"Once we understand [the Chinese and Indian] medicine systems, I guarantee
you, our confidence in natural remedies will increase and someone will
capitalize on them in the United States."
Your typical health nut? Not exactly; the speaker was one J. Paul Jones,
PhD, vice president for R&D of the giant Procter & Gamble household products
conglomerate. This area of natural products, he revealed, "will really
challenge FDA as they decide how to regulate natural products and ingredients."
Jones addressed a meeting of the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association
on Nov. 18 (cited in F-D-C Reports, 11/29/93).
Jones had been asked to predict what the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market
would look like in the year 2010. "What could be safer," he asked
rhetorically, "than a natural product with a 2,000-year history of use?"
How true, but kinda funny, donąt you think, coming from the makers
of Crisco?
Other participants predicted a tremendous growth in OTC products connected
to aging, including "tonics" to maintain a youthful appearance. A former
FDA Associate Commissioner, Marc Scheineson, predicted that soon "labels
will require so much information that they will be contained on computer
chips attached to the product." Drugs may also someday be offered for
sale through a "home pharmacy network."
###
[Editor's 1996 note: Procter & Gamble continue to have an interest in
alternative medicine. In fact, we are happy to note that they are now
spending millions of dollars supporting research into the dietary approach
to cancer treatment.
