A new plan to force hospitals to report adverse effects of 'natural health products' such as herbal remedies and supplements has come as a surprise to manufacturers, who say they are blindsided by the proposed change. A new plan to force hospitals to report adverse effects of "natural health products" such as herbal remedies and supplements has come as a surprise to manufacturers, who say they were blindsided by the proposed change.
It was named after 15-year-old Vanessa Young, the daughter of a Conservative member of Parliament, who died in 2000 after her heart rate had been affected by medication that was prescribed by her doctor. "The industry and the association were both caught off guard when we saw that included in the budget."
"I think post-market surveillance and monitoring for safety around natural health products is urgent," Seidman, an epidemiologist and health researcher, told the Senate committee earlier this month. The decision to include natural products hasn't been properly studied or debated, he said, and has instead been tucked into the omnibus budget bill.
"The objective is to make sure that all health products, different types and different formulations, are treated the same way, so Health Canada has the ability, if needed, to intervene in circumstances in which the health and safety of Canadians at stake," Duclos said at a press conference in Sudbury on Tuesday.