UPDATE NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCT RULES, REPORT URGES

Canadians Deserve `Greater Access'

OTTAWA - Canadians should have more access, information and personal choice
in the use of natural health products, a new federal report concludes.

``We urge Health Canada to take immediate action to remedy apparent
inconsistencies that unduly limit access to safe natural health products,''
says an 88-page report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health.

The confidential all-party report, obtained by The Star, is to be submitted
to the House of Commons later this week and released publicly at that time.

There is increased demand for natural health products in Canada, but the
regulatory system in Ottawa cannot deal with the variety of products coming
on to the market.

For example, the committee found there are no naturopaths, herbalists,
homeopaths or traditional Chinese practitioners of natural medicines
working with Health Canada and that civil servants in the department are
often ``openly hostile'' to approving products.

The current regulation of these products is ``fraught with confusion'' and
regulations are not uniformly enforced across Canada, it found. The Health
Protection Branch closed its internationally recognized natural products
division in 1991.

As a result, some products have been banned from the Canadian market for
reasons that are not apparent to consumers or experts in the natural health
field.

But the sale of health products has grown to an estimated $2 billion-a-year
market in Canada and is increasing 15 per cent annually.

``Although we feel that the government has a responsibility to protect
public health and safety, this should not be applied in a way that denies
consumers access to products that they perceive to be necessary for their
well-being,'' the report concludes.

``These therapies may be beneficial, but more importantly, witnesses stated
that they enhance psychological well-being by increasing the level of
control individuals have in the management of their health.''

Titled ``Natural Health Products, A New Vision,'' the report encourages the
largest overhaul ever attempted in the way natural health products are sold
in Canada, including vitamins, mineral supplements, herbal remedies,
homeopathic products and nutraceuticals, or natural drugs.

Its two major recommendations involve creating a new regulatory authority
for natural health products within six months and to enforce strict new
labelling guidelines that would include information about dosage, storage,
side-effects, benefits, expiry dates, use in children and need to consult a
doctor.

Countries such as Australia, Britain, Germany and the United States all
have standardized labelling requirements for natural health products but
Canada does not.

The as-yet unnamed regulatory authority would be staffed by persons with
experience and expertise in the natural health products field.

It would report to the Health Protection Branch within the federal
department of Health Canada.

The report was prompted by a request from Health Minister Allan Rock a year
ago for the committee to consult the public about how Ottawa could provide
consumers with more freedom of choice and access to such products, while
ensuring safety.

In order to properly create a new regulatory agency over the next six
months, the report urges Rock to immediately appoint an expert advisory
committee.

To ensure safety, the new regulatory body would need to ask questions such
as whether products will cause harm if taken, what are the side effects or
risks with use, is the product as described on the label and can the
product work as it claims to improve health.

The committee of MPs rejected the notion that such products should be
allowed to make health claims on a label without some form of evidence.

But it argues for a new and more efficient product licensing system that
allows products to more quickly reach the Canadian market when evidence
backs up health claims.

Once the report is filed with the House of Commons clerk later this week,
it goes to Rock's office for decisions about which recommendations will be
implemented.

But since Liberal MPs comprise the majority of seats on the health
committee, it is believed that the thrust of the report will be adopted.