News! From the Medical Journal of Australia
January 2008 Commercialism, choice and consumer protection: regulation of complementary medicines in Australia Ken J Harvey, Viola S Korczak, Loretta J Marron and David B Newgreen Abstract - Controls on the supply and promotion of complementary medicines in Australia are weak.
- We used weight-loss products as an example to compare the regulation in Australia of listed complementary medicines and registered pharmaceutical products.
- Complementary medicines are listed without evaluation for efficacy, while conventional pharmaceutical products are registered after evaluation for quality, safety and efficacy.
- From 1996 to 2006, over 1000 “weight-loss” products were listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods; most contained multiple unevaluated ingredients (herbs, vitamins, minerals) of dubious efficacy. Over the same period, 10 conventional medicines were registered; each contained one evaluated ingredient of proven efficacy.
- The number of listed weight-loss products (and complaints about their promotion) is increasing. These appear to be a direct consequence of the decision not to evaluate listed products for efficacy and the lower fees for listing a product, compared with registration.
- Complaint procedures (now overloaded) are no substitute for adequate regulation at the time of market entry.
- Regulatory reform of listed and homoeopathic products is required.
Read the full paper here. |
by Robert Spencer. You just know that the author of this book is hitting the target right in the middle when you see that an Islamist web site referred to him by using the words: "May Allah rip out his spine from his back and split his brains in two, and then put them both back, and then do it over and over again. Amen". Apparently the writer of that comment was upset about Spencer's view that Islam is not all about peace and light. 
by Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn 
by Lynne Kelly 