CBC Created a Completely Bogus Natural Children’s Remedy

[Minnie]

....and Health Canada approved it.

Link

Like many Canadians who saw last week’s news article “Health Canada licensing of natural remedies ‘a joke,’ doctor says” in the lead-up to Friday’s Marketplace episode on CBC, I was very interested in learning the story behind it.

Unlike many Canadians, I wasn’t at all shocked or surprised by the outcome. This blog (and others) have been critical for years about the lack of oversight where the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) is concerned. (The NHPD recently changed its name to the Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate. (NNHPD))

See “Do the Natural Health Products Regulations Benefit Canadians?”, “Health Canada Gets Out a Big Rubber Stamp” & “Safe and Effective? A Consumer’s Guide to Natural Health Products” for some background.

To summarize, Marketplace applied for approval to market a homeopathic remedy they named “Nighton” to be used to treat fever and pain in infants and children. The proof of efficacy they submitted was a few photocopied pages from old homeopathic texts. They didn’t have to submit any clinical trials for this product, nor send in a sample for testing.

Not surprisingly, they were awarded approval and an official DIN-HM. Here is the listing on the Health Canada website, in all its glory.

As demonstrated by the parent focus groups they held, the average Canadian parent assumes that approved products have been thoroughly tested by Health Canada for both safety and efficacy. Needless to say it was quite eye-opening for them when host Erica Johnson revealed the truth.

Of course, the average parent doesn’t know the difference between “natural” medicine and homeopathy either, or they would have been skeptical much sooner. But why would they suspect a difference? Pharmacies display these remedies on the shelves alongside real medicine, a practice that has been widely criticized and has prompted class-action lawsuits. This episode was timely in that it aired on the heels of the recent Australian review on homeopathy which has been described as the final nail in the coffin.

Health Canada did have a response to the Marketplace episode for both Nighton and Mozi-Q: “Health Canada’s response UPDATED.”

Essentially, they dismiss concerns because these are (in their words) “low-risk” products. Clearly, they miss the main point that these products, while low-risk, inevitably end up replacing effective products, as illustrated by the recent tragic case of a child who died in Calgary after receiving homeopathy instead of antibiotics, and another Marketplace investigation into the use of homeopathic nosodes in place of vaccines.

Finally, kudos to Marketplace for the clever anagram, which sums up homeopathy perfectly:

Nighton = Nothing

[PsYcNeT]

Jesus christ.

[killer_carlson]

that's awesome journalism. Good for them for exposing this issue.

[Minnie]

This article was linked to on a local FB group I'm a part of. One of the homeopathic ladies crapped a brick and started railing against doctors and nurses and hospitals and how they are wrong and we should just trust our instincts and on and on and on.

Right. Because I'm going to take you seriously, when you advocate for putting essential oils into a child's eyes, or tell me that this particular combination of lemur piss, lavendar and elephant dung will stop spinal fusion, or say that a child's asthma has been cured by running a vacuum cleaner. Pfft. Let me know when you've received your medical license, amuse-dooosh.

[Calgary14]

They also had some interesting tests done on Mozi-Q. Not only did it not work, she got more mosquito bites after using it. But it makes sense if that's all it takes for Health Canada to endorse it.

Mozi-Q was popular with the Dragons on Dragons Den and the inventor actually got a couple of them to invest but it looks like they pulled out of the deal after they found out it doesn't actually work.

[troutman]

Big Placebo should be regulated and held to the same standards as everyone else. Many make outright false claims.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by troutman

Big Placebo

Stealing this.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by troutman

Big Placebo should be regulated and held to the same standards as everyone else. Many make outright false claims.

Thanked for Big Placebo....

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by troutman

Big Placebo should be regulated and held to the same standards as everyone else. Many make outright false claims.

I agree.

Or at the very least, why not force them to put warnings on their packaging?
Something along the lines of "This product has not been tested for safety or effectiveness by Health Canada"

Unforunately, I'm sure the kind of people who actually believe in Homeopathy might actually think that is a good thing.

[rubecube]

And this is why we need the CBC.

[calumniate]

They're probably too busy trying to squash things like ecigs

[Street Pharmacist]

This is a fight that has been going on for some time. Previous to NPNs, these products were considered "food products" and there was even less onus to provide information.
It's wholly inadequate, and makes my job much harder.

At least twice a week I have a patient looking for cold medication for a child under 6 that looks at me like I'm trying to hide something when I tell them the stuff in their hands is an expensive placebo

[Knut]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

This is a fight that has been going on for some time. Previous to NPNs, these products were considered "food products" and there was even less onus to provide information.
It's wholly inadequate, and makes my job much harder.

At least twice a week I have a patent looking for child medication for a child under 6 that looks at me like I'm trying to hide something when I tell them the stuff in their hands is an expensive placebo

Just look at the row of Homeopathic cold medications at your local Shoppers. Usually they retail for more than an actual cold medication.

[krynski]

Jesus... things like this make me mad.

The definition of "Natural Health Products" is the use of some alternative to medicine or scientifically proven additive. It is not the role of the government to enforce their efficiency, because they are not proven and not intended to be because they are homeopathic remedies. Consumers demand the availability of them, and the government is obligated to provide, given that they can determine that these products are SAFE. That is essentially role of the government. What a crap investigation.

True Definition:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/lab...chap=14#s44c14

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Just look at the row of Homeopathic cold medications at your local Shoppers. Usually they retail for more than an actual cold medication.

Yup (I own the local shoppers). They aren't cheap, but at least there's a pharmacist around to tell them that.

It's difficult. None of us like it, we all think it's crap (not really, I've met 3 pharmacists who believe in that crap), but the issue is one of business. If I disappoint patients by not having specifically what it is they're looking for, I've lost all their business. That and I really do not have a choice in what goes on the shelf

9/10 I'm sending someone home with nothing after convincing them not to take a product that they have in their hands (polysporin, vitamins, cold FX, etc).

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by krynski

Jesus... things like this make me mad.

The definition of "Natural Health Products" is the use of some alternative to medicine or scientifically proven additive. It is not the role of the government to enforce their efficiency, because they are not proven and not intended to be because they are homeopathic remedies. Consumers demand the availability of them, and the government is obligated to provide, given that they can determine that these products are SAFE. That is essentially role of the government. What a crap investigation.

True Definition:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/lab...chap=14#s44c14

Yeah government, keep people safe and stop trying to keep Natural Health manufacturers from scamming the uninformed populace geez.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by krynski

Jesus... things like this make me mad.

The definition of "Natural Health Products" is the use of some alternative to medicine or scientifically proven additive. It is not the role of the government to enforce their efficiency, because they are not proven and not intended to be because they are homeopathic remedies. Consumers demand the availability of them, and the government is obligated to provide, given that they can determine that these products are SAFE. That is essentially role of the government. What a crap investigation.

True Definition:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/lab...chap=14#s44c14

Wrong.

The Natural Health Products Regulations were created after many consultations with Canadian consumers, academics, health care practitioners and industry stakeholders. They address Canadians' concerns about NHP availability and safety, as well as the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health's 53 recommendations on the regulation of natural health products (NHPs) in Canada.

To be legally sold in Canada, all natural health products must have a product licence, and the Canadian sites that manufacture, package, label and import these products must have site licences.

To get product and site licences, specific labelling and packaging requirements must be met, good manufacturing practices must be followed, and proper safety and efficacy evidence must be provided.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/prodn.../index-eng.php

[PsYcNeT]

I'd like to see how they test water memory. Do they use flash cards?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

9/10 I'm sending someone home with nothing after convincing them not to take a product that they have in their hands (polysporin, vitamins, cold FX, etc).

Wait...There's something wrong with Polysporin?

[Street Pharmacist]

To be fair to Krynski, the npn's are not really designed to weigh efficacy. They were made to ensure safety and to govern health claims (they've failed on this spectacularly though)