According to the Chinese Medicine Ordinance, regulatory
measures relating to Chinese medicines shall be divided into two areas
as follows:
-
The licensing of Chinese medicines
traders: Chinese medicines traders who wish to engage in the
business of retail and wholesale of Chinese herbal
medicines as well as the wholesale and manufacturing business
of proprietary Chinese medicines must first apply for the relevant
licence from the Chinese Medicines Board. They may continue operating
their own business only after they have obtained the licence.
- The registration of proprietary
Chinese medicines: All kinds of proprietary Chinese medicines
must first be registered by the Chinese Medicines Board before they
can be imported, manufactured and distributed in Hong Kong.
According to the Chinese Medicine
Ordinance, Chinese herbal medicines mean the toxic Chinese herbal medicines
specified in Schedule
1 of the Ordinance and the Chinese herbal medicines specified in
Schedule
2 of the Ordinance which are commonly used in Hong Kong.
And "proprietary Chinese medicine" means any proprietary
product -
-
composed solely of the following as active ingredients-
| (i) |
any Chinese herbal medicines, |
| (ii) |
any materials of herbal, animal or mineral origin customarily
used by the Chinese; or |
| (iii) |
any medicines and materials referred to in subparagraphs (i)
and (ii) respectively; |
-
formulated in a finished dose form; and
-
known or claimed to be used for the diagnosis, treatment, prevention
or alleviation of any disease or any symptom of a disease in human
beings, or for the regulation of the functional states of the human
body;
Apart from the foregoing restrictions, according to
the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap.60 of the Laws of Hong Kong), any
person who wishes to import or export any of the Chinese herbal medicines
specified in Schedule
1 or the 5 types of the Chinese herbal medicines specified in Schedule
2 as well as any proprietary Chinese medicines must first apply
for an import or export licence.
The legislations including the Chinese Medicine Ordinance,
Chinese Medicines Regulation, Chinese Medicines (Fees) Regulation and
Chinese Medicines Traders (Regulatory) Regulation should be taken as
the standards for regulation of Chinese medicines. The Laws of Hong
Kong can be downloaded from the Internet (Website: www.justice.gov.hk).
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