Just 25 herbal medicines have so far been registered with British regulators – despite strong public backing for regulation, it was announced yesterday.
Out of hundreds of herbal preparations on sale, another 28 are waiting approval from regulators after four years of the scheme.
Manufacturers have just two years to ensure their products are registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Manufacturers have to demonstrate safety, quality and good patient information.
The MHRA said yesterday that new evidence shows strong public backing for regulation.
Some 87 per cent of herbal medicine users backed regulation in an Ipsos-Mori poll for the MHRA – compared with 77 per cent of the public as a whole.
Although 67 per cent of users agreed they should tell their GP about what they take, just 17 per cent said they would take advice from a doctor about herbal preparations.
The survey found that 26 per cent of adults have used a herbal medicine in the last two years.
Richard Woodfield, of the MHRA, said the public remained vulnerable to "less responsible" sellers peddling "low grade and sometimes dangerous" products.
He said: "We welcome the findings of this research. The research shows that the public clearly see a need for herbal medicines to be regulated.
"So it is encouraging that the MHRA has already received 53 applications to register products under the THR scheme and that 25 products have so far been registered."
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