Has there been a recent change to the Scheduling of arbutin and arbutin-containing herbs?
No. The change occurred in 2010. There is a TGA administrative follow-through on previous Scheduling decisions about the chemical substance hydroquinone and related substances found in certain herbs. Arbutin is included as a cross-reference to hydroquinone in the Appendices to the Poisons Standard and is affected by this follow-up. Therefore, the TGA is correct in communicating there is ‘no change’ in the Scheduling of arbutin-containing herbs per se. What has changed, is the TGA’s follow through and further analysis on arbutin-containing herbs, such as Arctostaphylosuva-ursi folium (bearberry leaf) and Turnera diffusa folium (damiana leaf), and how they are to be captured by this rescheduling...