Melatonin is a hormone that makes you sleepy. If you have sleeping problems or jet lag, you can take melatonin supplements to give your body a helping hand. These pills are freely available, but that had almost changed.
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The Health Care Inspectorate (IGZ) decided that products containing melatonin from a dose of 0.3 mg should be labeled as medicine. The main consequence is that you could only get higher dose supplements with a doctor's prescription. The Netherlands Association of Natural and Health Products did not agree, the organization initiated a procedure and won it.
Melatonin pills will remain available as they are
This means that products with a higher dosage will remain freely available in the Netherlands. Information on the effect of melatonin supplements may also still be given on the packaging, as this is only allowed at a dose of 0.5 mg.
Can a supplement be renamed medicine just like that? The ruling will come as a relief to those who use melatonin during times of stress and sleep deprivation, but the lawsuit also served a higher purpose. 'During this lawsuit, it was mainly about the question of whether you can simply label a dietary supplement as a medicine from a certain dose,' according to the director of Natural and Health Products Netherlands.
