By Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReporterTHERE IS a growing demand for alternative medicine, with herbal supplements as the most popular method, despite the fact that there is no conclusive evidence of its effectiveness in most cases.
In recent times, local newspapers have been flooded with advertisements of these services, which claim the ability to cure diseases and illnesses, including HIV/AIDS despite the fact that this is against the law.
"A lot of people are going for herbal products right now, because they are all-natural and they don't have any side effects," an independent Herbalife distributor, who did not wish to be named, said on Tuesday. "Our products are food, not medication."
But while individuals are seeking this unconventional therapy, Dr. John McHardy, President of the Medical Council of Jamaica, said that persons purporting to be able to treat these medical conditions were in breach of the Medical Act because in order to do so, they have to be on the medical registry, he said.
Section 14(3)(c) of the Medical Act says in part that:
'Any person who, not being registered as a medical practitioner under this Act, who prescribes or administers any drug, serum or any other substance or remedy for the cure, treatment or prevention of any human disease, ailment, deformity defect or injury shall be guilty of an offence.'
If convicted, persons can be fined $40,000 or 12 months imprisonment or sentenced to both fine and imprisonment.
"I have not seen any of the ads or received reports of them but when we hear of cases, we usually write to the Commissioner of Police and they are supposed to take action...we have done so in the past," Dr. McHardy noted.
Eurwin Johnson, one of the regular advertisers of these services, had a public notice last week, which read that through his "prayer and herbs" persons have been cured of HIV, prostate cancer, diabetes, herpes, and fibroids among other ailments. Mr. Johnson, who has been in this line of business for the past 10 years, said that he was not breaking the law as the herbs he uses are sanctioned by the Ministry of Health.
"All the herbs that I use are passed by the Ministry of Health... I buy them from dealers who get them into the island," he said last week. "I was inspired to do this, it's a special gift that I got from God."
The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) said it had no special unit to deal with cases of this nature.
"They (cases) are generally passed on to an investigator, we are unable to keep statistics because of the way it is dealt with," explained an officer.
The officer referred to a case involving a Dr. Vinola Fowler, who was arrested in 1992 of practising medicine without being registered as a medical practitioner, as one of the most recent incident. Information from The Gleaner archives show that Dr. Fowler was convicted in 1998 but her conviction was later set aside in the Court of Appeals following submissions by her attorney that she was convicted on hearsay evidence.
The Crown had led evidence that in 1992, she diagnosed and treated a woman and issued her a medical certificate requesting that she be given 10-days leave for a specific remedial treatment.
In handing down its decision, the Appellate Court said that the document on which the prosecution based its case did not amount to a medical certificate as it did not show that Dr. Fowler was holding herself out as a medical doctor. Dr. Fowler, is an iridologist - a person who examines people by looking into their eyes.
