Herbal medicines have been used for centuries in Wales. It's possible that we have the oldest documented knowledge of herbal medicine in Europe. When I was contacted by constituents about the threat to herbal medicine practitioners in Wales today, I read again the wonderful history of the Physicians of Myddfai. They used about 175 locally grown herbs for their medicines - a lot of which are still used today. Unusually for the thirteenth century, they practised holistic medicine and emphasised the importance of healthy eating and exercise.
Today, the tradition of using herbal medicines continues. It is now an industry that employs hundreds of people across Wales and which benefits many more people. That is why it needs to be protected.
The EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products which comes into force fully next year threatens to damage the herbal medicine industry in Wales. At the moment, herbal practitioners can operate without a licence under a clause in the 1968 Medicines Act (which controls pharmaceutical medicines). The European Directive will override this exemption so the trading of herbal remedies will be illegal without a licence. Herbal practitioners have been calling on the UK government to regulate and recognise the professional status of the industry for several years. The imminent changes in the law make this urgent.
The UK Department of Health held a consultation on the Statutory Regulation of Practitioners of Herbal Medicine. It ended in November 2009 and as yet they have not announced a date on which the response will be published. The National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) is one of the growing number of groups calling for UK regulation. The European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association is also calling on the UK Government to honour its long-term commitment to herbal practitioners to bring them into statutory regulation and thereby make them 'authorised health professionals'. This would enable them to commission medicines for the specific needs of their patient after the EU law comes into force. This is specifically a UK problem because we have different existing laws to other countries and will be affected differently.
The campaign is supported too by Jane Gray, President of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists which has over 30 members practising in Wales All of these practitioners work in their local communities, some like Myddfai that have held to herbal traditions since the days of the Welsh Princes.
The Institute believes the current system eaves professional qualified herbalists at a disadvantage, as anyone now can set up a complementary healthcare service. This a view shared by Lara Bernays, a practicing Medical Herbalist from the Natural Healthcare Centre in Pembrokeshire, who feels it is vital that the complementary field of medicine is professionally regulated to ensure that only those who are fit to practice do so.
Welsh consumers must be able to carry on using herbal medicine. Without UK legislation to protect them, the changes in the law will leave smaller herbalists without a viable business. In an industry that employs hundreds of people in Wales, we cannot allow that to happen. That's why I have added my voice to the call for the UK to make qualified herbal practitioners "authorised health professionals". We must protect this tradition which makes such a positive contribution to our health and our history in Wales.
Jill Evans
Member of the European Parliament
Plaid Cymru
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