Some of the changes proposed by the bill are radical alterations to key terminology, including replacing the word "drug" with "therapeutic product" throughout the Act, thereby giving the Canadian government broad-reaching powers to regulate the sale of all herbs, vitamins, supplements and other items. With this single language change, anything that is "therapeutic" automatically falls under the Food and Drug Act. There are no guarantees that this won't include bottled water, blueberries, dandelion greens and essentially all plant-derived substances.
The Act also changes the definition of the word "sell" to include anyone who gives such therapeutic products to someone else. In theory, a mother giving an herb to her child, under the proposed new language, could be in violation of the new law, and be arrested for engaging in the sale of unregulated, unapproved "therapeutic substances."
A bit reactionary? Yes. Something to be ignored? No. Canada has a tight enough supplement policy as is (no ALCAR, or any carnitine, among many other things). This would allow essentially anything with any sort of therapeutic property to be under even tighter legal scrutiny. I'm all for government controls in place, especially in regards to health, but this is swayed so heavily towards the pharmaceutical industry it's not even funny.
The act - http://www2.parl.gc....x?DocId=3398126
Opposing literature - http://www.stopc51.com
There was a protest in Toronto on the weekend, I had to work :(
Edited by mitkat, 12 May 2008 - 07:57 PM.