On 22 December, Lord Warner, the Health Minister, announced a number of new measures to regulate complimentary medicine in response to report of a House of Lords Select Committee and a DoH Consultation Document published in 2003. Although the final paper, describing the way in which the government proposes to regulate herbal medicines and complementary healthcare professionals, has yet to be published, the DoH has announced that it will make £900,000 available to The Prince of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health over the next three years to develop robust systems for the regulation of the main complementary healthcare professionals. A new Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee will be set up to advise the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency on the safety and quality of herbal medicines. The present Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products will retain its status as a free-standing committee, able to advise the government directly. This paper reflects on current attitudes and legislation in the herbal arena.
