Supporting Bill C-51

[karrie]

A Triumph of Astroturf?

How a consumer protection law may be defeated
by a faux consumer watchdog campaign

by Daniel Loxton
Is it possible for a vested business interest to derail national legislation by posing as a consumer watchdog? We’ll soon learn whether a shadowy mail order drug company’s fierce, artificial grassroots campaign will rob the Canadian people of an important public safety law.
In April 2008, Canada’s federal Parliament began considering a proposed law1 — Bill C-51 — that would revise the body of laws regulating food and drugs in Canada (the Food and Drugs Act). Of particular interest to skeptics, C-51 would finally allow Canadian federal health authorities (Health Canada) to enforce existing laws2 that require substances sold under the multi-billion-dollar “natural health products” umbrella to be safe, unadulterated, honestly labeled, and marketed with supportable claims.
Although regulated in Canada since 2004, natural health products nevertheless enjoy a hothouse climate of easy licensing, minimal oversight, and toothless enforcement — which C-51 is designed to improve. “For instance,” Health Canada noted in a recent press release, “in dealing with cases of counterfeit [drugs], Health Canada has been limited to imposing a maximum fine of $5,000.”3
Think about that for a moment. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration estimates that “upwards of 10% of drugs worldwide are counterfeit, and in some countries more than 50% of the drug supply is made up of counterfeit drugs.”4 Counterfeits may contain any active ingredients in any amount, poison, or no active ingredient at all. Yet, if a Canadian company earns millions selling dime store candies in medicine bottles, Health Canada is powerless to fine them an amount they’d even notice. Bill C-51 would raise the maximum fine to a heftier deterrent of $5,000,000 (more if the offense is “reckless” or “willful”).5
Health Canada’s limited enforcement powers have created a wild west landscape in which the good, bad, and ugly parts of the supplement industry have all thrived. Not surprisingly, many — especially the shadiest operations — would like things to stay just as wild as they’ve been.
Amazingly, one supplement company’s sly manipulation of public opinion could accomplish just that.



Full Article

 

[missile]

If this bill goes through, there will be a lot more room on our drugstore shelves because none of the health supplements can offer more than anecdotal claims to their effectiveness.

 

[karrie]

If this bill goes through, there will be a lot more room on our drugstore shelves because none of the health supplements can offer more than anecdotal claims to their effectiveness.

The key is though missile, they can sit on that shelf so long as they don't make the claims. None of the vitamins I take make any sort of claims. They're just labeled with dosages, explain why they're a good form of VitC over their competitors, etc. Pharmacists tend to be the ones who know some of the benefits of the specific vits.

 

[Stretch]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]'Vitamin C About to be Made Illegal in Canada' [/FONT]
​

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]What if, just for taking vitamin C, you could be thrown in jail for up to 2 years and fined up to $5,000,000?

That scenario could very well soon become a reality in Canada. The Canadian Government is trying to pass a bill known as Bill C51. According to some interpretations of the bill, it would remove all supplements from over-the-counter availability, by only allowing MD’s to prescribe them as they see fit.

This would mean that if you wanted to take a multivitamin, you would have to book an appointment with your doctor and try to convince your doctor that you are in need of these supplements. If your doctor decides a certain drug would be better for you, then you won't have access to your supplements anymore.

Consequences of the bill could include:[/FONT]

• [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]No more supplement stores [/FONT]

• [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Supplements made illegal unless obtained through a prescription; 70 percent of all current supplements on the market could be removed[/FONT]

• [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Fines of up to $5,000,000.00 and/or 2 years in jail per incident of being caught breaking this law [/FONT]

http://ezinearticles.com/?Vitamin-C...ements-Banned-In-Canada!-Bill-C-51&id=1174122

 

[karrie]

Stretch, companies that market vitamin C don't usually make health claims about it, thus aren't at any risk from this bill. They are currently under the same regulations surrounding it, and doing just fine. It's companies making bogus health claims that will be at risk.

You might want to do some balanced research on it.

 

[lone wolf]

So ... um ... are we gonna grow some doctors?

 

[karrie]

So ... um ... are we gonna grow some doctors?

What's that got to do with it wolf?

 

[lone wolf]

We'll need docs to prescribe everything and lawyers to argue it if the gov't gets its way ... and God knows we have more than enough lawyers.

 

[karrie]

We'll need docs to prescribe everything and lawyers to argue it if the gov't gets its way ... and God knows we have more than enough lawyers.

Why would you need docs to prescribe? I don't need a scrip for Vitamin C right now, and I won't when this goes through either.

 

[Just the Facts]

I'm no expert on this Bill, I'd like to know more than I do about it, but my understanding is that they're moving supplements from the definition of a Food to one of a Drug.

I don't think making false claims is really the issue, it's a smoke screen, laws against making false claims already exist....for anything. I can't sell you a piece of paper and tell you that by taking a bite of it every day you will be guaranteed to lose weight. That's already illegal.

The crux of this laws is that to produce and sell any kind of supplement, you need to be licensed to make or sell drugs....i.e. a pharmaceutical.

Apparently this has been widely implemented in Europe with the only net effect to the consumer being an astronomical increase in price. Ask one of our German friends how much a bottle of vitamin D or St. John's Wort costs over there.

In short, it's a power play. The pharms want to monopolize the growing natural health product industry for themselves.

 

[Tonington]

You might want to do some balanced research on it.

You know, that's what I thought when I read of this weeks ago. It sounds bad on the surface to some, but what's wrong with liability for product claims? It seems there was a huge backlash all over the place. Facebook spamming for some dumb anti-Bill C-51 group. Anyone who chooses to market a product with supposed health benefits should have to cover their ass. And you know what that means? A commercial which states very clearly, "Individual results may vary." That basically means that the placebo effect can explain any supposed health benefits. There is nothing wrong with more accountability. If you can't prove that your product stands up to your claims, well suck a lemon and move on.

 

[Stretch]

Stretch, companies that market vitamin C don't usually make health claims about it, thus aren't at any risk from this bill. They are currently under the same regulations surrounding it, and doing just fine. It's companies making bogus health claims that will be at risk.

You might want to do some balanced research on it.

what are the benefits of vitamin C?

 

[karrie]

what are the benefits of vitamin C?

Exactly my point... if you don't even know what the supposed health benefits are, it's because the companies aren't marketing it with those health claims.

But, from what I've learned through research, and from sources that AREN'T in a position to profit from telling me such, Vitamin C is a very strong, reliable, antioxidant that helps to stabilize immune function and purify the body.

 

[Tonington]

what are the benefits of vitamin C?

Metabolic functioning of your body? It is an essential nutrient you know, that means our body needs it but can't synthesize it.

 

[Stretch]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Report from Codex annual meeting[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]'Rima E. Laibow, M.D. is a successful natural medicine physician who graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1970. Dr. Laibow has studied more than 16,000 pages of Codex Alimentarius documentation. Her conclusion? Codex Alimentarius is a very serious threat to health freedom.'[/FONT]
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/index.php?p=720​