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Political Update At the federal level, we are still waiting for the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) to issue their updated document on Standards of Evidence (SOE) while they complete their analysis of the many responses they received on the original document. By the time you read this, the latest version will be available. You can access it at the NHPD Web site at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/nhpd-dpsn/index_e.html. The OHA submitted a very detailed document in response to their original SOE proposals. Although they were heading in the right general direction, there were some significant problems with the proposals. Since the revised document is not available at the time I am writing, I can not advise you as to what kind of problems, if any, are still evident. I strongly urge interested members to check out the latest proposals at the NHPD website and to e-mail or write to them if you think there are reasons for concern. It is imperative that you do this immediately because they are working under a very tight deadline. The NHPD needs to get the proposed regulations for natural health products (NHPs) published in Canada Gazette, Part II, before the end of June, otherwise they will have to go pretty much back to square one in the development of the NHP regulations. Although the SOE document is not part of the regulations but rather outlines a set of policies that will be administered under the regulations, the NHPD does not want to publish the regulations until the major policy framework has been developed. The SOE policies are the last group of policies that they want to finalize before the proposed regulations go to parliament for approval. As a result, I am concerned that they will try to limit any further consultation on the issue. I will be keeping a close watch on this and we will e-mail our professional members if there is anything in the document that requires an immediate response. The NHPD is also in the process of creating monographs on NHPs that will be used to speed up the process of product license approvals when the NHP regulations come into effect. I managed to get access to the initial drafts of some of these monographs. To be fair to the NHPD, these were first drafts and they have promised to conduct a consultation on the monographs before they are approved. However, I was very concerned about what I saw. The monographs were way too restrictive on approvable claims and grossly overbearing on the contraindications and toxicity warnings. I communicated my concerns to the NHPD and stressed the importance that the herbalist community must be given the opportunity to have input into the final versions of these documents, especially with regard to traditional claims. The monographs are very much in need of input from professionals with empirical experience with herbs as opposed to academics. The NHPD has assured me that we will have an opportunity to provide our input. I will keep you posted on this issue. In my last Political Update, I mentioned that I was trying to convince a group of associations representing practitioners, consumers and the NHP industry the importance of working collectively to try to arrange a meeting with Anne McLellan, the federal Minister of Health, to stress the importance of NHPs and complementary and alternative medicine to the future of health care in this country. Since becoming the Health Minister, she has demonstrated very little interest in this issue. Unfortunately, this effort failed because of the inability of the various associations to create a common message that everyone is happy with. We have managed to advance the NHP issue this far because of our ability to work together in our lobbying efforts. I hope that this is not a sign that the various stakeholder groups, like the government, are beginning to lose sight of the bigger picture. We will continue to do our best to keep on top of these and other issues. Please be sure to check our Web site periodically for updates on important developments that occur between issues of the Journal. Political Update, February 2002 Regulations of Herbs/Natural Health Products The material contained on this web site is intended for educational purposes only and no responsibility is assumed for misadventure resulting from the misuse of botanical preparations. If you have a health problem, you should consult a qualified medical doctor for diagnosis. Herbal treatment should be undertaken only with the advice of a qualified herbal practitioner. Self medication is dangerous and inefficient. The Ontario Herbalists Association does not condone general members practicing Herbal Medicine and is only able to support those members who have gone through a rigorous screening process thus qualifying for Professional Membership. |
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