Over the years there has gradually been a weathering away of its usefulness from the heady days of 20 years ago. First there is the ever present Big Brother Syndrome. These are the various bodies which are dragged out as 'Protectors of the Universe'. If people had listened to them Michelangelo would never have produced the Sistine Chapel, Columbus discovered America, Marie Curie would never have been allowed to experiment with pitchblende and discover Radium. Soon you may need rubber gloves and a mask to open a bottle of Lavender Oil.

In Europe (and Britain follows meekly) the Legislators are out in force with various bits of Draconian Law to restrict, prohibit, dismiss discussion and generally make people subserviently accept all their strictions on the buying and using essential oils in the not too distant future. Legislators should regard law with reason as a protecting influence. Instead it is used to further erode our freedom to choose how we are to use plants and oils for better health. This Legislation is not etched in stone.

There is something both suspicious and almost sinister about bureaucrats who only seem to live in a mass of verbage and documentation. At first they only want to suggest helping people. Then they want to direct people. Then they bring in Legislation which forces people to obey their strictures. Is it for a good cause ? Hardly. So far there has been NO real incidents when using aromatherapy when compared to the extremes of drugs and chemicals. One day they are fine. Next day they are dangerous.

Don't get me wrong. Drugs can and do save life. Without them there would be plagues roaming the earth like the 12th Century. Indeed many of the precursors of modern drugs originate from plants, whether it is Penicillin or Quinine. However, there is always a danger that the New Gods of Orthodoxy, supported by bureaucrats who cannot see a greater vision than their own narrow files. There is a 'political correctness' around which is shuffling people into trenches which will not allow them to peer over the tops to see if the rest of the world is real.

What has happened to Aromatherapy? You cannot state that an oil has any benefit on any package sold. You cannot say that Lavender is good for burns, in spite of massive evidence, including the originator of the word aromatherapy - Gattefosse. It was possible to use an ever decreasing list of words to describe any possible benefit until you are left with none. 20 years ago an oil 'could help'. This was followed by 'may help' subsequently by 'has been used to help' and finally nothing. At each stage the bureaucrats have found slippery ways of changing both perception and truth.

Tacit acceptance means accepting the rules and restrictions which the Legislators dictate. The British are an easy going people and it takes a lot to get them to move. It is even more difficult when it is to do with politics.

Where is the outcry?
Nowhere it seems. Maybe this is because some of the founders have moved on, journals have ceased production and organisations tend to be concerned with their own position and do not see any dangers on the horizon. Each one exists in cosy relationships and each interprets the weather as coming up roses.

Let us make a statement about the situation. Legislation emanating from Europe will restrict the buying and using of essential oils by 'unqualified' people.This means doctors and pharmacists. Much of this comes through without any discussion or dissent. Has it been discussed in Parliament? A little - and this is restricted to certain aspects. Much goes through by other means. True it may take effect in a few years time, but it is now in place at the Council of Ministers.

What can the various organisation do? Well for one they can all merge together. Two - they can unite and get a positive programme to defend choice. Three - they can forget their own restrictive practices. Fourthly - they can establish a programme of research into aromatherapy to slay the dragon once and for all and give clothes to claims of effective use of oils.

How can this be done? Well 2000 is an auspicious occasion to lay down the guidelines and way forward for the future. It can be the year in which all people interested in the future of aromatherapy can join together in common purpose and this could be started by calling a meeting of all concerned in the therapy to put forward a positive programme. This could take almost a year to prepare and even the discussions would take several days. However, the alternative is to allow the erosion to continue until the therapy becomes a mere perfume to be smelled. Even now the bureaucrats are looking at 'cosmoceuticals' and 'aromaceuticals' to see how they can control them in the future.

It is time to stand up and ask your own organisation what they are doing to stop and reverse the drift. Otherwise it becomes a case of turkeys voting for Christmas!