Bar None

Two-thirds of Canada’s Natural Health Products (NHPs) are scheduled for removal.

If Health Canada’s regulatory schedule is allowed to proceed, by 2010, two-thirds of the NHPs left on the Canadian market today will become illegal to sell.

Health Canada will have reduced the NHPs that Canadians can purchase domestically from over 100,000 to 15,000 or less.

Prior to 2004, Canadian retailers could legally sell hundreds of thousands of NHPs. In addition to 70,000 domestic products, they could import and sell almost all NHPs available in the United States. Health Canada’s 2004 NHP regulations blocked commercial import of most American NHPs. Including well over 20,000 that had been sold here for years. This forced virtually all Canadian companies to shorten their list of products.

Of an estimated 50,000 NHPs left on the Canadian market, Health Canada has approved only 9000 applications - at this posting (March 2009) and has refused almost as many.

Given that the deadline for NHP numbers is April 1 2010 (maybe?) it is unlikely that more than 15,000 of 50,000 will be approved. The remaining two-thirds will be illegal to sell.

Here is the kicker.

Virtually all the NHPs that have been granted market approval are single ingredient products.

Thousands of safe, effective multi-ingredient products are waiting for approval. Thousands will not get it. And remember, these are also ones that have been on our stores shelves for years. The products that have an NHP # their number will be listed on an online registry, (which Health Canada is already promoting).

If Bill C-51 or new bills like it are passed, enforcement officers will be sent to health food stores to scan products and force removal of those that are not registered.

Action from the public and industry is needed to prevent this.

Disappearing Act

Within the last 4 years, 20,000 NHPs have been removed from the market.

These NHPs include vitamins, minerals, EFA’s, amino acids and herbs. Most often, the reason is that the ingredient in the plant (the property in the plant when found to be effective in healing) becomes listed as a Schedule F Drug by Health Canada. After you browse through this list you are encouraged to read the Strauss Decision Letter by Shawn Buckley which will help you understand how a pharmaceutical company and the government can own a plant.

Below is a list – albeit grossly incomplete – of NHP’s that are no longer available in Canada.

L-CARNITINE SUPPLEMENT NOW A DRUG

WHAT IS IT?
L-Carnitine is an amino acid.
It is needed for the body to breakdown and use fat for energy.

L-Carnitine is found in breast milk.
It is added to every infant formula on the market as it is necessary for normal development.
i.e. safe for unborn infants and fetuses

L-Carnitine is found in meat.
As a supplement it was beneficial for vegetarians since the body will breakdown muscle to make it, if it is absent from the diet.

It is indicated for at least 27 medically diagnosable conditions.

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:

L-Carnitine is classified by Health Canada as a Schedule F Drug.  It is available only by prescription, despite a total absence of rationale, or evidence of danger. (Yet it is extremely difficult to find a medical doctor who will prescribe it.)

500 PRODUCTS BY SOLARAY & KAL BRANDS REFUSED LICENSE

This is not a plug. This is a story about the restriction of one of many excellent brands being manufactured in the US that are dead to Canada after the 2004 NHP Regulations kicked in.

Solaray and Kal brands are manufactured in Utah. The company produces over 5000 products for the U.S. market. Each and every batch of products put through extensive testing and quality control.

The manufacturer went to the expense of submitting NHP license applications for all the 500 products in its Canadian pricelist before being denied its Site License renewal by Health Canada.

After jumping through all of Health Canada’s regulatory hoops for four years at huge expense to the Solary and Kal brand manufacturer, the company decided to shut down all Canadian operations.

Health Canada states it is trying to ensure Canadians’ access to “safe and effective NHP’s, but the blocked shipments, constant hassles and hundreds of thousands spent on legal fees, indicate that they wanted Solary and Kal out of Canadians reach.

REASON FOR SITE LICENSE DENIAL:
The company refused to re-test their products upon arrival in Canada, since they had just been tested at their point of manufacture and shipped direct in double sealed bottles.

All test data was readily available for Health Canada.

Pulled from Shelves:		2008
History in Canada:		500+ products had been sold in Canada since the mid 1990s
US Market:		Still widely sold in the US without incident.

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:
Company now refuses to ship anything to Canada.

NATURAL PROGESTERONE OUTLAWED

WHAT IS IT?
It is a bio-identical hormone.
It is 100% identical to what is produced by the human body .  
(Versus the artificial “progestins” linked to cancer)

Natural Progesterone is useful for a wide range of female hormonal complaints, including PMS, Dysmenorrhea (loss of menses), Polycystic Ovaries, Perimenopause and Menopause.

Adequate levels are necessary to balance estrogen in the body.

Numerous studies indicate that it is protective against breast cancer.

Countless millions of women have found relief from hormonal challenges with it.

Pulled from Shelves:		1997
History in Canada:		History in Canada: Available safely for 12 years with limited reported problems in both Canada and the U.S.
US Market:		Natural Progesterone is widely available to over 300,000,000 people in the U.S. since the 1980s

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:
Now a Schedule F Drug - Available only by prescription in Canada

KAVA KAVA BANNED

WHAT IS IT?
Kava Kava is a plant native to the Western Pacific.

Kava Kava is used for its relaxing and anti-anxiety effects for thousands of years by native cultures of the Pacific Ocean, who often consume it in relatively huge amounts.

It simultaneously produces mental clarity, and studies have shown it to increase subject’s reaction speed in cognitive tests.

It is consumed in a fashion similar to alcohol in Western Societies without the associated rates of addiction, accidents and death.

Its calming and muscle relaxant effects make it useful for many types of minor physical pain, and produce a more cheerful mood.

Kava Kava competes for market share with anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and analgesic drugs.

Pulled from Shelves:		2002, banned for human consumption in Canada.
History in Canada:		Health Canada's Stop Sale order was issued in 2002. Sold in Canada since the mid 1990's.
US Market:		Kava Kava continues to be available in most of the rest of the world without incident, including the U.S. with a population of over 300,000,000.

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:
Banned in Canada on the basis of German case reports of liver toxicity, all of which have been since debunked. The case subjects were either already using liver toxic drugs, and/or there was no substantiation that Kava actually caused the problem. Note that no Canadian even reported an adverse event. All it took was a single report from Europe... " 

DMAE SUPPLEMENT BY PRESCRIPTION ONLY

WHAT IS IT?
DMAE is a brain nutrient found in anchovies and sardines.
It is converted in the body to improve short-term memory and attention span.

When applied to the skin in a topical cream it has been shown to counteract sagging and wrinkling thereby improving the appearance of the skin.

It protects cell membranes due to its antioxidant properties.

It has been studied as a treatment for ADHD in children, and for Alzheimer’s.

Pulled from shelves:		Blocked for import and sale since the early 1990's
History in Canada:		History in Canada: zero serious side effects reported, but blocked for sale as soon as it was shown to raise levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, therefore being potentially helpful for such things as Attention Deficit Disorder,and memory impairment conditions such as dementia or Alzheimers, (i.e. competing with the pharmaceuticals used for these conditions.)
US Market:		Oral and topical forms of DMAE have been widely available in the U.S. since the 1980’s.

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:
Now a Schedule F Drug - Available only by prescription in Canada, but rarely if ever prescribed.

L-TRYTOPHAN BANNED

WHAT IS IT?
It is the precursor from which the body makes its own serotonin, (and for this reason, competes directly with SSRI antidepressants.)

L-Tryptophan is an amino acid found in eggs, meat, fish, poultry, and many other proteins.

It is the precursor from which the body makes its own serotonin

It has a relaxing, anti-depressant effect. Often used as a sleep-aid.

Pulled from Shelves:		1989, banned for over-the-counter sale in Canada and the U.S. due to a single contaminated batch from Japan.
History in Canada:		History in Canada - sold in Canada throughout the '80's for $10 to $15 for a bottle of 100 capsules. After becoming available by prescription only, it is marketed under the name "Tryptan" and sold for $80 to $100.
US Market:		Available once again for over the counter sale since the early 2000's without reported adverse events.

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:
Now a Schedule F Drug – available by prescription only.

Note: Upon becoming available by prescription under the name Tryptan, the price increased roughly ten-fold, from the previous $8-10 in health food stores to $80-100 for 100 caps.

COUNTLESS THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN NHPs UNAVAILABLE TO CANADIANS

U.S. manufacturers put a self-imposed restriction on importing and selling NHPs in Canada because their makers cannot justify the expense, time, or effort that each NHP license application requires.

Herbs in particular are being put back on trial after proving their safety and effectiveness for thousands of years. Ironically, though Health Canada says they are reducing Canadians choice in the name of safety. Yet, there have been no major NHP safety issues in the United States, since the ban of the herb Ephedra in 2005.

So the question must be asked, who or what is being protected by these regulations? With zero deaths EVER in Canada from an NHP, it certainly isn’t the Canadian public.

CURRENT CANADIAN STATUS:
Curiously, all of the blocked U.S. imports that are not on Health Canada’s list of disallowed products due to “inadequate safety data”, can all be purchased from the U.S. by Canadians and shipped to Canada.

The List Goes On

DL-Phenylalanine
L-Phenylalanine
Raw Thyroid extract
Raw Adrenal
Lithium Orotate (low dose)
DHEA
Pregnenolone
FOLIC Acid over 1mg
Vitamin D over 1000 I.U.
Vitamin B12 over 1000mcg
Thousands of disallowed homeopathics and herbals

And On

Since 2004, Health Canada's Natural Health Products Regulations Have Forced Over 20,000 Products Off The Canadian Market
By John Biggs

Read more about the banning of excellent US companies whose products used to be sold in Canada prior to the 2004 implementation of the Natural Health Product Regulations.

Click here to view the list and more information

Plants Can Be Owned

Decision Letter: Strauss vs Health Canada (Yohimbe Bark)
By Shawn Buckley

The list of plants from which you can extract prescriptions substances is long, and includes very common things such as green tea, black tea, and cocoa (chocolate).  It also includes common foods such as eggs, carrots, milk, broccoli, etc.“Health Canada holds that if a lab can take a plant or an NHP and can extract from the plant or NHP a substance listed as a prescription drug, then the plant or the NHP is a prescription drug and can only be sold to the public by prescription.”

No one knows how many plants this new policy will cover.

This loss means, Health Canada has a powerful weapon to drive NHPs from the market.

Click here to view the entire article

How Canadians respond today will determine natural medicines and therapies their grandchildren will have access to tomorrow.
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