Food and beverage products containing natural medicines should come with health warnings, according to the pharmacological organisation Australia’s Adverse Drug Reaction Hotline.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Geraldine Moses, director of the Hotline, told Channel News Asia that the time has come to realise that natural medicines are not as safe as they seem. They interact with prescription drugs and products containing herbal additives, and have many side effects. Furthermore, they are not really “natural”: “Zinc tablets don’t grow on trees and red clover tablets don’t come out of the ground […] they are just drugs”
She explained that there exists a double standard with regard to drug acceptance by consumers: “I think if there were anti-depressants like Prozac in your breakfast cereal people would get pretty upset, but when there is St John’s Wort [a herbal pick-me-up] suddenly people think that is ok and in fact they get a bit romantic about it.”
Moses pointed out that St John’s Wort could adversely react in the body with anti-HIV drugs and anti-rejection drugs used after organ transplants.
“I perceive big problems with St John’s Wort being put into foods. Now you can find St John’s Wort, Ginko Biloba, Red Clover in breakfast cereals and soft drinks you can find in the corner shop.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe Hotline is petitioning for an increased awareness of the potential problems, and argues that consumers should discuss the use of herbal medicines with their doctors. Appropriate labelling and health warnings should also be placed on packet labels.
