Vicki Pitman

Welcome 2009

January 2010
Severe Threat To Herbal Medicines UPDATE

I'll beign 2010 with a big THANK YOU to all who supported our campaign back in the autum to influence the Dept. of Health's decision on Stautory Regulation for herbal medicine and acupuncture. Thanks to your efforts the DoH receive thousands more responses to this consultation than to just about any other in its history!

Many of course would have been against the recommendation for full SR, but I feel most were in favour. When the EHTPA asked for information about the Consultation response, we were told that with so many responses, they were having to take on extra staff to cope and that a report on the outcome would likely take many weeks, probably not until March.
This puts herbalists in a difficult position as this time frame takes us very close to an election, with the result that the Minister for Health, Andy Burnham, may consider he has more important things on his plate.

However, every crisis is also an opportunity, and equally the situation may mean that MPs and minsiters are more sensitive to what their constitutents want. This is why the URHP and the EHTPA are now urging supporters to write directly to their MPs, again if you've already done so, and say in clear strong language that you want the Government to bring in SR for herbal and traditional medicine and aupuncture. The EHTPA has prepared a letter which you can use. The letter makes all the points succinctly and you can add more in your own words at the end. Please email me if you want a copy of this letter. info@vickipitman.com. Thank you again, most profoundly for your support.

For more information and background to Statutory Regulation please visit the EHTPA website, www.ehtpa.eu.



This is a very important development for herbal medicine practice in the UK. If the Government enacts enabling legislation for statutory regulation, citizens in the UK will continue to be able to consult a herbal medicine practitioner and to access herbal medicines, a right they have enjoyed in law since the time of Henry VIII and the 1968 Medicines Control Act.


www.ehtpa.eu/statutory_regulation/in_uk/index