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Tougher rules on herbal drugs soon

DUBAI — Authorities will tighten control and update regulations to govern the availability of counterfeit herbal medicines in the country, according to a senior official from the ministry of health.

“We are emphasising on tightening control over the production and availability of counterfeit herbal drugs in the market as this has become a challenge for us,” said Dr Amin Al Amiri, CEO of Drug Registration at the ministry.

The country is currently drafting a by-law that governs practice of all types of alternative medicine. According to the World Health Organisation, a number of countries in the region either lack a national safety monitoring system or that the existing system excludes herbal medicines.

Officials from 23 different countries gathered on Tuesday for the three-day Fourth Annual Meeting of the International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines (IRCH) to update existing national medicines policies by further developing comprehensive registration and inspection systems. The UAE is the first Arab country to host this meeting.

Studies carried out at Shaikh Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine after adverse drug reactions were reported, found that a number of herbal drugs contained active pharmaceutical ingredients and banned substances that may lead to neurological and psychological issues and sometimes death. Most commonly adulterated drugs were those for anti-obesity, erectile dysfunction and arthritis.

“We will try and come out with the strongest regulations to control counterfeit medicines. We already have a proper registration and classification system in place,” said Dr Amiri. “Even if it is a herbal cough and cold medicine, it will have a negative impact on a person’s health if it is counterfeit,” he added.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com