Return-Path: jham@concentric.net Errors-To: Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:34:22 -0400 (EDT) X-Sender: jham@pop3.concentric.net (Unverified) To: Luc Delmulle From: John Hammell Subject: Re: proposal of law on herbs in Belgium Cc: gaby@halcyon.com, 100064.1730@compuserve Email Distribution List: Please help out Luc Dulmulle in Belgium by going to his website to examine the news re the royal decree which the Belgian government has adopted regarding the sale of herbs in Belgium. Luc reports that all herbs and herbal preparations are to fall under food law in Belgium. He needs for us to comment on these deliberations. Please read the whole mssg below to understand better, then visit Luc's website and provide him with feedback. Please cc your feedback to Luc, to me so that I can assist further in spreading word of this good development! Dear Luc, Thanks for the following update, I was wondering what was happening vis a vis the regulation of herbs in Belgium, and since I never heard from Roy Upton after faxing the stuff I downloaded off your website I was wondering if you heard from him and if so was he able to help? I know Roy to be a good man, someone who cares deeply about what is right and fair. We definitly need for herbs to be regulated as foods, world wide. If they are regulated as drugs, it would be a terrible tragedy- the public health would suffer immensely. There is a bill pending in the US Congress called S.830- The FDA Modernization and Accountability Act of 1997. It tells the FDA to harmonize America's food and drug law to the laws of the European Union. I am very afraid of this bill, and am rallying people to oppose it, because vitamins and herbs are being regulated as drugs in the EU, and I don't want to see the sort of constraints that you guys have to suffer imposed on us here. You can find out more about S.830 from my website. I will go to your website soon to look at what you have there, and will provide feedback after I've had a chance to look. Please tell me what you think of pending bill S.830, do you think my concerns are justified? I am forwarding your mssg out to a lot of people world wide so that hopefully some will provide you with feedback. Suzanne Harris, who I work closely with is drafting comments to the Discussion Paper on the Addition of Vitamins and Minerals to Foods and Supplements and will be sending them in to the DG III of the European Commission. Talk about scams! The European Commission really angers me. Who the hell do they think they are? Who the hell do they think they are messing with? For Freedom, John At 08:48 PM 8/27/97 +0200, you wrote: >At 21:37 9/05/97 -0400, you wrote: >>At 10:04 AM 5/9/97 +0000, you wrote: >>>Dear Sir, >>> >>>I'm the scientific consultant for the Belgian health product manufacturers >>>association (Naredi) and member of the technical committee from EHPM >>>(European Health Product Manufacturers). I'm responsible for the dialog and >>>discussion with our Belgian Ministry of Health. We elaborated together a >>>proposal of law on herbs, however at this moment the "conseillé supérieur >>>d' hygiène" forced our minister to implement some (for us) unacceptable >>>restrictions in the proposal. The most dangerous being the implementation >>>of a clausule stating that all herbal preparations must be submitted to a >>>pharmaceutical committee (we don't know who is who in that committee) and >>>they will say if that specific product is a food supplement or a medicin. >>>As I could not accept such a restriction I asked our minister to remove the >>>paragraph or, if not, to ammend 'criteria' for an objective jugement. >>>However, the pharmaceutical lobby is re-attacking. So I need help and >>>arguments to set some pressure on our minister. Can you help us? Is there >>>any possibility to have help from other organisations. Being a novice on >>>internet, I don't find my way. >>>On my homepage you'll find the lists of herbs we are negociating. I hope to >>>publish the proposal as he is for the moment, this week-end. >>> >>>Homepage adress: http://users.skynet.be/lucdelm/ >>> >>>With kindly regards, >>> >>>Dr. sc. Luc Delmulle >>> >>>PS. : I recieved your adress from Roger Wicke Director of the Rocky >>>Mountain Herbal Institute; http://www.rmhiherbal.org >> >>I've been trying for the past hour to reach Roy Upton, President of the >>American Herbalists Guild, but his line stays busy. Will try some more. He >>should be able to help you. His work number is 408-438-1700 ext.6317, home >>number is 408-475-6625. I used to have his email address, but can't find >>it. Don't know if he has a website, but will find out. Will also search my >>web browser for saved urls, and will use a search engine in a while to see >>if I can find some urls on the world wide web of organizations that might >>also be able to help. Lets stay in touch. >> >>Theres a pitched battle going on world wide on this issue. I'm in touch >>with people in South Africa, New Zealand, and other places which are also >>fighting back hard. I just reached Roy's house, and someone staying there >>told me that he was away for the weekend with his wife, but that if he >>called during the weekend to check his messages, she'd give him my message >>about your need for help. I gave her your email address to give him, and >>also left the message that I need his email address. I will try some more >>later, or sometime tomorrow to find some more contacts for you, but right >>now I need to eat dinner as its 8:30 pm here. >> >>I will forward your message to the Paracelsus mailing list where a lot of >>herbalists hang out, maybe someone on there will also see your message and >>be able to help, or might know of someone available this weekend, or of a >>website that would be useful. I'm also forwarding this to a few people >>around the world who may also be able to help, including Will Dailey in Los >>Angeles who might know someone, and John Lesso in Australia who has many >>contacts too. I have a feeling that someone on Paracelsus may be able to >>help as there are many herbalists there, although some of them get pissed >>off (uh- that means "angry") about political posts. (I got kicked off the >>list for making political posts, so I can't see list messages, but can >>still post stuff there for others.) I will also post your message in >>misc.health.alternative on usenet. Someone on there might be able to help >too. >> >>For Health Freedom, >>John Hammell >>****************************************** >>International Advocates for Health Freedom >>John C. Hammell, Legislative Advocate >>2411 Monroe St.#2 Hollywood, FL 33020 USA >>800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, FAX 954-929-0507, >>FAX ON DEMAND 954-927-8795,jham@concentric.net >>http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html >> > >Dear John, > >I have good news. The belgian ministry adopted a royal decree on herbs in >Belgium. All herbs, preparations and mixtures fall under food law. I hope >you will read the law attentively and send me your comments, because we are >working to elaborate an european law based on the belgian example. I hope >you will send this information to a lot of people asking them to write me >and give their comments and remarks. At this moment on my homepage you'll >find the lists but not the law, only the most important points of it. I >wait until the beginning of september, when the belgian government will >have published in the belgian official "moniteur" the law. > >Kindly regards > >Luc > > > ****************************************** Donations Needed- Am One Person Working Alone International Advocates for Health Freedom John C. Hammell, Legislative Advocate 2411 Monroe St.#2 Hollywood, FL 33020 USA 800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, FAX 954-929-0507, FAX ON DEMAND 954-927-8795,jham@concentric.net http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html