Should herbal medicines be licensed?

doi:10.1136/bmj.311.7002.451c

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Debbie Shaw,
Stoyko Kolev,
Ivan House,
Virginia Murray

Research scientist Toxicologist Trace elements analyst Consultant toxicologist Traditional Remedies Surveillance, Medical Toxicology Unit, Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital Trust, London SE14 5ER

EDITOR,--The editorial by Dr Peter A G M De Smet highlighted the need for regulation of herbal medicine-like products.1 We are particularly concerned about imported herbal medicines that contain heavy metals; this has been well documented in medicines from the Indian subcontinent.2 We recently investigated the potential hazards of some Chinese patent medicines with high concentrations of mercurial ingredients that are used for the treatment of AIDS.

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