Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Names of two government departments that control the supply and sale of herbal medicines?

I am a naturopathic student and have come across a question in an assignment which has got me stuck as i cant find the answer.

This is the question.

State the names, addresses and phone numbers of the two Government Departments (One state, one National) that control the supply and sale of herbal medicines

Can anyone help me with an answer or tell me where i could find this out. I wasnt sure if the Australian Government- department of health and aging therapeutic goods administration was a correct answer or not..

Thanks so much!


I don't think I know the answer to this either, but I can tell you that in the U.S. herbal remedies are not regulated in the same way as traditional pharmaceuticals. For example, drugs are regulated by the FDA, and herbs are not. Before a drug can be sold, the company must provide a sufficient amount of scientific data/evidence that proves its relative safety vs the benefit it provides, and approves appropriate doses, etc. Then the FDA regulates the manufacturing process and the company must demonstrate a process for quality control, etc. In addition, the FDA regulates how the company sells the product by monitoring the claims that are made. A drug is only approved for a specific use and can't be sold or advertised for any other reason.

The FDA does not regulate herbal remedies. Occasionally, the FDA will ban a specific "supplement" or herbal remedy, but they have to go about it in the opposite way. Instead of requiring that an herbal supplement proves its efficacy and safety, the FDA must prove that the herbal remedy is "unsafe" in order to take it off the market. At no time are these herbal remedies required to prove any level of efficacy.

The FCC does monitor the claims made by alternative and herbal therapies, but there are many loop-holes that prevent them from intervening very often. For example, most alternative therapies will use wording that doesn't specifically make medical claims to cure a particular disease. Instead, they claim that they can help the body cure itself, etc. This is why you won't often see an herbal remedy claim to specifically cure strep throat. One example of a company that crossed the line is the "Q-Ray Bracelets". This was the original magnet bracelet, that was marketed to cure a long list of ailments. Eventually, the FCC caught up with them. In a lawsuit from the FCC, the makers of Q-Ray admitted under oath that there was no basis for their medical claims, other than placebo. They were ordered to refund millions of dollars to their customers. They were the first and biggest company to make magnet bracelets, but you still see them sold all the time at mom & pop shops and county fairs, etc. The FCC isn't going to waste their time on little kool-aid stands across the county. The same type of thing goes for herbal remedies. Only the largest manufacturers of herbal supplements that sell their product at GNC are even slightly regulated. Any book you read that claims you can make your own home remedies is not regulated at all, because they aren't selling the actual product. That is why the FDA, FCC, can't touch Kevin Trudeau, because he has the right to write a book on whatever he wants, but he can't actively sell "shark cartilege", etc.

i do not know

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