Can the recent public notice by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy be helpful in combating the irrational use of herbal drugs?

Government of India, released a public notice (K.11025/01/2015‑DCC9AYUSH0‑Part) for the consumers and the stakeholders of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani (ASU) drugs for promoting the safe use of these drugs. It states that these drugs are regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and rules there under. Furthermore, it states that these drugs containing potential hazardous constituents of plants, animals, and mineral origin as specified in the schedule E (1), rule 161 (2), of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1945, are needed to be taken under expert medical supervision. For the manufacturers of ASU drugs, the notice states that they should imprint, " Caution: To be taken under medical supervision " both in English and Hindi on the labels of such ASU drugs, which contain potentially hazardous ingredients of plants, animal, or mineral origin, as specified in the schedule E (1), rule 161 (2), of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1945. The notice also states that contravention of this provision may be brought to the notice of appropriate licensing authority for appropriate action. The public notice primarily focuses on public for creating awareness and manufacturers for putting a label of caution on the drugs. The contravention of which, in the part of a manufacturer, is liable for appropriate action. However, the notice forgot to mention about the most important intermediary between the consumers and the manufacturer, " the retailer " ‑ the retail chemists and druggists actually selling the medicines with or without medical prescription. This is very much pertinent in Indian scenario as over‑the‑counter selling of medicines without prescription is very rampant. One of the studies eliciting the characteristics of pharmacies in Central India revealed that 60.6% (n = 475) of pharmacies dispense ASU drugs and 40% (n = 475) dispense medicines without prescription. Given these facts, a mention of pharmacies in the notice is expected. The pharmacies should have been given the option of dispensing ASU medicines with caution and with the prescription of qualified ASU physicians only. Moreover, dispensing of medicines without medical prescription leads to the irrational use of these drugs. Hence, the notice may be partially helpful in alleviating the problem of the irrational use of herbal drugs in India. In one way, it focuses on public who are cautioned about buying medicines through online shopping without any medical prescription as these may contain potentially hazardous plant, animal, or mineral ingredients, and on the other …