Mixing the Old with the New: Chinese Traditional Medicine and The Regulation of Food and Drugs in the United States

Abstract

The practice of traditional Chinese healing methods has secured a small but noticeable foothold in some sectors of American society. Whether this is simply yet another incarnation of the West's centuries-old romantic obsession with the exotic lure of the East, or a reserved but genuine concession to the virtues of a foreign medical discipline remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to study the economic significance of Chinese traditional medicine and its implications for the American pharmaceutical industry and United States food and drug regulation.