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A broad standardization
It would be a mistake to think that the Pan recall provides any reason at all for discontinuing their use natural health products.
1: The evidence from the recall case provides no reason to believe that any natural health product is dangerous.
1.1: The product that sparked the recall was a travel-sickness drug known as Travacalm, which caused serious side effects in several consumers.
1.1.1: The tablets had been tainted with other drugs as a result of Pan¡¯s poor quality control and manufacturing practices.
1.2: No other product had been found to be dangerous.
1.3 Travacalm is not, and nor is it considered by its manufacturers, to be a natural health product.
1.3.1: Travacalm itself is an over-the-counter pharmaceutical drug available only from chemists.
1.3.2: No ¨Cone has even tried to claim that this is a natural product.
2: This is no reason to think that natural medications in general are unsafe.
2.1: Most companies in the complementary health industry maintain very high standards.
2.2: The Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia is already working with the Therapeutic Goods Administration to ensure that hose high standards are maintained.
3: There are, in fact, good reasons to believe that natural health products are safer than conventional, mainstream medical treatments.
4: And given that natural therapies are herbal in origin, it is difficult to see how such treatments could be dangerous.
5: People have been using herbal medicines throughout history.
6: For those who put more faith in what the scientific orthodoxy tells them, there is also scientific evidence of the efficacy of natural medicines.
7: It would be very unfortunate if as a result of one company¡¯s bad practice, Australians who had previously been prepared to empower themselves to look after their own health allowed themselves to be persuaded to surrender that power once again to doctors and the medical industry.
8: It would be unfortunate for their own health.
9: If Australians do stop using natural therapies, it will be a disaster for the many small business involved in the manufacture of complementary health products.