Common Ground, Issue 254, Sept 2012
HEALTH RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ARE DISAPPEARING
On February 4, 2013, Canadians will lose their right to purchase many herbs and vitamins. Possibly for good.
It will be the law.
On February 4, 2013, Canadians will lose their right to purchase many herbs and vitamins. Possibly for good.
It will be the law.
Click on Image for Template Letter to MP UPLAR (Natural Health Products Unprocessed Product Licence Applications Regulations) was passed in 2010 in Canada.
It comes due February 4, 2013.
It gives Health Canada (Canada’s FDA) legal authority to pull ‘unlicensed’ herbs and vitamins off the shelves with jail time and monetary fines against the sellers.
The problem is 80 percent of all herbs and vitamins have not received licensing.
Tens of thousands of products are still awaiting the process, are in process or haven’t yet received responses. Health Canada doesn’t care.
This law shuts down the natural health care market in Canada.
Ask yourself who benefits if the alternative health care industry is shut down?
Whose medications are left on the shelves?
Under the guise of looking out for the ‘safety’ of Canadians, Health Canada has, in fact, shut down the freedom to choose for Canadian citizens by having exclusive power over product approval.
The natural health products industry has risen above scepticism with legitimate research into some of the most innovative products worldwide, maintained growth through economic turmoil and provided answers and help when the medical model with its prescription drugs and/or surgery has failed the Canadian public.
Suppliers in this country are at their wits end trying to comply with the regulations and fees imposed by the government; products are required to be reformulated (often lacking key ingredients) and labels are changing at an alarming rate to accommodate the various claims and subsequent cautions that must be shown on the product.
Has anybody died as a result of a natural health product?
No. Never.
There has never been a death attributed to a natural health product in this country.
Statistically, you are more likely to have an anaphylactic reaction to nuts, shellfish and prescription drugs.
Natural health products do not belong in the drug category and ought not be regulated nor treated as such.
As a retailer trying to offer the absolute best products for my customers, I must make this plea to all suppliers, fellow retailers and consumers:
Please help us to unite in this awareness.
The reality is we have been complying with this process for over seven years now and there is no logic to the manner in which Health Canada is accepting or rejecting natural product numbers (NPNs).
The greatest farce is that ‘over the counter’ pharmaceuticals like Crest toothpaste, Tums, Rolaids, Nicorette gum and Covergirl makeup all carry an NPN.
How ridiculous is that?
Can these products even compare to the quality, ingredients, purity and wholesomeness of anything that is natural?
How did we let this happen to our precious industry when we have worked so hard to prove our products are effective and safe for all people and most importantly, the sick?
The next threat to our livelihood is that the rules of this unfair game will continue to change based on random criteria.
Currently, digestive enzymes and probiotics, the essences of life, are being scrutinized as to whether their NPNs ought to be revoked.
How are we to stop this atrocity once it is happening because of unfounded reasons?
As I watch the flood of cautions now listed on the various products that traditionally have caused no harm, it saddens me that, despite my noblest efforts to explain the new requirements, I also watch the customer reading them and putting the bottle or box back on the shelf.
As wholistic people, we can and must come together and rise above the prevailing domination Health Canada has over our ability to manufacture, sell and ultimately choose natural health products.
Please share your success story with supplements, reveal your hardships dealing with Health Canada and communicate what this issue means to you.
By supporting your local health food store and their exclusive products, you may save the products that protect you and keep your body free of disease.
Know that there are changing rules and product seizures taking place that are unfounded and unlawful. Let your government know that you want to preserve your freedom to choose.
Follow this magazine and Nick Mancuso’s PowerHealthRadio.com for up to date coverage of these issues as they unfold.
– Lucy Miller, owner, The Healthy Hut (Cochrane) Ltd., www.thehealthyhut.ca
It’s time to take action.
Contact naturalhealthfreedomcanada.com and find out what you can do about it.
For a template letter to your MP or Government Officials and start writing click on Canadian Awareness Network.
Editors (Joseph Roberts) note: By forcing health products to have “warnings” on them, it normalizes the real warnings on some other products that can be dangerous, such as alcohol and tobacco and thus dilutes the importance of the message, playing into the hands of big corporations such as Big Pharma.
It comes due February 4, 2013.
It gives Health Canada (Canada’s FDA) legal authority to pull ‘unlicensed’ herbs and vitamins off the shelves with jail time and monetary fines against the sellers.
The problem is 80 percent of all herbs and vitamins have not received licensing.
Tens of thousands of products are still awaiting the process, are in process or haven’t yet received responses. Health Canada doesn’t care.
This law shuts down the natural health care market in Canada.
Ask yourself who benefits if the alternative health care industry is shut down?
Whose medications are left on the shelves?
Under the guise of looking out for the ‘safety’ of Canadians, Health Canada has, in fact, shut down the freedom to choose for Canadian citizens by having exclusive power over product approval.
The natural health products industry has risen above scepticism with legitimate research into some of the most innovative products worldwide, maintained growth through economic turmoil and provided answers and help when the medical model with its prescription drugs and/or surgery has failed the Canadian public.
Suppliers in this country are at their wits end trying to comply with the regulations and fees imposed by the government; products are required to be reformulated (often lacking key ingredients) and labels are changing at an alarming rate to accommodate the various claims and subsequent cautions that must be shown on the product.
Has anybody died as a result of a natural health product?
No. Never.
There has never been a death attributed to a natural health product in this country.
Statistically, you are more likely to have an anaphylactic reaction to nuts, shellfish and prescription drugs.
Natural health products do not belong in the drug category and ought not be regulated nor treated as such.
As a retailer trying to offer the absolute best products for my customers, I must make this plea to all suppliers, fellow retailers and consumers:
Please help us to unite in this awareness.
The reality is we have been complying with this process for over seven years now and there is no logic to the manner in which Health Canada is accepting or rejecting natural product numbers (NPNs).
The greatest farce is that ‘over the counter’ pharmaceuticals like Crest toothpaste, Tums, Rolaids, Nicorette gum and Covergirl makeup all carry an NPN.
How ridiculous is that?
Can these products even compare to the quality, ingredients, purity and wholesomeness of anything that is natural?
How did we let this happen to our precious industry when we have worked so hard to prove our products are effective and safe for all people and most importantly, the sick?
The next threat to our livelihood is that the rules of this unfair game will continue to change based on random criteria.
Currently, digestive enzymes and probiotics, the essences of life, are being scrutinized as to whether their NPNs ought to be revoked.
How are we to stop this atrocity once it is happening because of unfounded reasons?
As I watch the flood of cautions now listed on the various products that traditionally have caused no harm, it saddens me that, despite my noblest efforts to explain the new requirements, I also watch the customer reading them and putting the bottle or box back on the shelf.
As wholistic people, we can and must come together and rise above the prevailing domination Health Canada has over our ability to manufacture, sell and ultimately choose natural health products.
Please share your success story with supplements, reveal your hardships dealing with Health Canada and communicate what this issue means to you.
By supporting your local health food store and their exclusive products, you may save the products that protect you and keep your body free of disease.
Know that there are changing rules and product seizures taking place that are unfounded and unlawful. Let your government know that you want to preserve your freedom to choose.
Follow this magazine and Nick Mancuso’s PowerHealthRadio.com for up to date coverage of these issues as they unfold.
– Lucy Miller, owner, The Healthy Hut (Cochrane) Ltd., www.thehealthyhut.ca
It’s time to take action.
Contact naturalhealthfreedomcanada.com and find out what you can do about it.
For a template letter to your MP or Government Officials and start writing click on Canadian Awareness Network.
Editors (Joseph Roberts) note: By forcing health products to have “warnings” on them, it normalizes the real warnings on some other products that can be dangerous, such as alcohol and tobacco and thus dilutes the importance of the message, playing into the hands of big corporations such as Big Pharma.
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