Natural Health Products Protection Association (NHPPA)

Tel | 519-648-2050 | info@nhppa.org | www.nhppa.org | www.charterofhealthfreedom.org

Health Canada’s NHPD* Joins The Debate

The Safe or Unsafe Controversy

In 2013, several media articles and letters from leading experts in natural health generated criticism

from Health Canada. Attempts by the NHPD to discredit respected industry professionals did not

address the real issues in any meaningful way, but that they exist, means our voice is being heard.

Read them all in this package. Then send them all to your Member of Parliament.

ENCLOSED:

Debate Overview | NHPPA | Shawn Buckley LLB

Safe or Unsafe | Alive Magazine | Shawn Buckley LLB

Crying Wolf About NHP Regulations | Alive Magazine | Adam Gibson NHPD

Letter to the Editor | Alive Magazine | Dr. Zoltan Rona MD, MSc

Health Canada: Where are the Dead Bodies? | Toronto Sun | Dr. Gifford-Jones MD

Letter to the Editor | Toronto Sun | Scott Sawler NHPD *NHPD changed their name to NNHPD in 2014

Natural Health Products Protection Association

Tel | 519-648-2050 | info@nhppa.org | www.nhppa.org | www.charterofhealthfreedom.org

HealthCanadaisgettingsensitivebutisnotyetreadyforafairandopendiscussion.

AnarticleIwroteconcerningourlossofnaturalhealthproductswaspublishedintheDecemberissueofAlive

Magazine.Mypurposeinwritingthearticlewastopointoutthattherecanbehealthconsequencestolosingproductswerelyon.Anyonewantingtoreadthearticlecanfinditathttp://www.alive.com/articles/view/23702/safe_or_unsafe.

Asitturnsout,thisarticletouchedanerveatHealthCanada.AdamGibsonofHealthCanadawroteareplypiecewhich

Alivepublishedtrashingmyarticle.Mr.Gibsonstartsoutwith:

“Buckley’sAlivearticledoesreadersadisservicebyusingvagueinnuendoandhyperboletocreatefearandmisleadconsumersaboutthetruenatureofNaturalHealthProduct(NHP)regulationinCanada.”

ThefulltextofMr.Gibson’sreplycanbefoundathttp://nhppa.org/?page_id=6043.

Afteraccusingmewiththeratherstronglanguageof“usingvagueinnuendoandhyperboletocreatefearandmislead”,Mr.Gibsondoesnotaddressanyofthepointsraisedinmyarticle.Rather,hestates:

“ThefactisthattodayHealthCanadahasauthorizedforsaleover60,000NHPs(comparedwithabout8,200

prescriptionmedications).”

Mr.Gibson’sreplyangeredsomedoctorswhodisagreedwithhim.Dr.ZoltanRona,amedicaldoctor,wrotetoAliveinresponsetoMr.Gibson.Dr.Rona’sresponsebeganwith:

“DearEditor:HealthCanada’sLetterintheFebruary2013editionofAlive,“CryingWolfAboutNaturalHealthProductRegulations”attackingShawnBuckleyiscompletelyoutofline.HealthCanadaisattemptingtohoodwinkthepublicintothinkingthattheywillhavenoproblemwithaccesstonaturalhealthproducts.

Thisisaboldfacedlie.

IhavebeeninpracticeasamedicaldoctorspecializinginComplementaryandAlternativeMedicinefornearly35years.In2012,HealthCanadastoppedthesaleofover60differentsupplementsthatIhadbeenprescribingtomyprivatepatientsforover20years.ThesenaturalhealthproductsincludedthosemanufacturedbyThorneResearch,BioticsResearch,DouglasLaboratoriesandothers.”

ThefulltextofDr.Rona’slettertoAlivecanbefoundathttp://nhppa.org/?page_id=6043.Thelettercanalsobefoundatp.18oftheMayeditionofAlive

ThenonMarch3,2013,Dr.Gifford‐JonespublishedintheTorontoSunanarticlethat,likeDr.Rona’sspeaksaboutthelossofnaturalremediesandthehealthcostoflosingtheseremedies.Dr.Gifford‐Joneswentontosay:

“Ifgovernmentbureaucratsarehonestlyinterestedinthewelfareofmedicalconsumers,thebestwayforthemtomakeanassessmentistoexaminerecordsofthedeadbodies.Datacollectedfrom57poisoncontrolcentresintheU.S.

Natural Health Products Protection Association

Tel | 519-648-2050 | info@nhppa.org | www.nhppa.org | www.charterofhealthfreedom.org

showedthatin2010,therewerenodeathsfromtheuseofvitaminandherbalsupplements.This,inspiteofthefactthatduringthatyeartherewere60billiondosesofnutritionalsupplementstaken.

So,wherewilltheseamateurforensicbureaucratsfindthedeadbodies?Itdoesn'trequirealongtedioussearch.TheJournaloftheAmericanMedicalAssociationclaimsthereare60,000deathsfromdruguseintheU.Sand10,000inCanadaeveryyear.Accordingtothejournal,it'snowthefourthleadingcauseofdeathaftercancer,heartdisease,andstroke.”

ThefulltextofDr.Gifford‐Jones’articlecanbefoundathttp://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/27/health‐canada‐where‐are‐the‐dead‐bodies.

Aswithmyarticle,Dr.Gifford‐Jones’articlegotHealthCanada’sattention.ScottSawlerrespondedwithapostingonHealthCanada’swebsitecriticizingthearticle.WhatIfoundinterestingwastheuseofthesameargumentasGibsonusedtoreplytomyarticle.AftersayingHealthCanadahascutredtapeinapprovingNHPLicences,Mr.Sawlerwrites:

“Asaresult,HealthCanadahasauthorizedmorethan60,000licencednaturalhealthproducts(comparedwithabout8,200prescriptionmedications).”

ScottSawler’sfullreplycanbefoundathttp://www.hc‐sc.gc.ca/ahc‐asc/media/ftr‐ati/_2013/2013_33‐eng.php.

SoitwouldappearthatthecurrentanswerfromtheHealthCanadatoconcernsaboutthedangeroflosingnaturalproductsduetoourlicencingschemeistosaywehaveauthorizedmorethan60,000products(comparedwithabout8,200prescriptionmedications).Unfortunately,thiscannedresponsedoesnotaddressanyoftheconcernsraisedinmyarticle,Dr.Rona’sletter,orDr.Gifford‐Jones’article.

Forexample,consideringthatroughly40%oflicenceapplicationsfail(meaningtheproductmustbetakenaway),thenhowcanHealthCanadaimplywearenotlosingproducts.UsingHealthCanada’sfigureof60.000authorizedproducts,thismeansthat40,000productshavebeentakenaway.

Inadditiontothe40,000licencefailures,manyproducts,includingthosereferredtobyDr.Rona,donotshowupinthesestatisticsbecausethemanufacturerdidnoteventrytogetthroughthelicencingprocess.Therearenoreliablefiguresofthenumberofproductsthatwehavelostthisway.Thenumberofforeignproducts(mainlyU.S.ones)thatwecannolongeraccessrunsinthetensofthousands.

HealthCanada’sresponsealsofailstoaddressthehealthconsequencesofHealthCanadarequiringformulachangesforproductstogetapproved.Theformulachangehasalmostalwaysbeentolowertheamountsoftherapeuticingredientsrenderingtheproductslesseffective.HealthCanada’sresponsedoesnotaddresstheissueofover‐ridingmedicalmanagement.AsDoctorsRonaandGifford‐Jonesmakeclear,theremovalofnaturalproductsaffectstheabilityofdoctorstosafelyandeffectivelyhelppatients.

Idon’tthinkthatanyofusexpectHealthCanadatoagreewithconcernsonhowtheyregulatenaturalhealthproducts.Atthesametime,Iwouldratherhavethemstaysilentthantouseacannedargumentthatismisleadinganddoesnotaddresstheconcernsraised.Theseareimportantissuesandwecannotarriveatthebestregulatoryenvironmentfornaturalproductsunlesswehonestlyandfairlydebatelegitimateconcernsandissues.

Dr. Zoltan Rona’s Response to Adam Gibson’s Letter to the Editor of Alive

A response to Adam Gibson’s Letter to the Editor was submitted to Alive by Dr. Zoltan Rona. Dr. Rona has had a well-respected private medical practice in Toronto for 35 years, is the author or co-author of 12 books on natural medicine and sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of Alive Magazine.

February 15, 2013

Dear Editor: Health Canada’s Letter in the February 2013 edition of Alive, “Crying Wolf About Natural Health Product Regulations” attacking Shawn Buckley is completely out of line. Health Canada is attempting to hoodwink the public into thinking that they will have no problem with access to natural health products. This is a bold faced lie.

I have been in practice as a medical doctor specializing in Complementary and Alternative Medicine for nearly 35 years. In 2012, Health Canada stopped the sale of over 60 different supplements that I had been prescribing to my private patients for over 20 years. These natural health products included those manufactured by Thorne Research, Biotics Research, Douglas Laboratories and others.

Nattokinase, a natural blood thinner, from AOR was one of the products removed by Health Canada. In addition, the anti-inflammatory enzyme Serrapeptase (100,000 units) has not been granted an NPN number despite requests that have been placed by several companies repeatedly for over a year.

None of these products has been shown to cause any significant side effects or deaths yet they have been suppressed by Health Canada. My patients now have to resort to highly diluted and inferior products. Either that or they are forced to purchase the exact same supplements freely available in the United States over the Internet at grossly inflated prices.

This country loses millions of dollars each year to the USA for harmless health food store products like nattokinase, DHEA, pregnenolone, progesterone and other hormone creams prohibited for sale by Health Canada.

Shawn Buckley has the evidence and my direct experience as a practicing physician verifies to me that he is one hundred percent correct. Accusations made by Health Canada to the contrary are nothing more than noisy spin control aimed at deflecting the public from the truth.

Zoltan Rona, M.D., M.Sc. Thornhill, ON

13/06/13 1:55 PMRe: 'Health Canada: where are the dead bodies' (The Telegram, March 4, 2013) - Health Canada Letter to the Editor 2013-03-08

Page 1 of 1http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/ftr-ati/_2013/2013_33-eng.php

Date Modified: 2013-03-11

Home > About Health Canada > Media Room > For the Record

About Health Canada

Letter to the Editor Regarding: "Health Canada: where are the dead bodies," byW. Gifford-Jones (The Telegram - March 4, 2013)

2013-033March 8, 2013

Contrary to the picture painted by Dr. Gifford-Jones, Health Canada recognizes that many Canadiansuse natural health products (NHPs), and that most of these products are low risk. Recently, HealthCanada put forward new tools and pathways to reduce red tape for companies trying to bring NHPs tomarket, while maintaining consumer safety. As a result, Health Canada has authorized more than60,000 licenced natural health products (compared with about 8,200 prescription medications).

Simply because an ingredient comes from a natural source does not guarantee it is safe. That is whycompanies must provide Health Canada with evidence to support the safe use of NHPs. In his letter,Dr. Gifford-Jones mentions nattokinase, a natural ingredient that breaks down blood clots and acts asa blood thinner. Since blood thinners carry a risk of internal bleeding, their health benefits mustoutweigh this risk. Health Canada contacted companies wishing to sell Nattokinase in Canada to offerthe opportunity to provide this evidence. To date, we have not received enough information to supportthe safe use of nattokinase products. We believe that most Canadians would find this approachreasonable and prudent.

Dr. Gifford-Jones also mentions that Health Canada is "raiding" and "terrorizing" the owners of healthfood stores, which is wrong. When a risk issue is identified, Health Canada works with the company toaddress the risk through voluntary action whenever possible. NHP post-market activities focus onsituations that pose the greatest risk, such as misleading health claims or adulterated or poorlymanufactured products.

Finally, to accuse Health Canada of doing nothing to mitigate the risks with cholesterol-loweringdrugs, or to inform the public of those risks, is grossly inaccurate. These risks are both well-labelledand well-communicated.

Scott SawlerDirector GeneralNatural Health Product DirectorateHealth Canada

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