Easy on alternative medicine, says WHO

There are increasing reports of adverse and even fatal reactions to so-called traditional or alternative medicines as their use spreads in industrialised countries, according to the WHO.

But it said that in China, there were 9,854 cases of adverse reactions reported in 2002 alone, more than double the number registered during all of the 1990s. ‘‘It is not true that good, traditional medicines are good for everybody, every time in big quantities. This is a big mistake,’’ said Vladimir Lephakin, WHO Assistant Director-General for health technologies and pharmaceuticals. ‘‘There are a lot of examples of people who not only suffer, but die because of drug interaction or non-proper use of traditional medicine,’’ he added.

Xiaorui Zhang, WHO’s coordinator for traditional medicines, said consumers often assumed that ‘‘natural means safe’’, but lacked knowledge about using such products properly.

The US Food and Drug Administration last December issued a consumer alert on the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra, also called Ma Huang, a natural substance used in China to treat people for coughs, she said. ‘‘Most countries have no regulations to control herbal products. More than 90 countries sell them over-the-counter,’’ Zhang added.

Food supplements, which are not often regulated as medicinal products, also lack quality controls, Lephakin said. Some studies have found that various products contained toxic heavy metals and in extreme cases there were traces of narcotics to make the products addictive, according to Lephakin.