New EU Directive on Natural Health takes freedom of choice away from UK Consumer...
...and forces UK companies out of business
An EU directive which came into force on 1st May 2011 has robbed consumers of their right to buy natural health products they have been using for decades.
The so-called Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD) states that it is now illegal to sell herbal medicines which have not been registered under the new legislation, despite them having been used safely as drug-free alternatives for centuries.
The EU argues that their aim is to regulate the use of herbal medicines, although many of those in the natural health industry see this as a money-making scheme which is yet another example of the EU dictating how Brits conduct their lives. The move has already forced many small UK companies out of business due to the insurmountable costs involved.
Simon Bandy is Manager at Health Plus, a family run company in East Sussex which produces nutritional supplements. He says, “It costs between £60,000 and £70,000 to register a product under this new law - an obscene amount of money for an SME to consider spending on every one of their effected products.”
“As a result of the EU directive we have had no choice but to delist some of our most popular products such as Echinacea and St. John’s Wort, which have been helping people improve their health and wellbeing for centuries.”
Bandy continues “As consumers we should have a right to choose which remedies we use to help keep our families healthy. This legislation not only strips us of this right but also favours large manufacturers, often located abroad, who can afford to pay the astronomical registration costs for keeping their products on the shelf.”
Simon’s company produces a wide range of natural health products (not just those classed as herbal medicine) and it is for this reason that they have survived the recent legislation, where others sadly have not.
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