Regulation of herbal medicine practitioners in the UK is currently voluntary. Most herbalists are registered in one or more of a number of professional associations on a voluntary basis (302).
However in February 2011, the UK Government announced that it intends to statutorily regulate practitioners supplying unlicensed herbal medicines on a one-to-one basis (after an individual consultation) under the aegis of the Health Professions Council (313).
302. DH (Department of Health) Professional Stadards Division. Joint UK-wide consultation on the Report to Ministers from the DH steering Group on the statutory regulation of practitioners of herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and other traditional medicine systems practised in the UK. London: 2009 Contract No.: 12123.
313. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Department of Health announcement about the regulation of herbal practitioners – including questions and answers: News 18 February 2011. London: MHRA; 2011 [cited 2012 26 April]; Available from: http://www.mhra.gov.uk/NewsCentre/CON108789.
