How to know if your natural health product is safe to use
A survey by Health Canada shows that almost three quarters of Canadian consumers regularly take vitamins and minerals, herbal products, homeopathic medicines and the like – products that have come to be known as natural health products.
With so many natural health products out there nowadays, how do we know which ones to use? In Canada, the sale of natural health products is subject to the licensing provisions of the Natural Health Products Regulations, which came into force on January 1, 2004. The purpose of these Regulations, administered by Health Canada, is to help facilitate access to products that are safe, effective and of high quality. The Regulations set standards for the safe manufacturing of natural health products and for the information that must be on a label to ensure consumers can make informed choices.
Natural health products that have been licensed for sale in Canada bear a Natural Product Number (NPN), or Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label, followed by an eight-digit number. The presence of such a number on the label means the product has been authorized for sale in Canada and is safe and effective when used in accordance with the instructions on the label.
“Health Canada believes consumers want assurances that what is on the label is what is in the bottle,” says Michelle Boudreau, Director General of Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate. “When consumers see the NPN or DIN-HM on the labels of these products, they know that Health Canada has assessed them for safety and authorized the health claim.”
Health Canada considers varying types of information to support the safety and efficacy of natural health products, ranging from references to published studies, journals, and traditional use data to small scale clinical trial data. Boudreau says there is no single standard or level of proof to which all natural health products must comply.
“Given the diverse nature of the natural health products market, Health Canada implemented a system which is reflective of this diversity. The type and amount of supporting information required is dependent on the proposed health claim of the product and its ingredients.”
Consumers interested in learning more about the regulation of natural health products in Canada can visit the Health Canada website at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/nhp_info. To date, over 20,000 natural health products have been licensed for sale in Canada with an NPN or DIN-HM.
A searchable database of these licensed products is available at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/lnhpd.
Courtesy of www.newscanada.com
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