The supplements scandal: herbal pills do not always contain ingredients on label

In February we saw the NICM's Adjunct Associate Professor, Vicki Kotsirilos, be the voice of reason in a story covered by Fairfax's Sydney Morning Herald regarding the American paper released which stated that herbal supplements didn't always contain the ingredients on the label.

Associate Professor Kotsirilos was quick to state that it wasn't the case in the Australian market, with Australia "having one of the highest regulatory systems for complementary medicines in the world."

She told the Sydney Morning Herald that, "Australian consumers can be confident that, as long as it has been regulated through the TGA – as AustL (listed) or AustR (registered) product – that they're very likely to contain the dosage and ingredients recorded on the label." For this reason she advised people against buying their supplements from the internet or overseas.

Associate Professor Kotsirilos also stated in the article that "some complementary medicines, such as evidence based nutritional and herbal supplements in their final product form have evidence of clinical efficacy for clinical conditions," and that "it is important that people are guided by professionals who are aware of the evidence and which products carry the evidence."