HerbalEGram: Volume 11, Issue 10, October 2014

The National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) will celebrate its 150th anniversary this month (October 2014) during its annual meeting in Nottingham, England. Founded in 1864 as the National Association of Medical Herbalists (NAMH), the Institute was renamed in 1945.¹

The Institute sets professional standards and runs an accreditation system for its members, many of whom reside outside of the United Kingdom. The Institute is self-regulating and represents the interests of its professional members, their patients, and the public in its dealings with British governmental regulation.² In addition, it publishes the quarterly, peer-reviewed Journal of Herbal Medicine. The founding members of NIMH were herbalists and practitioners of the 19th century who followed Britain’s extensive practice of folk remedies and also incorporated native North American traditions and plants.³

Herbalism in mid-19th century Britain was widely practiced but not widely regarded when NIMH was established. Albert Isaiah Coffin, whose philosophy of care was called “Coffinism,” tried to spread the practices and remedies he learned while in America only to discover that his British colleagues were indifferent at best or hostile at worst. As one of the driving forces behind the founding of NAMH, Coffin’s goal of disseminating knowledge and championing the cause of herbal medicine in Britain would begin a legacy of diplomacy, as the Institute carefully monitored legislation efforts by the British government.

The practice of herbal medicine by herbalists has a long history of official sanction in the United Kingdom, going back to the early-to-mid-16th century when King Henry VIII implemented a series of acts to regulate the practice of medicine in London.⁴ One of the most well-known acts was the Herbalists’ Charter (referred to as the “Quacks’ Charter” in some medical history books) of 1543, which granted herbalists the right to practice independently of surgeons and physicians: “[I]t shall be lawful to every person being the King’s subject, having knowledge and experience of the nature of Herbs, Roots and Waters, or of the operation of same, by speculation or practice within any part ... of the King's dominions, to practise, use and minister in and to any outward sore, uncome, wound, apostemations, outward swelling or disease, any herb or herbs, oyntments, baths, pultes and amplaisters, according to their cunning, experience and knowledge in any of the diseases, sores and maladies before said, and all other like to the same, or drinks for the Stone and Strangury, or Agues, without suit, vexauon, trouble penalty, or loss of their goods.”

As medical science advanced, both conventional and traditional medicine (i.e., herbalists) fought for recognition and a place in British law books. In 1881, the Royal Commission of Medical Acts drew the Institute’s attention as its strict rules and wording threatened the practices of many herbalists across the country. An earlier act in 1858 barred herbalists from giving medical evidence in court, issuing death certificates, or legally claiming unpaid fees.⁴

The Institute’s advocacy efforts continued through the 20th century as medical herbalism experienced a revival following World Wars I and II. However, the Pharmacy and Medicines Act of 1941 effectively made the practice of herbal medicine illegal, since it neglected to give herbalists the right to directly supply their patients with herbal remedies. While many herbalists continued to practice with the government’s tacit, apologetic oversight, the founding of the National Health Service in 1948 likewise did not include fair provisions for those who practiced herbal healing. As a result, herbalism remained outside the bounds of orthodox medicine and its regulations.

The passing of the Medicines Act in 1968 effectively reversed the restrictions set on herbal practitioners, guaranteeing herbalists the right to practice their profession and dispense remedies to their patients.³ Frederick Fletcher Hyde, then president of the Institute and of the British Herbal Medicine Association (BHMA), a trade association of herb suppliers and product manufacturers, propelled the drafting of the Act and its provisions for those who practiced herbal medicine.

Legislation and regulation continued to evolve through the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and the NIMH used public campaigns to turn the tide of unfavorable restrictions on the trade.⁴ Notably, in response to a 1994 act by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) — the main regulatory agency in the UK dealing with herbs, food supplements, drugs, et al. — that would attempt to hold herbal preparations to the same licensing requirements as pharmaceuticals, herbalists from NIMH and BHMA launched local and national campaigns to spur public action. The MCA switchboards reportedly became so overwhelmed by calls from the public and media that at times it would shut down for a day. By the end of the year, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health announced that herbal preparations fell “outside the interpretation of an industrial process”⁴ and would be exempt from pharmaceutical licensing standards.

The education and certification of herbal practitioners was deemed a key goal in enhancing public trust in the profession, and NIMH formed the College of Botanic Medicine in 1931 in order to set and maintain high standards for care. However, due to dwindling numbers and the threat of wartime bombing during World War II, the College closed just nine years later in 1940.

Instead of operating a full time college, the Institute began offering training courses, which were run by Fred Hyde from his practice in Leicester. It was a four-year course with weekend seminars and, unfortunately, a high dropout rate. In 1971, with momentum from the passing of the Medicines Act and growing public interest in complementary medicine, the Institute once more set its sights on an official education program for its members. This prompted the creation of the NIMH Education Fund to finance and maintain a training school, which would be managed by the General Secretary of the Institute, Hein Zeylstra. The program relocated to Zeylstra’s practice in Tunbridge Wells and was re-christened as the School of Herbal Medicine.

In 1982, the School had become a private operation by Zeylstra, and the Institute’s finances could not support another independent school. Eventually, the Institute formed a partnership with Middlesex University and offered Europe’s first four-year degree course in herbal medicine. The Institute currently offers accreditation courses at Lincoln College, University of East London, and Napiers University, with master’s courses at Middlesex and Westminster Universities.⁵ Students who graduate from any of these programs are eligible to become members of NIMH.

In a sign of the international nature of the Institute’s mission, several Americans have been invited to speak at the Institute’s 150th annual conference in October, including American Botanical Council Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal; Mary Bove, ND, a New England-based naturopathic physician and medical educator for Gaia Herbs; and Roy Upton, founder and executive director of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia.⁶ Blumenthal’s keynote lecture “Adulteration of Herbal Raw Materials, Botanical Extracts, and Essential Oils” will address the global nature of adulteration and the efforts of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program to educate industry and health professionals. The conference also will feature a variety of lectures, workshops, and an exhibition hall.

—Hannah Bauman

References

1. A potted history of herbal medicine. National Institute of Medical Herbalists website. Available here. Accessed September 17, 2014.
   
   
2. Main page. National Institute of Medical Herbalists website. Available here. Accessed September 17, 2014.
   
   
3. O’Sullivan C, ed. Reshaping Herbal Medicine: Knowledge, Education, and Professional Culture. London, England: Elsevier Health; 2005.
   
   
4. Griggs, B. New Green Pharmacy. London, England: Vermilion; 1997.
   
   
5. NIMH accreditation. National Institute of Medical Herbalists website. Available here. Accessed September 24, 2014.
   
   
6. Speakers’ biographies. National Institute of Medical Herbalists Conference 2014 website. Available here. Accessed September 24, 2014.