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A practitioner who sells their own brand mixes advice with commerce. What European law says about health claims, and how to keep a recommendation honest.
Where this idea comes from
The practice is old and partly legitimate. A herbalist who dispenses what they prescribe is continuing a model in which the formula is prepared by the person who chose it, with the dose adjusted to the patient. In that model the sale is the treatment, not an upsell.
The modern version is less innocent. Supplements branded with a practitioner's name, sold at three times the retail price, recommended to every client regardless of need, and supported by claims that the product supports immunity or detoxifies the liver. The line between dispensing and retailing is crossed quietly.
What Chinese medicine actually says
In the classical model, the pharmacy and the consultation were often the same room. The practitioner knew the herbs, their age, their preparation and their origin, and the prescription was filled under their eye. Dispensing was a form of quality control rather than a source of margin. That model assumed a small shop and a practitioner who knew every customer by name.
The tradition also warned about the opposite: formulas sold to whoever would buy them, with claims adjusted to the customer. The ethical concern is not new. What is new is the scale, the branding, and the possibility of selling the same jar to a thousand people through a website.
What the research says
European law regulates the claim rather than the sale. Regulation 1924/2006 requires health claims on food supplements to be authorised and substantiated, which is why a compliant label says contains vitamin C and a non-compliant one says boosts immunity. The product may be identical; the sentence is not.
French consumer law adds a second layer. Article L121-1 prohibits misleading commercial practices, including a false impression about the nature or the benefits of a product. The NCCIH, for its part, notes that herbal products vary in quality and can be contaminated or misidentified, which is an argument for a traceable supplier rather than for a branded one. A brand name is not a quality certificate, and sometimes it is the opposite.
What you can realistically expect
At the Centre Équilibre in Grenoble, Ghislaine Morin does dispense herbs through the TCM dispensary she runs at the centre, and the arrangement is disclosed rather than hidden. A session does not end with a product by default, and the price of the formula is separate from the consultation. She will also say when nothing is needed.
Realistically, ask three questions: what is this for, how long will I take it, and what would make you stop it. A practitioner who answers those in specifics is dispensing. One who answers with a benefit story and a monthly subscription is retailing, and the difference shows in the answers, not in the packaging.
When to consult, and when not to
Consult a practitioner who will tell you the retail alternative, the cost per month, and the evidence behind the indication. Ask whether they own the brand, and whether they make more from the product than from the consultation. Those questions are legitimate and the answers are usually revealing.
Do not buy a supplement marketed with a disease claim, and do not buy one that you cannot stop without being told you must continue. Do not accept a product that duplicates a prescription you already take. Duplication is the commonest avoidable harm in this corner of the market.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal for a practitioner to sell supplements?
Selling is legal; the claims around it are tightly regulated. Health claims on food supplements must be authorised under Regulation 1924/2006, and misleading practices are prohibited under article L121-1 of the consumer code. The sale itself is not the problem. The promise attached to it often is.
How do I know a supplement is safe?
Look for a batch number, a named manufacturer and a certificate of analysis. Check for interactions with anything you already take, particularly anticoagulants and immunosuppressants. A product that cannot be traced to a batch is a product whose contents you cannot know.
Should I buy herbs online instead?
It is usually the worse option. Online sellers are hard to trace, labels are often unverified, and disease claims are common. A dispensary that answers questions about origin and batch is safer, even when it is more expensive, because the accountability has an address.
Useful links
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims, 2006 — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/
- Code de la consommation, article L121-1 (misleading commercial practices), current version 2026 — https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/
- NCCIH, "Traditional Chinese Medicine: what you need to know", accessed 2026 — https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/traditional-chinese-medicine-what-you-need-to-know
- Author:Ghislaine Morin
- URL:https://accuponcture-grenoble.com/en/article/the-practitioner-can-sell-me-his-own-supplements
- Copyright:All articles in this blog, except for special statements, adopt BY-NC-SA agreement. Please indicate the source!