WRITTEN QUESTION P-1236/00

by Giuseppe Nisticò (PPE-DE) to the Council

(10 April 2000)

Subject: Medicinal herbs and plants

Because of the widespread distribution and abuse of medicinal herbs, without proper controls over either the marketing or prescribing of these products, this highly sensitive sector needs to be regulated as a matter of urgency, bearing in mind the possible effects on human health.

International scientific literature on the subject has revealed, as widely reported in the media recently in both the United States and Europe, that some of these medicinal herbs, when used without medical supervision, are responsible for thousands of cases of fatal poisoning, as well as causing a series of unwanted or toxic side-effects in the form of allergies or affecting the cardiovascular system, the kidneys, the central nervous system and other systems or organs.

Unfortunately, as a result of subtle and deceitful propaganda by the industries and operators concerned, the belief has taken root that herbs, being natural products, are useful and harmless and produce no toxic effects.

The uncontrolled use of medicinal herbs is dangerous for the following reasons:

- the concentrations and/or doses of the active principles present in herbs freely sold by herbalists are not properly standardised, with the result that it is never possible to be sure what dose has been taken;

- it is not known whether pollutants such as herbicides, pesticides or heavy metals may be present;

- little is yet known about interactions between herbs and other drugs or foodstuffs or caused by the administering of several herbs at the same time, with the result that the taking of some medicinal herbs may produce unforeseeable toxic effects;

- there is a danger that the use of medicinal herbs thought to be effective and innocuous by uninformed patients may lead to their abandoning conventional treatments such as antineoplastic drugs with serious consequences for their health.

Consumer protection is needed in the following areas:

- consumers must be informed of the active principles and possible pollutants present in the medicinal herbs they are taking;

- consumers must be aware of the exact dose they are taking;

- consumers must be informed of interactions between herbs and other drugs or foodstuffs;

- consumers must be informed of risks deriving from the toxicity of the active principles and possible pollutants.

In the light of the above considerations, what steps does the Council plan to take to protect public health? Will it review the rules governing the marketing of medicinal herbs in the light of the documented scientific findings? Will it ask the EMEA to assess the information available on individual plants and herbs and provide the guidelines needed for the proper dispensing of these products, which are currently administered with hardly any controls?

Reply

(26 June 2000)

The Council shares the concerns expressed by the Honourable Member about the uncontrolled use of medicinal plants and herbs and the advisability of protecting the consumer against the risks of abusing these products.

It was with this in mind that the Council, on 20 December 1995, adopted a resolution on medicinal plant preparations in which it invited the Commission to study, in close collaboration with the Member States, the problems posed in this context(1). The Commission has yet to respond to this invitation.

(1) OJ C 350, 30.12.1995, p. 6.