Canada’s pharmacy regulation organization, The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA), issued a directive in late January telling druggists to stop selling unlicensed natural remedies. This comes from a 5-year old program to regulate natural health goods.
These come as a big blow to natural health, supplement production, and other consumers and businesses that produce, use, and rely on supplements and health remedies such as vitamins, minerals, and dietary aids.
NAPRA issued the ultimatum despite the fact that the Health Canada system is backlogged heavily in the approval process for dietary supplements. Makers of natural-health products are now bracing for widespread layoffs, millions in losses, and worse as their products are removed from drug store shelves throughout the Great White North.
The directive from NAPRA hinges on a 2004 regime set in place by Health Canada to regulate the natural health and remedies market. These products had been virtually unregulated before and are now suddenly pending approval by Health Canada, who allowed the products to continue sales provided they had applied for approval. HC found itself suddenly buried under tens of thousands of applications as everything from St. John’s Wart to Kelp await approval as dietary supplements.
The pharmacy regulators, of course, aren’t interested in this waiver and have asked their member pharmacies (virtually every drug store in Canada) to stop selling the products until they’re approved.
Source: Stop selling unlicensed natural health remedies: pharmacy regulators by Tom Blackwell, National Post