Again, I am a practising pediatrician who cares for patients. Many of my patients use natural health products. The Canadian data that we have is based on a single-centre study, which has inherent limitations. Best estimates are that up to two-thirds of families use complementary health practices in some form or another. This is a huge part of our patients' lives and their families' lives, and I am not here to stand in the way of that.
That being said, I think it's important for care providers, parents and patients to have assurances that the products they buy are safe. Rare events related to safety are not unimportant events, especially if that adverse event or drug-drug interaction involves someone you love.
If there is a call to have a broader conversation about how we can best regulate NHPs, I think it's important that the medical community be at the table. I would again emphasize the importance of addressing the synthetic nicotine issue as a part of that conversation, given how Canada currently provides regulatory oversight on synthetic nicotine.