Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For a few months, customers at Nutters on Patricia Street have seen a stack of inconspicuous 鈥淪OS - Save Our Supplements鈥� postcards at the checkout counter.聽
Since last weekend, however, that has changed to a larger 6" x 9" colourful cartoon postcards that practically scream at the shopper. "ENDANGERED SPECIES," it reads. "CAUSE OF DEATH: PREDATORY REGULATION."
"This is a little more obvious," said store manager Jon Bowley.
Flipping over either postcard reveals a prepared plea for any constituent to send to their local member of Parliament urging them to help fight Health Canada's recent decision to change the regulations on natural health products (NHPs).聽
Those new rules were included in the federal government's omnibus budget bill that passed on June 22. This follows new requirements for NHP labels that were introduced last year.
Health Canada the new rules are needed to improve the safety of therapeutic products including supplements and herbal remedies.
"We have heard from our vendors. A lot of them are quite concerned about it. It's just because a lot of them are small companies; even the bigger ones . . . they know it's going to affect them pretty huge," Bowley said.
"Their concern is they're going to put something on the shelf that just says this is a product, you can't claim anything about it. They're not going to be able to sell as much that way. Eventually, a business that can't sell things is going to go out of business."
NHPs have been regulated by Health Canada since 2004. Bowley said these are some of the strictest regulations worldwide already.
On its website, Health Canada says that more than 70 per cent of Canadians use NHPs. It has amended the Natural Health Products Regulations "to make NHP product labels easier to read and understand" with a mind to supporting consumers in selecting and safely using the products.聽
Looking at proposed label changes (also found on its website) demonstrates how the shift is going to affect consumers. There are four main areas of change with the product facts table being the most significant one. These tables will need to be in a standardized format legibly listing off medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients, uses, warnings, directions for use, storage conditions and contact information for questions.
Bowley said NHP manufacturers will be restricted from claims that they can make about which product is useful for health conditions. Even 鈥渢raditional use鈥� claims will be restricted.
"In my mind, they're doing it because of safety, but there aren't any unsafe supplements out there. They're already regulated. They're already tested. When they say it's about safety, I don't understand. Nobody's died from not taking natural health products."
Health Canada has also proposed industry fees in order to recoup regulation costs.聽
The new labelling requirements will come into force in 2025 following a mandatory three-year period after registration of the Regulations Amending the Natural Health Products Regulations.
NHPs that were licensed before that will have an additional three-year transition period for a total of six years.聽
Still, the impending change is affecting business decisions that are being made currently.
"The big thing that I think is gonna come from it is if people will stop selling their products to the Canadian market. Canadian supplement companies will go out of business," Bowley said.聽
"It's not going to protect anybody, because they can just go online and buy these products anyway. They're going to buy it from the States, or China or wherever else, and they have a lot less regulatory processes to ensure that there is safe products being sold. It's actually, in my mind, going to cause more unsafe products coming into Canada being bought on the internet, which is crazy."
The 51暗网 reached out to Health Canada for comment. No response was received by press time.
