Written question asked by Mark Todd (Labour) on Thursday, 14 December 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 December 2000. It was answered by Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 December 2000 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the extent to which the proposed Traditional Use Medicines Directive will provide a secure legal basis for products which are (a) combinations of herbal and other ingredients for which 30 years safe traditional use can be demonstrated and (b) combinations of herbal and other ingredients which have been brought more recently to market.

Answer: Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the extent to which the proposed Traditional Use Medicines Directive will provide a secure legal basis for products which are (a) combinations of herbal and other ingredients for which 30 years safe traditional use can be demonstrated and (b) combinations of herbal and other ingredients which have been brought more recently to market. [143430] Ms Stuart: Many products consisting of combinations of herbal and other ingredients can currently be sold legally, for example under food or cosmetic law, and we anticipate that this will continue to be the case. Where, however, such combination products are classified as medicines they require a marketing authorisation before they can be placed on the market. At this very early stage in discussions on the European Commission's proposals for a directive on traditional medicinal products it is not yet clear whether coverage would be restricted to traditional herbal medicines or whether in some circumstances traditional medicines containing other ingredients could also be permitted under the terms of the directive.

Secondary information