Several deaths have been attributed to people using herbal preparations bought in the local market, according to Dr. Abdullah Al-Baddah, Executive Director of the National Center for Alternative and Holistic Medicine in the Ministry of Health. He warned against using traditional herbal preparations which are not licensed by the Ministry of Health and not approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). In a lecture at the Rabwat Al-Riyadh Forum entitled “Wrong practices in alternative medicine”, Al-Baddah confirmed that medical preparations should be in the form of capsules, drinks or ointments approved by the Ministry of Health. He said the reason why people turn to alternative medicine is the failure of modern medicine to treat some diseases, particularly chronic diseases. Apart from this, people also fear the side effects of some medicines. In addition, there has been an increase in the cost of healthcare in some countries and some people are calling for a return to nature and a rejection of chemical medicines. Moreover, modern medicine tends to focus on disease and not on the patient. Al-Baddah said malpractice occurs in the use of alternative medicine, including mixing herbal medicines with chemical medicines without consideration of the contraindications that may be involved. He pointed out that mixing medicinal herbs with chemical medicines can result in serious complications. He said that quite often people believe claims that herbal medicines can treat chronic and incurable diseases. However, there is no scientific proof for this, he stressed. Al-Baddah said some of these wrong practices infringe on religion and morality. He cited the example of some branches of alternative medicine that are not based on proper medical foundations but on misconceptions about religion. In these practices, practitioners exploit the patients' need for treatment, particularly psychiatric patients, with the aim of making a quick profit. This is in addition to what is practiced by people who treat others by recitation of Qur'anic verses (by Ruqyah) and treatment by traditional doctors, who commit malpractices.
