A campaign to crack down on practices in herbal shops has been launched by the Riyadh Municipality.
Engr. Soliman H. Al-Buthi, General Manager of the Environmental Health Department, said inspection teams have been visiting both licensed and unlicensed herbal medicine shops randomly to check on natural products that are falsely claimed to cure such illnesses as renal problems, diabetes, bowel problems, and high blood pressure.
Riyadh municipality told the Saudi Gazette that the poor and uneducated are usually victimized by false claims.
All herbal medicine sold in the market should be registered with the ministry and carry all details as to its composition, side effects and doses.
However, some of the herbs imported into the Kingdom in pure form are combined with other ingredients to produce a local formula.
These are then illegally sold in the market with claims of treating disorders.
Al-Buthi said that in view of the increasing popularity of herbal medicines in the Kingdom, the authorities are now looking into stipulating laws to regulate the market.
The modus operandi of quack doctors in herbal shops is to tell consumers something would be bad for their health so a substitute (such as "organic" or "natural" product) could be recommended and sold.
Sometimes the product "works" due to placebo effect, Al-Buthi added.
A growing distrust of pharmaceutical products and fear of surgery have many people resorting to herbal treatment.
The desperation of people with chronic diseases - especially those who have been told by doctors that they are "untreatable" - is another reason for the popularity of herbal medicine. This reliance on alternative products comes despite a lack of scientific basis for their efficacy or safety.
Upon the directive of Riyadh Mayor Prince Abdulaziz Al-Ayyaf, a workshop for 250 health inspectors in Riyadh was organized recently. Inspectors learned modern techniques in checking if herbal shops, barber shops and laundry shops comply with public health and safety standards.
The inspectors were told to be ethical and educational in conducting inspections.
Those found to violate the rules will be fined from SR5,000 (for first time violators) to SR10,000. Repeat offenders will have their licenses cancelled.
By Shahid Ali Khan
© The Saudi Gazette 2007
