U.K. Committee Determines Herbs Need Regulatory Body

U.K. Committee Determines Herbs Need Regulatory Body

LONDON--On Nov. 21, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committeepublished a report calling for better regulation and more comprehensive studiesfor complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Fro the report, the committeedivided CAM into three groups that were based on the amount of regulation andsupporting research. The committee determined that disciplines such as herbalmedicine and homeopathy were beneficial treatments that need to be regulatedunder health laws. The committee concluded that there was fragmentation anddiscord between professional bodies "with little interdisciplinaryagreement about regulation." Therefore, the committee recommended that avoluntary regulatory body should set up standardized training and accreditationfor each CAM profession. The committee also appealed to the government formonies to create academic CAM research centers, similar to the U.S. NationalCenter for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). However, only thoseCAM therapies that "have robust mechanisms of voluntaryself-regulation" or some other regulatory system would be qualified toreceive public funding. For additional information, visit www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/123/12301.htm.