PLEA ON ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES BY MEP

Munster Fine Gael MEP John Cushnahan has called on the Health Department
and the Irish Medicines Board to adopt a common sense approach in
implementing EU legislation on the use of alternative medicines.

Mr Cushnahan pointed out that following the implementation of recent EU
legislation, all alternative medicinal products must be the subject of a
product authorisation granted by the Irish Medicines Board. Recently, the
board launched A Guide to the Definition of a Medicinal Product, which
required that many products sold as food supplements be registered as
medicines.

"I feel that it is necessary to have some form of regulation of alternative
remedies, but not to categorise all of them as medicines and insist that
they need product authorisation licenses before they can be sold legally.
This is not the answer," said Mr Cushnahan. He pointed out that a remedy
requiring a PA licence would have to undergo extensive testing and trials
which would cost thousands of pounds. Many small manufacturers of
alternative remedies may not have these resources and, therefore, would
have to production with the result of job losses.

"The nonsensical nature of the current situation is best illustrated by the
decision of the Department of Health together with the IMB to prevent St
John’s Wort from being available over the counter from January 1 next. This
is used by many people as an alternative remedy for treating depression."

Large multinational pharmaceutical companies who can afford such licenses
would, therefore, as a result have a huge monopoly on the alternative
medicine market. It would seem to me that it is much safer than taking
prescription drugs such as Prozac and other similar drugs because of its
proven track record to have no side effects," said Mr. Cushnahan.