http://www.gaia-health.com/articles301/000327-eu-declares-peppermint-controllable-herb.shtml"The EU has listed Mentha x piperita, common peppermint, for regulation as a medicinal herb. The only thing that could make this worse would be for someone to claim that it can be of benefit in a serious disease.
Oops! We may have a problem. Peppermint is known to be beneficial in irritable bowel syndrome and spastic conditions of the bile duct, both of which might be considered serious conditions. Conveniently, the EU has not defined the term "serious condition", so we can't yet be sure.
If either irritable bowel syndrome or spastic condition of the bile duct is seen as a serious condition, then peppermint could be banned. The EU's Traditional Medicinal Herbal Products Directive (THMPD) will not allow herbs to be sold for "serious" conditions.
Once existing stocks have been sold after 30 April next*, the EU may not allow its sale as a beneficial herb. At a minimum, EU citizens will not be able to purchase it in a form intended for medicinal use for any serious condition or for any minor condition unless each manufacturer goes through a prohibitively expensive and draconian procedure to prove that their particular version is both safe and efficacious."
