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The National Academy of Pharmacy underlines the importance of health safety guarantees, provided by the "pharmaceutical chain" that bring the medicine until his user (from manufacturers to dispensing pharmacists), chain of which the security of each link is controlled and guaranteed by pharmacists. The first of the safety rules lies in the very fast availability of the medicine for the patients, in every respect of the national territory, due to an efficient system of pharmaceutical distribution and to a tightened network of pharmaceutical dispensaries (that constitutes a network of expertises especially to the service of patients and public health). All along the chain, also exists a same concern to guarantee and to preserve the pharmaceutical quality of the medicines. An essential element of the health safety is the right usage of the medicine, to which contribute: information associated with the marketing of the medicine, the very important role of the dispensing pharmacist as such sanitary adviser and therapeutic education teacher, the intervention of the hospital dispensary in clinical pharmacy, the "Pharmaceutical File" under setting up, pharmacovigilance, traceability of medicines ... Pharmacists, responsible at the level of the different steps of the chain, get appropriate skills, carry out themselves their duties and are responsible in front of the National Board of Pharmacists, and their common professional knowledge reinforces the cohesion and the robustness of the chain. Facing the serious issue of counterfeiting of medicines, the pharmaceutical chain constitutes an important line of defence against the entry of counterfeited drugs into commercial channels. The academy of Pharmacy warns against all evolution that would consist to break, even partially, of the mandatory and continuous pharmaceutical control.

Many homeopathic medications are marketed in France on the basis of old national regulations: homeopathic medications with a common denomination (unit or complex products) whose former approval was transformed into a marketing authorization in 1984; "normal formulations" with a special denomination, often dating from before 1941 (date when drug approval was instituted) including certain produces whose marketing approval was obtained under different mechanisms but still sold today. After the EEC excluded homeopathic drugs from the "medication" directives, in 1975 the 92/72/EEC directive stated that beyond the normal requirements for quality and safety, the same obligations could not be required for homeopathic and allopathic medications. A "registration" system was thus instituted for "traditional" medications en lieu of marketing approval. This included a dual obligation: 1) abstention from claiming therapeutic indications, 2) avoiding any formulation which could carry a risk for the patients (i.e. oral and topical formulations exclusive and degree of dilution guaranteeing safety). Beyond this restrictive framework, these medications have marketing approval, but, for the specific features of homeopathic medications, the directive leaves it up to the member States with a "homeopathic tradition" to apply special rules for evaluating the results of clinical trials designed to establish safety and efficacy. For the efficacy feature, traditional use can be used as an argument for marketing approval (article R5143 CSP). In order to create a more rational technicoregulatory environment, older products marketed before 1994 are being "validated" by group according to a calendar established in 2003 and which should run from 2004 to 2012. At the end of this validation procedure, all manufactured homeopathic products will either receive marketing approval or be recorder in compliance with general or specific European regulations. In conclusion, we make a few personal comments which should be helpful for the reader to distinguish between therapeutic efficacy and therapeutic interest.

Under this title will be recalled the responsibilities exerted by the Pharmaceutical Industry in two different fields: in the field of drug production, which has to meet the most rigorous constraints in matter of quality (Good Manufacturing Practices, quality assurance...) under supervision of the pharmaceutical structure; in the field of drug use: after the initial evaluation of the benefit/risk ratio, on which in based the drug registration, it is the responsibility of the Industry to contribute constantly to the good use of medicines and to its optimization (information of health professionals, patient information, pharmacovigilance, and if necessary sanitary safety measures...).