From Ann Wills
David O’Danachair’s letter claims that herbs are basically poisonous whereas drug companies carry out tests to ensure their products are safe (5 June, p 30). However, natural therapies such as British herbs are normally extremely safe, especially when compared with drug-based medicine. The Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 279, p 1200) stated that prescribed drugs are between the fourth and sixth most common cause of death in the US. This study left out overdose, abuse and wrong administration of the drugs, so the number of deaths caused by medical drugs is really much higher.
Charles Medawar, who wrote Power and Dependence, found that at any time 10,000 hospital beds in the UK are occupied by people who have been damaged by prescribed medical drugs. Complementary medicine and orthodox medicine should work together to use the best of both to help the patients.
Ruislip, Middlesex, UK
