Ayurveda – A battle between quacks, spas and fake formulas

By Shanika Sriyananda

Q: What are your views on the present situation in the Ayurveda sector in Sri Lanka?

A: Over the last 20 to 30 years, there has been a worldwide trend towards obtaining alternative remedies, especially in Ayurvedic healthcare. This has been growing because more and more people have realised the benefits of Ayurveda systems, especially those in the Western world who have best of Western medicine and facilities.

Ayurveda is a holistic approach to medicine. It is not only physical but also a psychological therapy. Because of its holistic approach, Ayurveda medicine is becoming more of a real remedy. With Ayurvedic treatment using natural ingredients coupled with various forms of therapies like yoga and meditation, people have been receiving lots of good remedies.

 

Q: What are your comments about the regulations to be introduced to the Ayurvedic sector following the 2015 Budget proposals?

A: Over the years, we have pioneered the services of providing Ayurveda therapy for Europeans, especially to Germans, Swiss and French nationals and in the recent past to Japanese nationals and also the people in Middle Eastern countries.

We have been discussing with the Government authorities to standardise the Ayurveda sector to avoid illegal medical practitioners coming into the industry. When an industry starts growing, there are lots of quacks who try to reap the benefits. We foresaw this trend several years ago and approached various Government institutions and requested them to regularise this industry by bringing in proper standards to safeguard the growing industry as well as to reduce the growth of the substandard services and products which will easily tarnish the image of this age-old traditional treatment system in the country. Unfortunately these concerns fell on deaf ears because they didn’t see the future.

Over the last five to six years, with the increase in tourism, many people have started Ayurveda centres. If you go through the weekend papers, you can see a large number of Ayurveda spas in hotels which have advertised in them. Due to the lack of policies and laws in the country, anyone can open a spa. They just have to register with a local authority as a normal business. They don’t need licenses from the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) or the Department of Ayurveda (DoA) to open or run the business. They can operate the business through social media like Facebook. They don’t have to pay Government taxes. They just have to spend a little money as salaries for the few girls who work in the centres.

There was no law to control spas and other Ayurvedic outlets mushrooming in the country until this Budget introduced the licensing system for such centres. I am happy that all centres must be registered under the SLTB and the DoA. It is also a good move that the SLTB will do the listing of basic facilities in these centres and the DoA will register them.

Q: What made the German Government announce a travel advisory warning travellers not to seek treatment in Ayurveda hospitals which are not approved by the SLTB?

A: Two months ago a German lady was found to be in critical condition in a German hospital after taking treatment from an Ayurveda centre in Sri Lanka. This was highlighted in one of the major German daily papers with the highest circulation. They have published a one page article under the headline ‘Poisons in Sri Lanka’s Ayurveda’ after interviewing the lady.

That article said that the lady had come to an Ayurveda centre which is run by a German lady in Sri Lanka and she was given a lot of medicine. The German health authorities had tested the medicine, which was produced by two reputed companies in Sri Lanka and found that these medicines had 500 times the acceptable levels of mercury.

According to the German health experts, that lady who shouldn’t be alive after taking that dosage was lucky to be alive. After this article, one of the popular television stations carried a one-hour TV program on the same issue. We brought this incident to the notice of several Government authorities, including the SLTB, but it is unfortunate that nothing really happened. We – the Hettigoda Group – also informed the DoA and the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Germany, who also informed the authorities in Sri Lanka and requested them to take action. Unfortunately, action is very slow. 

Later, another five Germans who had sought treatment from the same centre were also in critical condition. However, the initial investigations held in Sri Lanka had found that they didn’t have licenses from the SLTB and DoA and had not paid any taxes to the Government and had started paying income taxes only week after the investigations. A qualified Ayurveda doctor had prescribed medicine to the patients and the medicines were from a reputed Ayurveda company in Sri Lanka.

After this incident, these medicine had to be tested and according to German health experts, those medicines cannot be given out anymore. However, no authority has taken action to test these medicines so far. These businesses thrive as there is no regulatory framework to register these centres in the hotels.

I am happy that the recent Budget clearly says that all the Ayurveda hotels and spas have to be registered and they have been given time till June 2016.

Q: Don’t you think that bringing in standards for Ayurveda treatment and medicine is also vital in safeguarding the Ayurveda sector?

A: Yes, it is equally important. That is why I expect the Government to go a step further after bringing in laws to register all Ayurveda centres. This particular incident has happened because of treatment but also due to poor medicine. We have to have standards for medicine. Whoever who wants to introduce medicine needs to get a proper license with right standards; if not this medicine should not be given to people, because such incidents can destroy the country’s future in Ayurveda. 

As I said before, the German Government has already issued a travel advisory saying not to seek medicine from Ayurveda hotels, which are not approved by the SLTB. 

 

Q: Recently Minister of Tourism John Amaratunga announced plans for popularising Sri Lanka as a destination for medical tourism. What are your views on this?

A: Yes, medical tourism is the fastest growing area today. People are travelling to Asian countries for alternative therapies. Sri Lanka can be the best as we only have to compete with India. Our hospitality is much better than Indians and we can easily compete with them.

However, we must have a proper action plan. We must not only register the centres but also need to standardise all Ayurveda medicines – tonics, oils, tablets and other medicines – that are given to foreigners. They must be registered, documented and must go through proper testing, otherwise you will only have attractive Ayurveda centres which are approved but they will still continue to give fake and substandard medicine to foreigners. Then there will be serious issues for the Government.

If the Government is going to regulate the Ayurveda industry, I think it should go the total nine yards and we don’t want to stop things halfway.

I feel the alternative treatments for Westerners are growing and every hotel now has an Ayurveda centre. Why? They are making money. The foreigners who are coming to Sri Lanka are not interested in getting Thai massages. Thai massages are available all over the world. They come to Sri Lanka to get Ayurveda treatment. That is where we have to make money.

 

Q: What are the other threats to Ayurveda?

A: Even a small incident in the Ayurveda sector is highlighted in a big way, because there is a strong lobby against it. There is a strong pharmaceutical lobby against Ayurveda and there are other countries which are competing with us for this business. They had fuel to the fire when something happens in Ayurveda sector. We have to be cognisant about our competitors who don’t want to see Sri Lanka flourishing via Ayurveda. They may be mainly the other service providers who are losing their businesses to Sri Lanka as they are now aware that more people are moving towards natural treatments and medicine.

 

Q: In Sri Lanka, locals are still reluctant to seek Ayurveda treatment and mostly rely on Western medicine. Do you see a change in this trend?

A: The wealthiest people in the world have now started saying that Ayurveda is the best form of treatment. We have been in the industry for over 200 years. We have had hospitals and those days nobody would come to these hospitals but today more locals are coming to these hospitals because they see lots of foreigners seeking treatment from our hospitals.

When oil is applied on a Sri Lankan, he or she will say it is sticky and it has a bad odour. But, today foreigners say that they don’t want any artificial fragrance but want natural ingredients. When there is a sticky or bad odour, they say that they know it is natural. This has influenced the Sri Lankans to think in a new way. Thanks to foreigners, there is a revival of Ayurveda in Sri Lanka. When you come to our hotels, you will see foreigners drinking kasaya (bitter formula).

 

Q: How do you see the future of the Ayurveda sector in the country?

A: With this new Government’s initiative on opening up the economy, enhancing friendly ties with India, the European Union, the US and all other countries, it will open up the country to the world and more people will visit Sri Lanka.

Ayurveda is a part of our key heritage. No one can say it came to Sri Lanka only 200 years ago as it has been here for the last 3,500 to 4,000 years. We have had Ayurveda hospitals even in the Anuradhapura era. There are so many traditionally and academically qualified Ayurveda doctors in Sri Lanka and we have an excellent knowledge base for the Ayurveda sector. Looking at all these aspects, I think this is an area in which we have tremendous potential for the future in terms of providing treatment or selling products to the international market.

An ageing population is an issue faced by all the countries. If you look at the ageing population, it belongs to the baby boomers of the 1960s. They were the wealthiest people in the world and now they are in their retirement. They have been exposed to the world’s best medical services and this is the captive market for us as Ayurveda is the best form of treatment since it fits well into the today’s concept of no chemicals and a natural lifestyle.

The Middle East, which has lots of wealthy people, is another potential market for Ayurveda. Due to their religious orientation of going for natural products, Ayurveda has tremendous potential.

If Ayurveda is properly marketed, it will not be winter or summer tourism, but year-round for Sri Lanka as health will be one of the top priorities of anyone when seeking immediate treatment and medicine.

 

Q: There are medical insurance schemes for Western medicines and tests. Why are there no such schemes for those who seek Ayurveda treatment?

A: Yes, our target is to influence insurance companies to cover part of the Ayurveda healthcare. We want the insurance companies to accept five to six Ayurveda centres in Sri Lanka and give 20 to 30% insurance coverage for Ayurveda treatment.

In the next 50 years, the Asian region is growing to be an economic powerhouse. The world’s richest people will be in Asia. They will come to Sri Lanka seeking Ayurveda treatment. They know what is close to their heart in the region. I feel this concept has long sustainability.

However, we need to get our house in order. We have to get the right regulations, cleanse the country of illegal centres, and bring in proper standards for medicines and treatments to attract them to Ayurveda treatments. 

 

Q: Shortage in raw material to produce Ayurveda medicine is a serious problem given the country’s dwindling forest cover. What do you propose to solve this issue?

A: Yes, finding raw material is a serious issue in the Ayurveda industry. We mainly depend on imported herbs. We again face problems as several of those countries have put restrictions on exporting raw herbs. We have already raised this issue with the Government and the authorities said that they would allocate land to grow herbs, but I think it should be done in an organised manner.

I also think that this should be expedited as some herbs will take five to six years to grow. Some are short-term crops. The right lands should also be allocated to the right parties. Earlier we had the concept of ‘Osu gammana’ (herb villages) but it became a failure as the lands were distributed among some friends of the then Government. No herbs are coming from those lands now. I think the Government must hold those people accountable. If the Government is launching such a program, the land should be given to responsible people and progress must be monitored. It should be a national plan.

 

Q: Are there any plans to preserve and safeguard the knowledge of traditional Ayurveda doctors in Sri Lanka?

A: This is very important for the future of the Ayurveda sector. The Department of Indigenous Medicine under the Ministry of Health has commenced a program to recognise some of the top traditional doctors in the country. Minister Rajitha Senaratne has spelt out some plans to bring their knowledge to one forum to preserve it. He even expressed willingness to buy their knowledge.

Ayurveda doctors who pass out from the medical colleges don’t have the heritage of Ayurveda medicine. The formulations are with the traditional doctors. The Minister highlighted the importance of preserving and safeguarding this knowledge without letting it die. We have to preserve, safeguard and make formulas out of the precious formulas at village level. The Minister offered to pay them the loyalty as there are lots of valuable formulas belong to these traditional doctors.

The important factor is that these formulas are well trusted and tested medicines. They have been used for generations and they still work for aliments. Without the traditional Ayurveda doctors, the longevity of the Ayurveda sector is questionable as they are the people who take Ayurveda forward. Our company is blessed as my father’s family is five generations old and we have lots of valuable family medicinal books and also the books, especially the traditional Ayurveda formulas written on ola leaves, which were donated to us by several people. We have hundreds of these books and we continue to put new medicine in every year through our Research and Development Unit.