OUR obsession with herbal remedies may cost us more than just the pounds 126million we pay out annually on alternative medicines.

At the moment, anyone can call themselves a herbalist and give out remedies.

And the rise in high street Chinese, ayurvedic or Western herbalists selling unlicensed and potentially- dangerous remedies is causing increasing alarm.

But at last, after a series of reported severe side-effects, action is being taken. Calls have been issued for tighter controls on herbalists and the packaging of remedies.

The Herbal Medicine Regulatory Working Group is investigating and will report its findings in June so that the Department of Health can consider how to regulate the industry.

Vital's medical herbalist Dee Atkinson, owner of Napiers clinics and dispensaries in Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as a new flagship store and clinic in London, is involved with the group.

She said: "We need a state register of qualified medical herbalists for the sake of public safety. We feel this is the best way to protect both our profession and the health of the public."

Professor Mike Pittilo, a biologist based at the University of Hertfordshire, is the Scots chair of the working group. He said: "There is no protection for the public.

"We are producing two reports - one on the regulation of herbal medicine practitioners and the second on providing correct advice on the products they use."

The Medicines Control Agency also reported some Chinese herbal products had "dangerous and illegal" ingredients, including mercury and arsenic. Four years ago, after two women suffered kidney failure as a result of taking a Chinese herbal remedy, theherb Aristolochia was banned in Britain. And 18 months ago, anxiety treatment Kava Kava was voluntarily withdrawn from UK shelves after reports of liver damage.

But even remedies which are regarded as safe - such as St John's Wort or gingko - could still interfere with drugs prescribed to treat problems such as asthma, heart conditions and auto-immune diseases.

More than 80 per cent of herbal medicines sold in the UK are unlicensed - and that is currently legal, as long as no claims are made about the product's performance. Licensed products are able to describe on their packaging just what condition they canbe used to treat. The proposed new legislation - which may be introduced within a year to 18 months - won't be aimed at those products already licensed.

But new, imported or unlicensed products will undergo tests before they are sold.

Professor Pittilo added: "Anyone who just assumes that if a herbalist is on their high street they must be okay could easily be seeing someone unscrupulous."

But it doesn't mean you should avoid herbalists. There are a number of voluntary organisations, such as The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine and the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, which can recommend reputable outlets.

Both these organisations are part of the member of the European Herbal Practitioners Association (EHPA), an organisation working towards statutory self-regulation for herbal medicine in Britain.

Nick Lampert, president of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine, said: "People must check that the herbalist is a member of a recognised professional association. That way they can ensure the quality of their service and products."

This Article has been submitted by the Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com team for informational and educational purposes. Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com is a website dedicated to telling the story of Jeremy Jacobs, a character in the novel, Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com.