Since 2004, Health Canada's Natural Health Products Regulations Have Forced Over

[Guest guest]

reposted from HANS-e-News

Since 2004, Health Canada's Natural Health Products Regulations Have Forced

Over 20,000 Products Off the Canadian Market

by John Biggs

 

Below is a list of US companies whose products used to be sold in Canada

prior to the 2004 implementation of the Natural Health Product Regulations.

Following a seven-year process, in which the number one request of Canadians,

by

far, was that they wanted increased access to more natural health products,

and in which NHPs were supposed to have been given their own category separate

from either Foods or Drugs under the Food and Drugs Act, Health Canada came

out with the Natural Health Product Regulations. Not only did these

regulations classify natural products as drugs without providing the new

legislative

category, but they were also supposed to protect Canadians' access to NHPs.

 

As is reflected in the list below, they have had the opposite effect. There

are literally multiple thousands of products (20,000 plus) that Canadian

stores can no longer get or sell.

 

Note that this list does not reflect the products that were lost when

Canadian companies shortened their pricelist due to the cost of complying with

the

regulations.

 

1.Solaray, Kal, and all other products produced by Nutraceutical Inc. - Over

5,000 products offered in their US pricelist. Some of the best products

anywhere in North America. Sold in Canada for more than ten years when

discontinued. Did everything Health Canada asked of them for four years before

having th

eir site license denied by Health Canada. Gave up in frustration as they

couldn't spend any more money on legal fees.

 

2. HerbPharm - Producer of hundreds of herbal tinctures. Sold in Canada for

more than ten years when discontinued after the NHPD regs came into effect.

 

3. Gaia Herbals - Producers of hundreds of herbal tinctures. Sold in Canada

for more than 10 years when discontinued after the NHPD regs came into

effect.

 

4. Allergy Research Products - Over 650 extremely high quality natural

products of all sorts. Sold in Canada for more than ten years when

discontinued.

Will no longer ship to Canada.

 

5. Country Life - Hundreds of high quality natural products in tablets and

capsules. Sold for more than 10 years in Canada when discontinued because of

the regulations.

 

6. Source Naturals - 2,300 products in two lines representing a full range

of nutraceuticals. Will not ship to Canada period because of all the shipments

held at the border.

 

7. Vitamin Research Products - More than 400 innovative, well researched

products that are flagged and regularly denied entry at the border.

 

8. Jarrow products - More than 600 well researched, high quality products.

Submitted product license applications to Health Canada, but gave up in

frustration with shipments being blocked at the border.

 

9. Herbasway - Producers of green tea products. No longer available due to

the regulations.

 

10. Yogi Teas - These are just herbal teas. Most are no longer available due

to the regulations.

 

11. Sweet Wheat - High quality wheat grass products. No longer available due

to the regulations.

 

12. Bernard Jensen Products - Available in Canada since the 1970s. No longer

sold due to the regulations.

 

13. Organic Essentials - Organic tampons. Disallowed because their

applicator was considered a medical device by Health Canada.

 

14. Zand Herbals - Hundreds of herbal products sold in Canada since the

1980s. Pulled out of Canada after the regs went into effect.

 

15. Life Extension Products - Hundreds of extremely well researched NHPs no

longer allowed into Canada for commercial sale.

 

16. Dr. Christophers Original Formulas - More than 200 herbal formulas sold

in Canada since the 1970s. No longer available because of the regulations.

 

17. Vaxa - No longer allowed across the border due to the regulations.

 

18. Robert Grey Cleansing products - Sold in Canada since the 1980s. Have

pulled out of Canada due to the regulations.

 

19. Natrol - Over 1000 products. Sold in Canada until the regulations went

into effect.

 

20. Houston Nutraceuticals - Enzymes used to improve digestion in kids.

Available until the regulations came into effect. Then all commercial shipments

were refused entry into Canada.

 

***This is just a partial list of the products Canadian stores can no longer

get, products that they used to sell, prior to the regulations.***

 

There are dozens of long standing Canadian distributors of NHPs that are

experiencing great economic hardship because Health Canada is stopping their

shipments at the Canada - US border, for any variety of reasons. These are

mostly products for which product license applications have already been

submitted

to Health Canada.

 

In addition, when the regulations came into effect, almost every Canadian

NHP supplier shortened their pricelist (sometimes dramatically) because of the

cost involved in submitting the applications for licensing each product. This

is a drug-style approval system that was never supposed to be applied to

NHPs, as per the Expert Advisory Committee, the Standing Committee on Health,

and Parliament. They mandated that Health Canada should produce regulations

that reflected the inherent safety and low risk levels of these products. As

you

can see, they have done the opposite.

 

John Biggs is the owner of Optimum Health in Edmonton, AB.

_www.optimumhealthvitamins.com_ (http://www.optimumhealthvitamins.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

This is extremely frightening. What can the public do ?

Liz

 

 

 

In ,

bestsurprise2002 wrote:

>

>

> reposted from HANS-e-News

> Since 2004, Health Canada's Natural Health Products Regulations

Have Forced

> Over 20,000 Products Off the Canadian Market

> by John Biggs

>

> Below is a list of US companies whose products used to be sold in

Canada

> prior to the 2004 implementation of the Natural Health Product