Pharmacists protest new traditional Chinese medicine sales rules

Taipei, May 4 (CNA) Around 5,000 pharmacists gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on Sunday to protest a new directive from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) regarding the sale of traditional Chinese medicine.

The regulations, announced by the MOHW on March 18, reinterpret Article 103 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act to allow individuals who hold proof of having operated a traditional Chinese medicine business and complete specified coursework to continue selling traditional remedies, even if they are not licensed pharmacists.

The policy also permits those with a background in traditional Chinese medicine or pharmacognosy and at least one year of practical experience to apply for registration, provided they complete 35 academic credits across five required areas: medicinal material identification, processing and storage, pharmacological fundamentals, regulatory understanding, and business operations.

The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations (FTPA), which organized Sunday's demonstration, argued that only certified pharmaceutical professionals should be allowed to handle traditional Chinese medicine, as such substances are still legally classified as medicinal drugs.

"If traditional Chinese medicine were regulated as food, pharmacists would not object, but its current classification as a drug requires trained oversight," FTPA President Huang Chin-shun (黃金舜) told reporters.

Huang also criticized the MOHW for allowing unlicensed practitioners to qualify after completing only 35 academic credits in professional courses, saying the move "trampled" on professional standards.

Suggesting that pharmacist oversight of traditional Chinese medicine is increasingly valued, FTPA spokesperson Huang Yen-ju (黃彥儒) said the number of traditional Chinese medicine businesses hiring pharmacists to manage stores has grown from 421 to 1,279 over the past 20 years.

Huang emphasized that without passing the national pharmacist licensing exam, there is no way to verify whether traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have accurate knowledge of medicinal products.

He urged the government to implement a classification system that separates medicinal-use herbs from food-use herbs.

In response to the protest, Su Yi-chang (蘇奕彰), director of the MOHW's Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, defended the policy by saying it relies on programs that offer more coursework in Chinese medicine than is typically found in pharmacy programs focused on Western drugs.

Su emphasized that managing Chinese medicine -- from cultivation and storage to procurement and processing -- requires distinct expertise not covered by the Examination Yuan's standards.

Hsieh Ching-tang (謝慶堂), chairman of the National Union Chinese Medicine Association of R.O.C., said the Chinese medicine industry is on the verge of "extinction" and could disappear within 10 to 20 years without action.

Hsieh welcomed newcomers to join the industry and questioned why pharmacists were "so nervous" over the proposed changes.