In an age in which politicians are promising less government intrusion into the lives of the citizens, instead of actually helping inform the public about natural health products, they are taking steps to limit access to them through various rules and guidelines. There are numerous natural products on the market that are well-known to offer relief for a variety of health issues, but new rules may limit not only their use but may also hold the person who suggested them responsible for practicing medicine without a license. In order to promote better awareness about natural health products for problems as mundane as constipation, the government needs to take five actions to promote their use.
One of the first things the government needs to do is stop listening to the pharmaceutical companies on which to base their opinions on natural health products. Recently, the FDA ruled that natural products touted for the relief of certain ailments would classify the product as a new drug, requiring FDA approval as well as finding anyone who prescribed the product guilty of pretending to be a doctor. They did however note that some symptoms associated with a health problem such as hot flashes associated with menopause were acceptable, but its definition of symptom and disease needs to be clarified.
The government should support and accept independent research on natural health care products and support those that are shown to be safe, without harmful side effects, often associated with synthetic drugs. For example, many of the products on the market today used as a sleep aid can be habit forming, especially if used for an extended period. Most natural sleep aid product are not addictive, yet their labeling is required to indicate that it has not been proven effective. Another step would be to provide any research results made available to them to the public to allow them to make the choice.
Currently there is a lot of confusion about regulations concerning the use of natural health products, compounded by the ambiguity of government regulations coming from the FDA. While the FDA is charged with protecting the health of the public, they should not be leading the charge for medical research by the drug companies. They should offer the same support for makers of natural health products as they do for the pharmaceutical companies and not worry as much about whether an ailment is a disease or a result of the disease or even a symptom.
Lastly, if the doctors in charge of the FDA can show that a specific natural health product is beneficial for a specific health problem, instead of shunning the company and forcing it to end promoting the product, the FDA should speed up the process of approving these natural health products for general use. Instead of forcing the issue by referring to them as a dietary supplement, many natural health products could be beneficial to more people if they were better promoted by the government as being an alternative choice for a particular health problem.