Natural health products such as vitamins and supplements should be subject to the same regulations as clinical drugs, requiring pharma labels to list potential side-effects and safety data.
This is according to a new editorial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which insists that herbal remedies are not necessarily safer than medications just because they are natural.
Written by deputy editor for scientific content Matthew Stanbrook, among others, the piece states that natural health products need to be regulated in order to protect consumers.
The authors claim that some supplements and remedies are approved with limited evidence of their effectiveness.
"[This] has permitted products ... to be marketed with limited content labelling, poorly documented health benefits and little or no safety data," the article concluded.
Earlier this week, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine recommended that warnings need to be added to the peelable labels for St John's Wort, as many people are unaware it can interfere with other medicines, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest reported.
Denny Bros Ltd, 15 November 2011
