Herbal Vocabulary and the Federal Government

I am so glad to have the US nanny state protecting me from myself.  Grateful that I can’t get antibiotics except with prescription, grateful that I can’t seek alternative cancer treatments (should they ever be needed), and grateful that most medical doctors know so little about medicinal herbs.  I guess I should be grateful to still be able to breathe without their permission.

As I get ready to sell my books and some herbal preparations at a gun show next week, (first one, no idea how this is going to go), I looked for some herbal marketing suggestions.  The most, and actually, only applicable one came from the legal and regulatory FAQs of the American Herbalists Guild. 

Like you, I was already aware that herbalists and herbal products in the US are prohibited from implying that herbs or herbal formulas can diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.  I didn’t realize that there are a bunch of other words that need to be avoided.

Offending word         Acceptable replacement

Chronic                      Seasonal/occasional

Heal                           Support

Inflammation             Occasional swelling

Medicinal                   Herbal

Pain                            Aches

Reduce                       Soothe

Relieve                       Ease

Serious/intense           Minor

Treat                           Balance

When I’ve looked for herbal remedies in the past, it hasn’t been with an aim to “soothe,” “ease,” or “balance” something “minor” or “occasional.”  Those verbs and adjectives all sound a bit soft to me.  I am one who generally ignores minor issues as most will eventually resolve anyway.  When I am in enough discomfort to seek a treatment, I want the big guns that will do the job—something that will “heal” not “balance,” something that will “reduce,” “relieve,” or “treat” “serious” “pain.”

I think I’m not alone in that regard.  So I thought posting the vocabulary that herbalists are restricted to using might be helpful.

While pharmaceutical companies are free to market their products, even if they are nowhere near 100% effective and even if there are potentially serious side effects, herbalists cannot.  And a common situation where troubles arise involves the “disease claim.”  A disease claim states that the herbal product will “diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease.”  Disease claims may only be made by those with a medical license and in regard to products with prior FDA approval.  In addition, product labels mentioning specific diseases or conditions like arthritis, diabetes, eczema, or migraines—anything considered a chronic issue necessitating medical attention—are prohibited. 

Providing information on herbs in an educational setting, discussing the herbs’ historical uses and therapeutics, apart from any product or brand, is still acceptable.  But you’ve still got to be careful about protecting yourself.

So where does this leave me?  As you know, I just published Armageddon Pharmacy.  I think it means I can’t sell those herbal preparations I spent the past week putting together at the same time that I sell my books.  I think I will have to be a little more careful with the words I choose when writing about herbs and potential treatments.  I am so grateful to have documented sources for everything and insisted on including them in Armageddon Pharmacy when the formatter was begging to place them in a simple bibliography.  I hope that I included enough disclaimers and recommendations to always check with a physician before beginning any herbal therapy.

References:

https://americanherbalistsguild.com/legal-and-regulatory-faqs