Vol. 521 No. 2
115 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the Irish Medicines Board circulated an article to members of the Oireachtas written by a person (details supplied) which contained an indiscriminate attack on alternative and homeopathic approaches to health and medicine; and if that article expresses the official view of the board. [16837/00]
The article to which the Deputy refers was included in the information pack sent by the Irish Medicines Board to all members of the Oireachtas and all Irish MEPs as a consequence of the appearance of the officers of the board at the meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committees on Health and Children and Enterprise and Small Business which discussed St. John's Wort and related matters. The pack consisted of 15 different items and included the board's presentation to the above meeting, documents relating to St. John's Wort and the general issues surrounding the safety of herbal medicines, the board's recently published "Guide to the Definition of a Medicinal Product", and also the article to which the Deputy refers. I have been advised by the Irish Medicines Board that it considered the article in question as simply another view in relation to the general issues surrounding the safety of herbal medicines, published in a reputable non technical journal. The board wishes to point out that the inclusion in the information pack of this article did not constitute an endorse ment by the Irish Medicines Board of the view expressed.
