Agency has had with, and comments received from, herbal interest groups. The MCA's comments on the second draft are available here.
Herbal medicines can interact with other substances.
In European discussions on the proposed traditional use category of medicines it is the MCA's priority to secure an appropriate regulatory home for genuinely traditional remedies. Issues under discussion in Europe include whether the proposed Directive should extend to traditional medicines containing non herbal ingredients. The MCA comments on this article are attached here . A new regulatory category has been suggested for natural health products. However, this would create new borderline areas for dispute, and we do not detect any great support from other Member States for such an idea.