A Chinese medicine traders licensing system will be established to ensure the trade's practising standard and protect public health.

Chinese Medicine Council chairman Daniel Tse said today everyone engaged in the retail or wholesale business of Chinese herbal medicines, and manufacture or wholesale of proprietary Chinese medicines, must apply for licences from the Council's Chinese Medicines Board.

The board will receive applications for Chinese medicine traders licences from May 5.

To facilitate the operation of Chinese medicine practitioners, business premises of listed and registered practitioners who dispense Chinese herbal medicines to patients under their direct care will be exempted from the retail licence.

Dr Tse said the proprietary Chinese medicine registration system will come into operation six months after the implementation of the Chinese medicine traders licensing system.

Assistant Director of Health Dr Leung Ting-hung said after the first round of licensing work is completed, people who do not have appropriate licences should not operate Chinese medicine businesses.

To better inform the trade about details of the system and application procedures, briefings will be given.

On receiving the applications, the Department of Health will visit the premises and traders who fulfil the licensing requirements will be issued with licences.

The board has also formulated practising guidelines for:

* Chinese herbal medicine retailers and wholesalers; and

* proprietary Chinese medicines manufacturers and wholesalers.

The guidelines provide detailed guidance on business premises, warehouses, facilities and equipment, and qualifications of personnel.

Apart from complying with legal requirements, licensed Chinese medicines traders will have to follow practice guidelines to ensure the standards of the trade are maintained.

If a licence holder breaches the law, the licensing conditions or the practising guidelines, their licence may be suspended or revoked.

More details of the system will be available at the Council's website, www.cmchk.org.hk.