Many alternative medicine stores in Poland may have to close as a result of new regulations on non-prescription remedies from the Health Ministry.

The ministry has limited the amount of non-prescription products that can be obtained outside of registered pharmacies, including Vitamin A cream, Vitamin C supplements (such as the popular Rutinoscorbin), and even iodised salt.

The new regulation will force closure on a number of herbal stores, as income from such popular ailments will be taken away from them. Nationwide, herbal store numbers have dwindled in the past decade, with 4,500 operating in 1997 to just 1,200 today.

Herbalists have been protesting against the ministry’s decision for months. They even handed in a petition to the Sejm lower parliamentary house, signed by around 40,000 people protesting the decision. (jb) 

Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna