A chara, - Fiona O'Farrell's letter of July 15th perpetuates many myths about the wonders of "natural products" and the evils of "pharmaceuticals".
The EU Food Supplement Directive, against which she urges some form of proletarian revolt, in fact merely seeks to regulate the supply of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients and supplements, not to ban them or make them prescription-only. If these supplements are as effective as Ms O'Farrell contends (which many of them are), what can the objection be to ensuring the highest of standards in terms of their quality, supply and manufacture? It is both ludicrous and entirely disingenuous to suggest that people will have to get a prescription from a doctor in order to obtain Vitamin C. It will, as always, be available in pharmacies where qualified healthcare professionals will be available to advise and counsel patients on its correct use and benefits.
Her scaremongering list of "nasty" side-effects from the use of steroid creams ignores the fact that they can often be the most effective first-line treatment to reduce the terrible itch and inflammation of eczema.
The "natural is best" theory ignores the fact that many herbal remedies for pain in fact include a raw, unpurified form of aspirin which in terms of dosage, purity and quality delivers a far inferior form of the "nasty pharmaceutical" Disprin; that Digoxin, a common and highly-effective heart medication derived from Digitalis purpurea (Purple Foxglove), is lethal in doses marginally above the therapeutic dose ("natural = safe?"); and that themuch-lauded St John's Wort actually does interact with a number of commonly prescribed medications. This is not to suggest there is anything wrong with the above medications - just that there is a fuller story which is rarely presented.
I don't presume to speak for the pharmacy profession as a whole, but myself and many of my colleagues hold many herbal and homeopathic medicines in the highest regard - though as a complementary therapy, as opposed to an alternative therapy. Needless scaremongering about proposals which can only improve the quality of medicinal products - both "pharmaceutical" and "complementary" - in Ireland does nothing to improve the provision of healthcare to the Irish people.
Perhaps Ms O'Farrell should "take a chill pill" - Valerian, perhaps? - Is mise,
DAVID CARROLL, MPSI, Castle Gate, Dublin 2.