There has been much confusion surrounding the launch of the new Traditional Herbal Registration (THR) scheme and we would like to take this opportunity to respond to some of the common concerns raised.
“The price rise is an attempt to make more money”
Due to the dossiers of evidence and extra independent quality tests required under the THR legislation, the cost of manufacture for all companies who wish to continue selling herbal medicines has increased. Unfortunately this has been reflected in the price of some of these products. But you can be assured that we are doing our best to keep costs as low as possible, but there are many factors that are not under our control, this is not a case of profiteering by us at Healthspan.
“Why has Healthspan changed the formulation?”
For a product to be registered under the Traditional Herbal Registration scheme it must have a history of 30 years of safe use, of which at least 15 years safe use has to have been recorded within the EU. As a result of this, manufacturers must submit formulations to the-MHRA for approval. This has meant that many formulations previously used by companies have not been accepted as they have not had a long enough safety record. This has resulted with Healthspan changing its formulation in line with this new legislation.
“I can buy these products cheaper elsewhere.”
Some companies are continuing to sell unregistered food supplement products that do not carry the THR logo; they will no longer be available for sale once “on the shelf” stock runs out. This means that companies will have to either withdraw their equivalent food supplement lines or switch to the more expensive THR registered products. This is likely to cause widespread price increases. As different suppliers have different levels of excess stock, the point at which they will cease to sell old stock varies. As the UK’s largest direct-to-consumer supplier of vitamins and supplements our stock was depleted very quickly.
“Healthspan has taken advantage of the good will of its customers.”
At Healthspan we faced a choice between withdrawing popular products such as St John’s Wort, Devil’s Claw and Milk Thistle and introducing a new range of products that comply with THR legislation that would unfortunately have to be provided at a higher price. We think that it is important to provide a complete range and as a result chose to comply fully with the new legislation.
25% off for September 2011
Filed under: Feedback, Questions Tagged: | Echinacea, Herbal, Medicines, MHRA, Milk Thistle, Remeides, Saw Palmetto, St John's Wort, THR
Please can you publish, in layman’s terms, an in depth comparison between the old St John’s Wort sold by HealthSpan, and this new product which seems, by all accounts to be an inferior and less effective product?
The old product gave 300mg of concentrated extract Hypericum Perforatum, providing 900mcg of the active ingredient Hypericin.
The new product gives 370mg of Hypericum Perforatum – but is that in the same concentrated form as the original product? If not, why not? And does the new dose 370mg still provide a guaranteed 900mcg Hypericin, which most chemists agree, is the essential active ingredient of St John’s Wort?
Thanks for your help with this.
William Carter
Thank you William,
As of the 1st June 2011 certain herbal preparations require licensing under EU legislation as these are now classed as herbal medicines. These products will carry the THR (Traditional Herbal Register) logo. Due to the introduction of the THR scheme St. John’s Wort is no longer available as a food supplement from Healthspan.
The new THR products are manufactured according to evidence of traditional use from over 30 years including 15 years in Europe. The dosage, nutritional information and recommended daily intakes are all based on this accumulation of evidence.
The dose from the previous product was based on a combination of clinical trials and recommendations from our panel of experts. However now this extract has to be licensed by law we are required to adhere to the MHRA terms.
In the past certain herbal supplements, such as St John’s Wort, were prepared as standardised percentages to a specific active compound- such as Hypericin. We could verify and state the levels of Hypericin in the product.
Within the current regulations, we are only allowed to list the following details about the active ingredients: 370mg of extract (as dry extract) from St John’s Wort aerial parts (Hypericum perforatum L.) (5-7:1) (equivalent to 1,850mg to 2,590mg of St John’s Wort). As you are noticing with the new formulation there isn’t a directly comparable extract level of Hypericin- this is because our license only allows for a standardisation of the whole plant extract, not of the Hypericin. Given that each plant differs in level of Hypericin, it would not be possible to give a hypericin level.
We understand that this is not the direct comparison you are looking for, but hope you can appreciate that we are simply trying to comply with the tight regulations for these products.
Thank you for the explanation. It’s obviously a tricky area.
In many ways it seems we would be a lot better off without the EU and it’s pettifogging regulations!
William Carter
Actually, I think this is pretty lousy. I take the same product as the person here – 1.5 tablets/day of 300mg, 0.3%, and I don’t wish to change my dose. Surely Healthspan can tell me how much of what new product I should take to enable me to do this.
Apologies John- but any comparison would be inaccurate as the new product does not contain a standardised extract- meaning that levels of active ingredient can vary from capsule to capsule.
If you take a look at this equivalent product from another supplier http://www.schwabepharma.co.uk/pages/products/karma.php you will see that they give a range (1490-2550mg) for the amount of St John’s Wort that each capsule may contain- rather than an exact value. This is standard (and required) practise on licensed herbal medicines under the THR scheme. We’re sorry we cannot answer your question.
All this means is that I cannot buy from you. Unless there is some sort of help I havent a clue how much to take. You have gone from making a product that tells you how much hypericin it contains to one that doesnt even mention the word hypericin. Its the equivalent to ending someones cholesterol reducing drugs and then telling them there’s a new product but that they’ll just have to guess how much of it to take. Surely you can say what the average, naturally occurring amount of hypericin is in St John’s wort? If not, bye bye. I need to have faith in what I take.
Just another ruse to get more money out of people, I have been taking unregulated milk thistle for years, now I cant afford it at all, shame on EU regulators.
Thanks for providing the factsheet. I too was surprised by the massive increase particularly for milk thistle. But having worked in the Medicines Control area (animal not human) this legislation has been a long time coming, because EU regs dictate the rules on safety, quality and efficiacy and claims that can be made, companies who want to become licensed have to spend vast sums collecting the data to support their product licence application, and without which they can’t continue to trade.
It’s been a long term problem that some less scrupulous companies make wild claims that simply cannot be substantiated by back up evidence and even the safety of some products would have been questioned. A pharmaceutical company simply can’t make the claims it made in yesteryear without putting a dossier together and getting the licence, for which there is rigorous scrutiny.
For myself I still believe the products do all that I think they did for me, the companies just can’t claim that, they can only make the claim for that which has passed the examination by the THR scheme. Expensive yes, but I will still buy them as i know they work and are good quality and more importantly safe.
It sounds reasonable, until you look at the scale of the price rise
I have been a customer for many years and am amazed at the price you now want to charge for Milk Thistle
I will be ordering less and less from you across the whole range as I am able to find alternative suppliers
As for my “Good will”. You have destroyed it in one with this enormous price rise for Milk Thistle
Thank you for your comments, Mike. Please take a look at this article from another herbal supplier in the UK- in which they explain some of the costs involved.
http://www.seventhwavesupplements.com/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=83
As a long-term customer of Healthspan, you will know that we always try to offer our products at the most competitive prices we can, all-year round. Our procurement team worked very hard to secure a licensed range of Herbal Medicines so we could continue to supply favourites such as Milk Thistle, St John’s Wort and Echinacea- the price rise was, regrettably, unavoidable.
I am also a long term customer who will be voting with my feet!
I too will be going to another supplier for Milk Thistle. Sorry but simply cannot accept the justification for this excessive price rise.
I too was amazed at the price rise in Milk Thistle £5.95 originally , now £12.95. You could have accepted less margin for a time Price rises like this just send your hard earned customers back to **name removed** where Milk thistle is still £5.95
Milk thistle was £5.95 for a box with three (maybe four?) sheets of approximately 48 tablets – certainly well over 100 in a box – now it’s £12.95 for 30?
Same rationale here as Jenny Davis below. Outrageous increase.
Healthspan – you would have been better discontinuing the line, because no matter what justification you put up you look at best, silly here, some would say profiteering, and I’d be amazed if you sell any.
Been using you for years – off elsewhere now, sorry.
If I cant find it at a reasonable price its tough luck liver…….
I understand what you are saying about new rules and I agree that safety comes first and companies should not make false medical claims; but I will no longer buy Agnus Castus product from you as the new formulation means that instead of paying £17.95 for 180 20mg tablets I would have to buy 15 packs of the new product @ £13.95 per pack to obtain the same dosage of extract: = £209.25!!!
Or have I mis-understood?
Jenny- the newer licensed products are more expensive- yes.
However, our old Agnus Castus product is still available here: http://www.healthspan.co.uk/agnus-castus/productdetail-p3196721.aspx# at the original price (while stocks last)
I always bought Echinacea from Healthspan, the price rise was off-putting but now it is also not vegetarian, was this also unavoidable?
We do strive to offer as much of our range as possible for vegetarians- the THR licensed products can only be manufactured by licensed manufacturers too,meaning that we are constrained to getting our supplies from specific suppliers. In this instance we are working with a supplier that is unable to offer a vegetarian capsule. Your comments have been passed on to our products team.
Came on line to buy Echinacea…left without it after what I have read
Yes, so did I. Price rise was one reason. But more important is the fact that it isn’t vegetarian.
I think Healthspan should put that on any page/entry that one is likely to order from.
And how many more products are no longer vegetarian?
Carol
Likewise. Sorry, Healthspan, I won’t be buying any more Echinacea from you since it’s had such an astonishing price increase and (apparently) concomitant drop in quality.
You can claim mitigating circumstances till you’re blue in the face, but ultimately you’ll probably find most punters vote with their feet.
Caveat emptor!
I CANNOT BELIEVE THE PRICE OF MILK THISTLE I WILL NOT BE BUYING AT THIS PRICE – I TOOK IT TO COUNTERACT OTHER TABS TO PROTECT MY LIVER, NOT FOR OVER INDULGENCE! DO THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THESE SO CALLED GURUS?
Thank you for your comments Vera- we can only reiterate that the wording of the usage for Milk Thistle is not of our choosing, but is dictated by our license to sell this herbal medicine. You can see details of all licenses granted on this Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) page: http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Publications/PublicAssessmentReports/PublicAssessmentReportsforherbalmedicines/index.htm (
I have read with interest your comments about the MASSIVE increase in the price of milk thistle! I still cannot see any justification for such an outrageous increase? I too have been a customer for many years but as soon as I find an alternative source I will be asking my custom elsewhere!
Thank you for your comments John.
The previous situation for supplying Milk Thistle was as follows: Milk Thistle could be manufactured and supplied by pretty-much anyone who wished to do so without restriction. As a result, the price of milk thistle supplements could be brought down to relatively low levels- suppliers could negotiate more freely with manufacturers to achieve low prices.
Under the new regulations both manufacturers AND suppliers/re-sellers have to be licensed. A handful of manufacturers have met the necessary criteria to be licensed- at significant cost to those manufacturers. Suppliers, such as Healthspan, have also had to meet the many and varied criteria to obtain a license to be able to continue to sell products such as Milk Thistle- again this was a considerable cost.
So- as well as our increased cost as a supplier, the rules of supply and demand with a decreased number of licensed manufacturing premises mean that manufacturers are able to charge higher prices (and they need to to recoup their outlay to become licensed).
The situation is far from ideal for the end consumer of these herbal medicines in terms of cost- even though the increased regulation is designed to better inform and protect the consumer.
I have just opened my latest received box of Devils Claw. The last box (just finished), was received in April, cost £7.95, and contained 120 tablets.
This latest box cost £13.95 and contains only 60,
So, a price hype of more than 300% !!
I have read your justification for the price rises and can understand there must be some, but not to this massive extent. Come on Healthspan, I have been buying from you for years and years. What’s happened to you?
Also, the information of the changes was not sufficiently highlighted, rather ‘snuck in’ in small print.
AND I have noticed, (again in small print) that Devil’s Claw is manufactured in the UK by Thompson & Capper Ltd., not by youselves. Should’nt your customer’s be told this?
Like many others I shall try to find alternative suppliers for Devils Claw, plus CoEnzyme, Osteo Plus, Garlic tablets, Cod Liver Oil, Vitamin C, MSM, Glucosamine, and Soy Isoflavins, all of which I have been ordering from youselves for more years than I can remember.
Shame Healthspan – you used to be one of the good guys.
I too am off to find an alternative source of Milk Thistle due to the ludicrous and outrageous price rise! I have been a Healthspan customer for more than 10 years but I am so disgusted that I’ll be buying as much elsewhere as I can from now on. I do not believe your justification for this massive rise and think you are definitely profiteering here, whatever you say.
Boo Healthspan- by the sounds of the above comments you’ll be losing a lot of customers and not gaining the new ones you could have got. We are only the tip of the iceberg as only a fraction of people will bother to write in!
I too have just logged in and am shocked by the price rise in Milk Thistle. I have worked in retail for most of my life and can fully understand that if a license is needed than it has to be bought. However, I believe that as this must surly be a one off thing, it would have been better to have absorbed the cost of this from your profits and not therefore lost valuable customers who have shopped with you for years as I have and others who have left comments here. Sometimes in retail you just have to bite the bullet in favor of your loyal customers.
Thank you Sue- we cannot stress enough that this is something that is being felt across this market/industry- a like-for-like product elsewhere will cost the same amount (e.g.http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=3630&prodid=4131&sid=0) – as it is not just the cost of the license, but also the fact that there are far fewer licensed manufacturers- who are able to charge more for supplies of these products.
This just isn’t the case. Everyone who is reading this, please just tap in ‘milk thistle’, (or whatever you are looking for), and you’ll find, like I did, that there are other suppliers who are selling at a good price. I have found suppliers of milk thistle charging anything from £3.99 for 120 caps of 200mg up to £7.99 for 90 caps of 200mg. Some of these are standardised strengths- you just have to read the bumph. Just look around, as I have, and you’ll find an alternative supplier selling at a reasonable price.
Vanessa ( your comment is below)- you are correct, the cheaper versions of Milk Thistle (and other herbal preparations) are still available from other suppliers.
This is because companies are allowed to sell off their remainder stock that pre-dates the changes in legislation. Once they have done so, they will only be allowed to sell licensed THR medicines, such as the ones we sell.
Our non-licensed stock has sold out, so we are only allowed to sell licensed herbal medicines now. As other companies sell out, they will only be allowed to sell the licensed herbal medicines.
For licensed herbal medicines, we are as competitively priced as we are across all our products.
So this is the nasty effect of Codex Alimentarius, huge price increases, removal of choice and big corporate profits, not to mention interference with people’s rights to natural supplements.
Big Pharma must be loving this, isn’t it time the EU left our lives and rights alone!
Healthspin
I do not beleive what you are saying about these totally unjustified price rises. License costs are your business costs not ours. You need to be more transparent in your respones
Philip
Every business has to make a profit to survive, no matter how much they want to help their customers. The EU have forced through this new legislation and it totally sucks. It is NOT Healthspan’s fault.
You should have looked to source from and sell from outside the EU.
The new regulations have nothing to do with ensuring the quality of the items being sold… they are solely about trying to ban traditional remedies and replacing them with patented chemical replacement products which earn fat profits for the big name drug companies.
Alas, this and the antics of the fossil fuel companies will backfire, and hopefully within a couple of years you will be able to start supplying the old formulations again. This is not the place to detail why I say this.
btw, I wanted to buy some Echinacea… the older version worked well.
Two reasons why I have not bought are:
1) New formulation is not vegetarian.
2) Doubts that the new formulation will be ‘as good / effective as’ the old formulation. After all, if it was equal to or better than the older formulation then surely the new formulation would already have been being offered!
Being unemployed price is also important to me, but if it meant that I remained well and therefore did not need to buy other ‘cold relief’ remedies then the money spent on echinacea would have been well spent.
Simon
i have shopped at healthspan for many many years but the increase in all your prices is making me think twice the jump in the price of st johns wort is not acceptable i think that you will lose many customers when everyone is watching the money at the moment if you go to say holland and barrett at the moment it is all special deals buy one get one for a penny to get customers in the door and buying you at healthspan seem to want all your loyal customers to shop elsewhre if you want to keep customers you will have to start dropping prices or face trouble for your business this year and next
Thank you Tina- comparisons with other suppliers can be tricky as one is not always comparing a like-for-like product. If you compare the
licensed St John’s Wort products (H&B sell one called Karma) then they sell that for £15.95 for 30 capsules (53p per capsule). We sell an equivalent product at £10.95 for 60 capsules (18p per capsule) On top of this, the Karma product is not included in their penny sale- although admittedly, their old stock of unlicensed product is included while stocks last. Our remainder stock of unlicensed St John’s Wort sold out very quickly following the changes in legislation for Herbal Medicines.
We understand that the penny sale seems an attractive prospect to customers- but at Healthspan, we concentrate on keeping our prices competitively low all year round and we are confident that we meet that aim.
A quick example that I hope shows how competitive we are, even against a penny sale
25mcg Vitamin D3 from us: £9.95 for 240 tablets (4.1p a tablet)
25mcg Vitamin D3 from H&B: £7.65 for 100 tablets (7.6p a tablet) or if you buy during penny sale £7.66 for 200 (3.8p per tablet)
It is only by selling this product at a promotional penny price that H&B brings the price of this product in line with what we sell it at all year round. There will, of course be exceptions to this rule but please be assured that we keep a very close eye on what competitors are doing and make sure that our prices represent excellent value for excellent quality products.
With reference to KirkH’s comment on 25mg Vitamin D3 02/11/2012 maybe Healthspan should note that when Holland and Barrett have their penny sale customers stock up which means that there would be no need to buy from Healthspan over the following months. This business about being competitive all year round doesn’t hold water because of this fact. I am also someone who has used and recommended Healthspan for years but am now on a fixed income so I will be thinking very carefully about where i shop from now on.
Sorry but your outrageous price increase for Milk Thistle means I’m off to H&B. It saddens me as I’m a long time customer and always found your service second to none.
Outraged by the massive price hike for both Milk Thistle and St Johns Wort, products I have purchased from you for many years. No more, I am off to Natures Best where products closely resembling the previous product formulation are still availabable, BUT at a markedly reduced price.
MM
Logged on to buy some echinacea. There only seems to be one for cold and flu.
I wanted some as I do each year just as a boost for the winter. Doesn’t seem to be available.
Sorry have to go elsewhere. Have been so pleased with the service and products up to now.
Agree with Simon above.
I also agree totally what is happening to Echinacea, I always started to take it at the endof September and continued throughout the winter with just a couple of weeks break in between. I don’t want one that is just for colds and flu. I am just recovery from a nasty head cold and I know if I had not been taking my Echinacea it would not be cleared in just 5 days. I too will vote with my feet and have to shop elsewhere after being a customer of Healthspan for the last 15 years.
Anna
I am so pleased I found this forum ,as I was so incensed with the massive hike in Milk Thistle I thought there must be another ad somewhere that I had missed. Passing on to us ,your customers ,excessive admin and licence costs to this level is unacceptable and regretfully demonstrates that profiteering is paramount . Yes you will lose customers and you have probably built that fact into the losses account. So with the massive percent increase applied to you core trade to offset this factor ,you will still make eye watering profits .
Val
I am a healthcare professional and have been purchasing and recommending Healthspan products and services for many years. I have advised people on a daily basis to look at the Healthspan web site due to quality and price but Ive just come on to get my Vit B6 for my CTS and St Johns Wort for the winter and I am shocked at the price and the poor justifications for the rise.
Its a shame as I have recommended hundreds of people but I will not be able to do that anymore without having the same belief in value for money.
Thank you for your comments Val- as we have pointed out elsewhere, our prices for licensed herbal medicines (such as our St John’s Wort) are competitive with other companies’ licensed herbal medicines. A comparison with the price of unlicensed herbal medicines that are still on the market until those stocks expire is not a fair comparison and we continue to urge customers to recognise the position that we are in regarding these licensed products and the new regulations regarding this range of products.
Hmmmm. Like so many things that affects one’s life these days, there is no simple, straightforward, easy answer. There seem to be three aspects here: Healthspan’s viewpoint, customer’s reactions and the EU.
1. Have Healthspan used a change in legislation to increase their profit margins / charge more relative to costs incurred? Well, they’re not gonna reduce or lose any margins are they? Or they would be shouting the facts loudly about ‘price reductions’.
2. Are customers right in what they’re claiming to be true? In part most definitely, 300% price rises are extortionate. Healthspan deserve a massive brickbat here by not foreseeing customer dissatisfaction – either the product/s should have been withdrawn because of retail end cost after advising customers why, or customers should have been researched to see if they would wish to buy such an expensive product/s. Undoubtedly many (ex)customers will be using the internet to source alternatives. It will be interesting to see how soon / when prices fall . . . . cynical moi?
3. And the biggest culprit of all in all of this is the wretched EU again. Not the place for a political debate here I know, but if the EU had kept their interfering busybody do-no-good noses out of things we’d all still be happy & contented. The root cause of blame has to lay squarely at their feet. Referring to facts not too well remembered; the US declaration of independence is something like 300 words long, whereas the EU when legislating on what determines a cabbage used over 300,000 or was it over 3 million? The precise figures are not important, it is the comparison that shows the EU for the misery-making beast it is.
So to summarise: I will be using the ballot box and other political means of ‘persuasion’, and in the interim buying what I believe is the best value-for-money products that I can. Which when directly concerning health items / vitamins may or may not involve Healthspan.
Loved that Kernel Bogey! Good quality rant there!!! I agree most whole heartedly!
Just be careful not to buy an unlicensed cheaper equivalent illegally placed on the market Kernal Bogey, as you may find that it hasn’t been tested and manufactured to the same high standards as the admittedly expensive Healthspan licensed equivalent!
Not sure how Healthspan can justify this exhorbitant price rise for St. John’s Wort. Someone mentioned Nature’s Best in the above comments and I have just ordered 6 months supply from them.
The price is immaterial to me as I can’t now buy Milk Thistle from either Healthspan or Holland and Barrett – both market the product in capsule form which contains gelatine, and as a veggie I can’t consume them – even if I could afford to! However, once we’ve all finished slagging off Healthspan, we’re going to find that we can’t get the products we want from anyone at all – because, as Healthspan keeps pointing out, all suppliers are going to run out of existing stocks and will have to conform to the new regulations or cease supplying. Which probably leaves us all open to cheap and possibly dodgy internet sources which you can bet will spring up to fill the void. I’m going to start growing my own…
Thanks for your comments Kate- appeals for a vegetarian version of these capsules are coming up frequently and we are looking into the feasibility of this.
I came on line to buy my Echinacea but the huge increase in price means I will not be using Healthspan for my supplements anymore. Judging by the comments I have read you are losing a lot of business due to this increase. Maybe you should listen to your customers if you want to stop this trend. I shall look for my suplements elsewhere from now on.
Thank you for your comments Alan- we are listening carefully to customer comments on this issue but our options are limited: when these regulations came in to force, we could choose to stop selling these licensed products completely or source a range of fully licensed herbal medicines to maintain the product range that our customers expect. As we have been at pains to point out- the licensed versions of these herbal medicines do carry a higher price tag due to their development, licensing and manufacture costs.
So once again we see the interfering EU telling us what we can and can’t do. Some years ago I caught a virus which has left me with a reduced immune system, which gave me pneumonia and other problems. As a result of this I must try and keep myself free of colds and flu because these can make me seriosly ill. I have been taking Echinacea for 5 years now and have not had as much as a sniffle in all that time and I put that down to taking Echinacea regulary. As I am a pensioner I find It very difficult to find the extra money for my Echinacea and will have to try and find a suitable, reasonably priced alterative. The sooner we leave the EU the better and let Britain govern itself with common sense and less bureaucracy.
I’m glad you’re still offering the plain Agnus Castus as well as the ‘Premenstrual Relief’ variety because I have found the latter isn’t as effective as the plain version I used to get before the new rules came in. Now I’ve examined the ingredients in the two products I understand why!
I left a blog ages ago on the huge price rise of Milk Thistle and have been kept up to date with any further complaints. HOWEVER, I have purchased Milk Thistle from another source. It was a little cheaper than the new price from Healthspan and they offered a buy 2 get 1 free. WHen they came I compared the compound of the new with the details on the box from Healthspan and have to take back everything I have said. Healthspan are RIGHT. The compound is now offered as a range per capsule and although it was a little cheaper, you have to take two capsules a day rather than one tablet so no saving. Now my only complaint against Healthspan is the way they let this just happen without warning. This has been exceptionally bad PR and has probably done the company a lot of harm that could have been avoided if only they had had the sense to warn all of its customers that this new process was coming. I will still use Healthspan and trust that they will find a way of reducing costs for the sake of the customers. However, I will stop taking Milk Thistle as I have lost confidence in the product. My choise!!
Thank you Sue- we’re keenly aware that we could have done more to explain these changes in more detail when they happened.
Sir, i tried to order echanacea have been using it for years;but was told that as we live in France you could no longer supply us. Very disapointing.
Why do not the MHRA insist on a similar period of 30 years safe use for synthetic pharmaceutical products, or would Big Pharma quickly go out of business?
The 30 years traditional use applies only to traditional herbals because you don’t have to prove that the product actually works just that it has been used by people for 15-30 years, whereas for fully licensed pharmaceuticals the manufacturer has to prove that the product is both safe and actually works, so for this they have to carry out a series of clinical trials, the 30 years use would therefore be insignificant.
What a shame there was no 30 year rule for Thalidomide et al. Bring back the pioneering spirit of early doctors who took their medicines to prove they were safe. Also the reason why so many died too!!
I have only just read these comments about Milk Thistle! I actually spoke to someone at Healthspan when the product was changed because I was outraged both by the price increase and the change in description. They told me about the new regulations, but didn’t give an explanation about the reason for changing the product description. Before, it was supposed to be a sort of “gatekeeper” to the liver to help with toxins. I like a couple of glasses of red wine each night, and thought this would be a good thing to take. Now it says it is good for the occasional over-indulgence and stomach upset. To me that is a totally different thing. Surely, there are many products on the market that are much cheaper and would settle an upset stomach!!!
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/milk-thistle-000266.htm
Could you please tell what the new equivelant is for echinacea purpurea 3500mg plus vitamin c
As a long standing customer,of a number of your products,I have taken Echinacea on a regular basis to boost my immune system and it works for me. I do not want a product for the relief of colds and flu symptoms, nor one that has become unsuitable for vegetarians ( now that’s a contradiction in terms – when, as the result of a manufacturing process, a plant ceases to be suitable for vegetarians!)
The product is the same, the active ingredient is the same all that has happened is that what can be said on the pack ie the claim and the dosage and strength have now been regulated. So if you took this product before to boost your immune system and you feel that it worked taking the new licensed product will still boost your immune system as you always felt it did. Boosting the immune system is not written on the pack because it has not been proven that the product does boost the immune system and so this claim isn’t approved by the authorities, or there wasn’t enough evidence found that the product does boost the immune system.
Hope that helps.
Just logged on to buy my Echanacea and Vit C, 120 one a day tablets for £7.95… now you want me to buy 60 cold and flu tablets for £9.95!!? 5 years of business and recommendations to friends and family all gone, your reasons are cods-wallop-oil and does not explain the daylight robbery price, you will no doubt loose more money by this insane change of policy than asking us to pay a reasonable increase, judging by the comments above this is across the board. Goodbye. Call me when you have sacked your marketing director and have seen the light.
Thank you Ben. As we have outlined in this post and in response to previous posts, this has never been a rebranding project that we have thought up- the changes in products, packaging and price are as a result of us needing to comply with new legislation.
Haha!!! Love it Ben! Totally agree. Happy shopping elsewhere- although I still buy some reasonably priced items from Healthspan, I am now buying my Milk Thistle from elsewhere and it is NOT at ‘old stock’ prices by the way people and Mr Kirk, but just from another stockist who has not hiked up their prices as much as Healthspan!
If it’s not old stock that is being sold through just check it’s got the THR synbol on the pack otherwise you could be buying product being sold illegally in which case it may not have been manufactured and tested to the same high standards as its licensed equivalent.
Oh dear! I logged on to buy Devils Claw. I have noted the many (anti) comments above which in many cases I find rather heavy handed, a Knee Jerk reaction? I too have used Healthspan for many years and always keen to promote their services! I find qty./price per package (v H & B for eg) to be very favourable. I look forward to noting the changes retailers will make when ‘old’ stocks are replaced with ‘new’ stock at a new price. THEN we will see the full effects of this legislation foisted upon us by the infamous EU etc etc. ALSO, a point worth noting. P&P is free from Healthspan, processing and delivery prompt, Telephone orders placed on an 0800 number, Internet order facility, mm, I wonder who pays for all of these services? Should those costs be absorbed within the price per item? How would we feel if THAT were to happen now? I feel that Healthspan have provided excellent products and service over the years. Now, when suddenly they have to ‘modify to conform’, oh dear all we can do is ‘get the Cane out’ and go overboard. Not to say there are NO valid points being raised btw. Sure, NO ONE likes having to pay (considerably even) more for a product though, do we REALLY, at HEART, try to reason WHY these increases are put in place or do we simply say ‘in the name of profiteering’ as a stock answer? I guess only time will tell but I still have faith in Healthspan to supply my requirements. Thank you Healthspan. Now I will place my order at last. Best wishes to ALL Healthspan members.
Thank you for your comments, Roger.
Heavy handed! Knee jerk! Not really Roger. You have a look elsewhere and you WILL find good products at reasonable prices- post EU changes and not ‘old stock’! This ‘old stock’ chestnut keeps being rolled out by Healthspan as the main excuse for other suppliers reasonable prices- however, you only have to do some looking around and comparing of strengths and prices and you can find great alternatives at reasonable prices. I totally support the 99% of other customers who think Healthspan’s price rises are astronomical and unjustified.
I have been reading all the comment on this page and I admit that I also shop around to find the best deals on my supplements. However I find Healthspan very convenient, it is easy to see if the supplements are suitable for vegans and the service is very good.
My only complaint would be about the packaging, I absolutely hate the thin plastic boxes that only allow the lid to be fitted on one way. Pills end up sticking in the bottom and they are too narrow to get fingers in, so I end up having to shake and bang the box to free up the pills. They also fall around in the cupboard. The cardboard ones which contain the blister packs are not much better.
just logged on to purchase Echinacea and have been a customer of yours for years. I do not want a cold and flu reliever but my usual echinacea which has protected me from colds for years. I too will now purchase elsewhere.
Both myself and my mother (who advised me what a good company you are) use daily St Johns Wort. She is Mrs Hawkins from Alford. I now live in New Zealand and indeed purchased from overseas a good supply to last me 6 months as that is how much I wished to remain a customer. To my surprise, when I tried to order this product again today, which would have been another 6 months supply, toghether with a few other products, I was stuggling to find the product. Only after a while did I discover that I can no longer purchase St Johns Extract and have to now pay nearly double for a third of the tablet content. It saddens me to think that after your company have been so good and competitive, that you will be now losing many customers due to this huge (no other word can describe it) price increase and for less product. Believe me customers don’t want to hear you spouting off about rules and regulations. Bottom line is value for money for them. It doesn’t take a genius to work this one out and I too, will cancel my shopping basket and look elsewhere from now on. This is how companies collapse. I know from experience.
I completely agree value for money is important, we all want value for money but what about the difference between buying a cheap illegal product or a legal highly regulated but expensive product? You’ve got to think about the quality of the product too not just the price. The licensed product has been tested, and found to meet a high standard of quality hence the price increase but unfortunately the unlicensed and possibly illegal product may not have, hence they can sell it much more cheaply. You’ve just got to be careful what you take.
It’s a shame not enough was done to prevent this happening in the first place! The change in the EU legislation was brought about to reduce access to effective, natural remedies. We all know this and Healthspan knew this too. The legislation is being challenged, and WILL be reversed sooner or later (the legislation is acknowledged by mhra as being flawed and ‘largely unworkable’). Unfortunately, the only way we can buy safe, effective, good quality supplements that are good value for money is now from the internet (it IS still legal to buy these supplements from outside of the EU). I wonder, just who is it that gains from this stupid legislation? Companies like Healthspan (that afterall HAVE to abide by the law same as the rest of us), consumers who have less choice, and have to pay more for inferior products, or DRUG companies that have BOUGHT and OWN the companies that have the LICENCES on herbal products!!! Rant over… :p
Usually buy Agnus Castus from you, but not today. Price has risen dramatically, yet both strength and quantity decreased. Surprised and disappointed that you have not highlighted the decreased “strength” to warn us – or perhaps you don’t think it will affect our symptoms?
Thank you for your feedback Jacqueline- the product page does not highlight the extract content although it is listed further down in the description: “Each tablet contains 4mg of extract, equivalent to 28-52mg of fresh Agnus Castus.” In terms of the effect of formulation on symptoms, the strength and formulation of this product is dictated by the license granted to us which is based on 30 years of recorded traditional usage. Licenses and associated claims are only granted for formulations where MHRA are satisfied that the product is effective.
I mostly live in Thailand, I am retired. Normally each year when I return to England I place a bulk order with Healthspan to take back to Thailand with me. Everything is available in Thailand (mostly imported from America), but Healthspan was much cheaper, but not anymore. From now on I will not be buying British health products. I understand America may follow the same route, if so I will be sourcing products from Japan, India and China, pl;us some Filipino and Thai herbal sources.
Like others I shopped around and stocked up from H & B before they put the prices up and even scooped the remaining stock off Tesco’s shelf so wont be buying any for a while. When stocks run low it will be a choice between a high cost licensed supplier (of which I have no doubt Healthspan will be among the best) or a cheaper unlicensed supplier accepting the associated risks.
We as consumers are undoubtedly losers out of this – but I suspect Healthspan is as well.
I have a much greater concern than the price of THR approved products, I’ve been taking your ‘One-a-day Saw Palmetto with Zinc and GLA’ for more than 10 years and it is very effective, completely relieving my prostate symptoms.
I’ve tried your new THR approved ‘ProstAid’ tablets and they simply don’t work for me, my symptoms start to return after only about 10 days or so. I’ve tried doubling the dose and adding evening primrose oil and zinc too but with no improvement.
I’ve tried other manufacturers products too and so far I haven’t found anything that works as well as your old product.
I see you are still selling ‘One-a-day Saw Palmetto with Zinc and GLA’, do you intend to continue to sell this, my concern is that if you take this product off the market I have no effective alternative, my quality of life will take a steep downturn quite quickly?
Hello Paul- the alternative Saw Palmetto product that you have spotted has been reintroduced to our range after the regulations regarding the supply of Saw Palmetto specifically were relaxed. We will continue to sell this product as long as we are permitted to do so and that the demand for it exist- we hope this is helpful!
Before I started using saw palmetto I used to use pumpkin oil, I was working in Slovenia at the time where it was sold by the litre in markets. The combination of the two was very effective. The downside to saw palmetto is reduced erectile ability. I have recently found a new product which is saw palmetto plus pygeum which overcomes this problem. Further searches have led me to tongkat ali which I will try when I next visit Malaysia.
In the 1980′s the talk was that herbal medicines would be banned as it could not be proved that they worked. I can understand that quality & effect needed to be established and standardised to avoid people being ripped off or worse still damaged by the ingredients and all this costs a lot of money and time but why do formulations and strengths have to change? I can understand ingredients being removed but not added, it is a cross we all have to bear for being in the E.U. By the way have any of you ever met anyone who voted to join? I wonder if it was all a big con and we never had a say at all. I have always trusted Healthspan to provide good value for money ( check out strengths and dosage from other companies) but will now reconsider the quantity of tablets I take.