Europe bans Ayurveda

Homoeopathic doctors in Kerala have protested against the denial of pay parity in the Sixth Pay Commission report with doctors practising other systems of medicine. The Indian Homoeopathic Medical Association also alleged that the disparities in salary was not in tune with the central government’s health policy which aimed at bringing all medical systems into national mainstream (As reported by The Hindu, dt. Jan 13, 2011). Ayurvedic practitioners have also demanded that they be given the enhanced pay package released to doctors of modern medicine. The minister who presided over the function, quite understandably toed the politically correct line of endorsing the claim. We should be struck with horror at the audacity of these practitioners with little or no testing of their products claiming parity with modern medicine!

Any drug which is going to be marketed in the European Union or the U.S.A., has to undergo extensive studies related to the results of physico-chemical, biological or microbiological tests as well as pharmacological and toxicological tests and clinical trials carried out on the product. Is there any ayurvedic medicine in the present market which can pass any of these tests? A whole slew of new products are launched every month with outlandish claims, but not subjected to any quality check or trials. These medicines are first advertised in news papers and television with bold claims which defy common sense. Almost all of them assert that these products are safe from side-effects, being 100% ayurvedic! The funniest part is that the promoters are simply ignorant of the chemical compositions of their products and have not even the faintest idea of how the remedial mechanism works. A good many among the products are aphrodisiacs or cosmetic in nature, with the distinguishing feature of exorbitant price demanded for them. People who grudge at the cost of allopathic medicines surprisingly don’t feel offended at buying this snake oil bottle. A new product from modern medicine is the culmination of painstaking research, and equally painstaking trials, while the other one are simply ‘marketed’ once it is formulated, yet the demanded price is comparable or even more. There are allegations of clandestine mixing of modern drugs in the herbal formulations for ensuring effectiveness. A prominent new generation ayurvedic aphrodisiac is accused to contain Tadalafil which is a very sensitive and dangerous medicine to be used only under strict medical prescription. The company, instead of proving their innocuousness went on a PR blitzkrieg thus silencing the opponents. We all know that alcohol consumption is harmful to health and warn people to desist from the practice. But, Kamilari, another new ayurvedic brand is exhorting its customers to continue drinking, while the harmful effects would be taken care of by the product! It is difficult to understand how a civilized society can allow such an advertising line which runs contrary to medical ethics as well as public morality.

Many ayurvedic concoctions contain powdered heavy metals which are highly poisonous, like lead, chromium and mercury. The level of these malefic substances in the end product confirms the suspicion that they are ingredients, rather than unintentional contaminants. EU directive 2004/24/EC defines a herbal medicinal product as “Any medicinal product, exclusively containing as active ingredients one or more herbal substances or one or more herbal preparations, or one or more such herbal substances in combination with one or more such herbal preparations” (italics my own). Note the word ‘exclusively’. How many ayurvedic medicines can claim that they are prepared exclusively from herbal ingredients? If such rigorous clinical trials are extended to them, most of them would have to be banned in India. Lead or mercury poisoning can lead to mental retardation, coma and damage to internal organs from which there is no cure. In children, lead causes reduced IQ and attention span, hyperactivity, impaired growth, reading and learning disabilities, hearing loss and a bunch of other problems.

It is in this context that we came to know of the European Union’s decision to ban ayurvedic products from May 1, 2011 onwards due to the adverse effects of such medicines. Ayurvedic and other herbal medicines will need to be licensed to comply with the EU directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, 2004/24/EC, which takes effect from May 1 this year. Several studies had appeared in leading medical journals indicating a dangerously high level of harmful substances. In a study conducted under the aegis of National Institutes of Health in U.S. in 2008 came out with scary results. Out of 193 ayurvedic products tested, 20.7% came out with threateningly high levels of heavy metals, which reached as high as 20,800 ppm for mercury and 11.5 ppm for lead. The ban is nothing new for Ayurveda as Canada banned it in 2005. New York city banned three products, Jambrulin, Lakshmivilas Ras and Maha Sudarshan Choorna in 2005 as a study by the city department of health and mental hygiene detected 24,300 ppm and 2,190 ppm of lead in the first and third and 14,100 ppm of mercury in the second medicine.

The reactions to the ban were on predictable lines. Everyone saw the hand of pharma majors behind the bans, while keeping mum on the study reports. If these products are safe, why don’t they be subjected to rigorous testing before they leave the factory? Why don’t they submit it for tests to detect presence of heavy metals? Unfortunately, the answer is too obvious. The Indian ayurvedic industry is now a lucrative business unfamiliar with those restrictions faced by the allopathic pharma. You can freely churn out anything under the label of Ayurveda. Nobody asks them that a formulation was in use for 3000 years is no guarantee that it is safe. Oil was in use for lighting for thousands of years, but when electricity came, it had to give way. I don’t think anybody mourns the replacement of oil lamps today. Similarly, ayurvedic medicines have had to give way for modern medicine, but some vested interests who are sweeping huge profits and made cartels are resisting the change, in effect gambling with the health of India’s future generation and condemning the unsuspecting public to fall prey to their lust for money.

It is high time that India should take notice of the developments in Europe and America. If only for the foreign money it collects, ban on the sale of Ayurvedic products demands attention of the concerned people. If the claims made by the Europeans are true, these medicines should be banned in India too. It is high time that an authority may be set up which is assigned the task of testing each ayurvedic product before it hits the market. It should be enforced that only those products which clears the procedures would be allowed to be marketed. The unfortunate condition where there is no scrutiny for ayurveda must not be allowed to continue. Any one who have purchased ayurvedic medicines might have felt the astronomical price tag intimidating. Where does all this money go? There is practically no research, no trials and no feedback mechanism in place and your money goes to the profit columns of the companies. So, these corporations should be obligated to accept brakes in rampant media advertising and be more responsible to the society. The sooner we do it, the better.