New Legislation Supports Natural Health
Products in Canada
May 7th, 2008
In recent days I have received a flood of emails, letters
and phone calls regarding the introduction of new government
legislation, Bill C-51, which proposes to amend the Food
and Drug Act. Many constituents are concerned about the
legislation’s impact on Natural Health Products
(NHPs).
As someone who believes that natural remedies offer the
potential to tremendously boost the health of Canadians,
I understand their need to understand how this Bill will
affect their purchasing and health choices.
Contrary to a common misperception, Bill C-51 is actually
not focussed solely upon NHPs. It is a Bill designed to
modernize decades-old legislation for all therapeutic
products which includes drugs, veterinary drugs, medical
devices, cells, tissues, organs, blood, vaccines and NHPs.
A lot has changed in medical science and technology, yet
the legislation and regulations governing it have not.
In fact, the most modern regulations are those related
to NHPs because they were established in 2004. Prior to
that date NHPs could only be regulated as either a food,
under which they couldn’t be billed as means to
improve health, or as a drug, under which they faced very
strict approvals. Some examples of products that were
granted licenses and market access under these NHP regulations
and which were previously not approved include melatonin
(for sleep), glucosamine sulphate (for joint pain) and
5HTP (for reducing pain, headaches and aiding in sleep).
Given that NHPs regulations are so new, Bill C-51 will
not actually affect the way in which NHPs are regulated
in Canada – it merely enshrines them in legislation.
Canadians will continue to have access to NHPs that are
safe, effective and of high quality. NHPs will continue
to fall under their own unique set of regulations for
safety, efficacy and quality and will continue to be appropriate
to the relatively low risk profile of their class of products.
What Bill C-51 does do is bring Canada up to par with
other international regulators. Most companies, including
NHP manufacturers, do comply with requests for product
recalls. However, without this Bill, if companies choose
NOT to recall, Canada will remain unable to enforce a
recall even in situations when there are clear health
and safety concerns.
The legislation also enhances the government’s
ability to ensure that consumers have all of the information
on a product they need to make an informed decision and
to ensure that manufacturing sites are clean and that
a bottle or package actually contains the NHP you believe
you’ve purchased.
Under the NHP regulations Health Canada has addressed
a number of such concerns, including incorrect plants
being used in Black Cohosh products, an NHP used for relief
of the symptoms of menopause, posing toxic liver effects
for users.
There must be safeguards and enforcement pertaining to
NHPs to ensure the health and safety of Canadians. “Natural”
does not automatically mean “safe”.
In the days and weeks to come, Bill C-51 will undergo
intense study and debate before the House of Commons Standing
Committee on Health and I encourage concerned constituents
to follow these proceedings at www.parl.gc.ca
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