Mr. Chairman, honourable vice-chairs and members of the committee, good day. I want to thank you for this opportunity to share our views on the main concerns that consumers have about natural health products. We will be focusing in particular today on licensing, evaluation and risk communication, consumer information and marketplace monitoring.
Established in 1983, Option consommateurs is a non-profit organization that has a mandate to promote and defend the interests of consumers and to ensure that they are respected. Our organization speaks out on regulations and on federal and Quebec policies. Our interest in the use of natural health products dates back to 2000 when we published an initial article on natural health product and drug interactions. We observed that consumers underestimated the risk of combining natural health products with drugs and that few pharmacists and doctors were in a position to give them information about possible interactions.
Through Health Canada's Population Health Fund, we have compiled for consumers a guide to natural health product and pharmaceutical interactions. We have produced two editions of this guide and over 500,000 copies have been distributed in Quebec alone. Since May 2006, we have also represented Canadian consumers on the advisory committee of Health Canada's Natural Health Products Directorate.
I would like to begin by focusing on product licensing. On April 15 last, we learned that a Quebec pharmaceutical company by the name of Neurochem, now known as Bellus Santé, was planning to market by year's end a product called Vivimind which is used to treat memory loss. In fact, Vivimind is the new name for Alzemed, a product used in the treatment of Alzheimer's which the US Food and Drug Administration refused to license. No doubt this will not be the only case of this kind in the coming years. Given that pharmaceuticals sales are declining sharply in wealthy countries, other pharmaceutical companies may decide to turn their attention to the natural health product market to finance research into new pharmaceuticals, particularly since the licensing of a natural health product in North America takes considerably less time than the licensing of a pharmaceutical.
However, how will pressure from the large pharmaceutical companies affect the natural health product licensing system?
We believe it is critically important to allocate additional resources to the risk assessment and communication process, particularly with regard to more vulnerable clients such as seniors and children. In 2005, the Canadian Paediatric Society expressed concern about the lack of scientific evidence as to the efficacy and safety of NHPs when used by children. We believe that issues such as deciding on the optimum dosage for young children as well as health product interaction with pediatric pharmaceuticals must be addressed.
Quite apart from the risks, consumers also need to know about the regulations governing NHPs and how they can file a complaint if a problem arises. Consumers must have access to clear information at the point of sale about the identification number of natural and homeopathic products. The consumer needs to be aware of the ingredients contained in these products.
Problems with the advertising of NHPs also top our list of concerns. The advertising of these products must be better regulated to avoid situations where Canadian consumers are misled. We also believe that the study of and research into natural health products should be part of the curriculum and ongoing training of doctors and pharmacists.
Finally, not only should NHPs be subject to rigorous trials prior to licensing, they should also be monitored after they go on the market.
The following guiding principles should apply when it comes to protecting consumers from natural health products: compliance with strict licensing rules, independent risk assessment and communication in clear and simple terms, regulation of advertising and marketplace monitoring.
Thank you for having us and for listening to our concerns. We will now be happy to answer your questions. Thank you.