Use (Abuse) of Regulations to Protect Pharma Monopoly

[Guest guest]

May 11, 2005

 

Use (Abuse) of Regulations to Protect Pharma Monopoly The following were

comments made at the federal Standing Committee on Health. The distillation of

thoughts contained here where done for a 8 minute speech and could do more for

health care than the bloated " The Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care "

which cost millions of dollars and is now collecting dust. Another demonstration

of waste in the government that of course will never be accounted for....

See also:

Bill C-420 Must Be Passed As Written - Join FOF

Why Bill C-420 Saves Our Supplements & More!

Chris Gupta

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Prepared by Chris Gupta May 8th, 2005 for presentation to the federal Standing

Committee on Health May 9th, 2005

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As a consumer and advocate I should like to speak in favour of Bill C420. This

important bill expressly addresses our ability to choose nutrients without

interference from governmental regulatory bloat and abuse. It is clear from the

downward spiral of our health care system that regulations are more about

protecting pharma monopoly than health. The purported benefits of regulations in

fact have become the greatest health hazard of all. My questions specifically,

on HC's strange behavior for promoting absurd and illogical drug style

regulations for safe dietary supplements demonstrate this amply. Let me start by

providing you:

Data from an independent risk & policy analyst Ron Law on relative safety of

dietary supplements compared to causes of death in the USA:

 

In the Canadian context, MP Colin Carrie stated on March 9, 2005 in parliament

that just allergies from peanuts alone result in approximately 5 to 10 deaths in

Canada each year. By comparison, since 1960 not one death in Canada has been

attributed to a natural health product.

A tablespoon dose of salt or cayenne is far more dangerous than a tablespoon

dose of say vitamin C or a magnesium supplement! I invite those who don't agree

to try this on themselves!

Dietary Supplements are the most benign segment of foods and should have never

been separated to begin with! Bill C420 will restore these to their original

rightful food category.

It is abundantly clear that nutritional supplements are far far safer than

foods let alone drugs. Hence, why the urgency and insistence to regulate them?

In a new book, Death by Modern Medicine, Dr. Carolyn Dean reports for example,

that the billion dollar drug advertising machine is supported by a mere 6% of

actual, verifiable scientific research. Only 10 to 20% of all standard drug

therapy, surgery, and chemotherapy, which form the basis of the entire modern

medical system, have been found to be supported by any published science. These

findings come from the leading peer reviewed medical journals.

Given that current regulations are not able to prevent the thousands of deaths

from medical drugs and procedures, why and how is HC getting and wasting the

inordinate resources/funds to protect us from non existent dangers of dietary

supplements when these resources are so badly needed for their mandate to

protect the public by regulating known toxic drugs and untested procedures?

The scientific literature is replete with nutrient deficiencies attributed to

drug use. For example: pain killers i.e. NSAID's including Aspirin deplete the

body of the B vitamin, Folic acid. Folic acid is already one of the most common

vitamin deficiency. This deficiency increases the risk of heart attack and

stroke. The Statin cholesterol lowering drugs deplete the body of Coenzyme Q10.

A deficiency in CQ10 will lead to congestive heart failure. Yet HC does not

seems to know or ignores these facts and does not inform the public about the

serous health impairing side effects due to nutrient deficiencies from drug use.

Why?

If lay people like myself can find these facts why wont or can't Health

Canada, whose role is to do just that, ensure such serious deficiencies be

addressed when talking drugs?

Instead we see Health Canada squandering their resources and our tax dollars

by unlawfully and abusively interfering with the sale of safe natural products

containing only vitamins, minerals and herbs like garlic - such as Truehope's

bi-polar disorder supplement and Strauss heart drops. Could the phenomenal

success and use of these nutrients be a factor? Who exactly are they protecting.

It sure is not the consumer!

The absurdity of their excuse that dietary supplements prevent the use of

" proper medical care " is the height of arrogance given the death and carnage

from " proper medical care " . Why should people, at their own expense, turn to

other non medical solutions if the essentially free " proper medical care " worked

in the first place?

It does not take rocket science to understand that nutrient and not drug

deficiency causes disease. With so many safe non drug solutions available that,

in the main, can get to the roots of disease, why then the are the generally

harmful disease masking and often disease causing drugs foisted on the

unsuspecting?

The really big question is: Why do supplements, proven a thousand times over

in the vast medical literature to be safe and effective, need to be regulated

like drugs, which are acknowledged even by their manufacturers to be toxic? Bill

C-420 is again essential because it would repeal sections 3.1 and 3.2 of the

Food and Drugs Act. These sections prohibit telling the truth in informational

and advertising as published by mainstream science about the effectiveness of

food supplements in the treatments of a wide range of health conditions.

Imagine?

Why is HC not protecting us from the billion dollar, generally toxic, drug

advertising machine that is merely supported by 6% of actual, verifiable

scientific research?

When the risk form supplements approaches zero why are regulations to

determine & #147;risk benefit ratio " , bandied around by HC, required for such

safe products?

Could it be that the " risk benefit ratio " is smoke and mirrors way to loosen

the existing regulations for more elbow room for profits rather than health?

Conveniently leaving the door wide open for all manner of food and drug

adulterations?

Given the poor state and cost of our health care system and the negative

impact of toxic drugs shouldn't they be investigating and promoting the much

safer nutritional solutions?

Behavior extolled by HC is negligent, incompetent and inexcusable. Imagine an

aeroplane crash, or telephone, electricity service interruptions without solid

fact finding investigations; copious and thorough accountable incidence record

keeping; and future preventative measures. These basics are the corner stones of

any industry. So why not in health care?

Should Health Canada not be utilizing their resources and our tax dollars for

developing and enforcing the basic health improvement measures such as accurate

and thorough adverse reactions record keeping and post injury investigations?

Without such measures how can effective disease reduction/improvements be made?

The demand for regulation of food-based supplements with medicinal properties

is a monumental deception. Just follow the money - someone is obviously going to

make a killing (pun intended) if Bill C-420 does not pass or the pro-Pharma

lobby succeeds in instituting that so-called Third Category.

Clearly HC behavior is more like that of lobbyists and the apologists for the

industry. Instead of protecting their constituents, they are not or unable to

perform the basic duties discussed here.

Putting an agency like HC in charge of health is like a fox guarding the hens.

Why do we need such a dysfunctional and dangerous regulatory body?

Bill C420 is designed to prevent unaccountable and corrupt governmental body

like HC, who is clearly in bed with the pharmaceutical industry, from running

rough shod over the citizens.

It is sad that we have to initiate bills like C420 or take our regulatory

agencies to the courts just to force them to do their job!

posted by Chris Gupta on Wednesday May 11 2005

updated on Saturday September 24 2005

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2005/05/11/use_abuse_of_regulations_to_pro\

tect_pharma_monopoly.htm

 

pdf file on NIH vitmain/mineral consensus --

http://consensus.nih.gov/2006/MVMDRAFT051706.pdf

 

 

" Respect means listening until everyone has been heard and understood, only

then is there a possibility of " Balance and Harmony " the goal of Indian

Spirituality. " Dave Chief, Grandfather of Red Dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

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