Great Britain has become the first Western nation to consider
giving legal status to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
The British Department of Health has held a public hearing on
proposed statutory regulation of herbal medicine and acupuncture
practitioners.
The proposal suggests a shared Complementary and Alternative
Medicine Council (CAM Council) to be established for herbal
medicine practitioners, which include Western herbal medicine, TCM,
Indian ayurveda and Japanese kampo, and both traditional and
Western acupuncture practitioners.
While Chinese acupuncture was introduced into Britain in the
1960s, traditional Chinese herbal medicine only began to attract
British patients in the 1980s. This led to a mistaken perception on
the part of the public and the government that the two therapies
are unrelated.
The proposal recognizes the herbal medicine and acupuncture
treatments as a single profession. It recommends awarding the
protected title, "traditional Chinese medicine practitioner" to
those who qualify.
"Britain has been ahead of other occidental countries in
accepting TCM, which will obviously benefit the international
development of the profession," said Zhang Xiaorui, a World Health
Organization (WHO) official.
"The proposals by the British government respond to the current
situation of TCM in Britain," said Ma Kanwen, TCM professor and
honorary advisory research fellow with University College
London.
Owing to the failure of Britain's National Health Service (NHS)
to fully guarantee timely medical services for the public, the
government has long tolerated unregulated complementary
medicine.
However, the absence of regulation has resulted in various
problems, such as unqualified people passing themselves off as TCM
practitioners. Ultimately, the situation tarnishes the reputation
of TCM, with both Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese patent
medicine merely regarded as complementary health tonics on the
British market.
Some unqualified TCM practitioners and Chinese herbal medicine
dealers have harmed patients by issuing bad prescriptions or
selling inferior herbal medicines. Such situations are fodder for
headlines in the British media and have severely undermined the
reputation of TCM.
In June 1999, the Industry Branch of the British Department of
Health made public two cases in which British patients suffered
kidney damage after taking Manchurian Dutchman's pipe stem (Guang
mu tong) of the Aristolochia L. family. Aristolochia L. herbal
medicines have been permanently banned.
In November 2000, the UK House of Lords Select Committee on
Science and Technology designated Chinese herbal medicine in its
report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a treatment
with "poor effect, lack of scientific proof and not worthy of
promotion and research."
In September 2001, the Industry Branch of the British Department
of Health and the British advisory Committee on Safety of Medicines
made public new TCM toxicity and side-effect cases and said "even
the most optimistic view is reluctant to endorse the guaranteed
safety of TCM."
London-based TCM practitioner Dr. Luo Dinghui, who is also vice
chairperson of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies,
said the British government now feels the immediate necessity to
take the reins of the TCM profession.
Ma Kanwen said the proposed legislation will help overhaul the
practice of TCM in Britain and establish its de facto legal status
despite the restrictions on it.
Zhang Xiaorui said that Britain's legal recognition of TCM and
other non-Western medical practices is a huge step forward and one
that will protect the image and development of TCM. But she warned
that it will take more time for Westerners to accept many of the
underlying principles of TCM, such as yin and yang (opposing forces
existing in nature) and the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire
and earth), a theory used by ancient Chinese philosophers to
explain the origin of the world and by TCM physicians to make
pathological diagnoses.
Various institutions and groups, including the Association of
Traditional Chinese Medicine (UK), have responded to the proposal.
The British Department of Health is reviewing the opinions it has
collected and is updating its proposal, which should be released
within the next few months. Afterward, lawyers and legal advisors
will draft a bill to be presented to the British Parliament for
review.
(China.org.cn by Chen Chao, June 26, 2004)