January 20, 2004
Kamloops Daily News



"Caveat emptor (buyer beware)" -- old Roman saying.

On January 1, 2004, new federal regulations came into effect
for the manufacture and sale of natural health products.

This is welcome news for consumers of herbal remedies and
natural products who want clear labeling and evidence that
the products work.  Consumers want to know exactly what they
are getting and how effective is it.   Without regulations, 
it's a free-for-all.  Up until now, you could never be sure
that a product was even safe, except after other users got
sick.

Take Kava, for example. It's supposed to cure insomnia and
anxiety.   But after users world-wide developed serious
liver problems,  Health Canada warned against its use.  "No
products containing Kava are considered to be safe at this
time," said Micheline Ho of Health Canada.

That didn't stop some stores in Canada from continuing to
sell Kava after the warning.  In an unregulated free-market
economy, the motto is "sellers do as they please and buyers
beware."  Consumers should reasonably expect that they won't
be guinea pigs with some untested product.

Without government regulations, there is no limit to the
exaggeration of the product's claims of effectiveness.  
Slick advertising and testimonials have been used instead of
scientific clinical trials.  These users of natural food
products advertise how wonderful they feel and how great the
products are.  This is not a scientific test - -  such
testimonials are the equivalent of rumour and gossip.

New regulations require that health claims are supported by
clinical trails.  They will assure that consumers get what
is on the label.  Once assessed by Health Canada, the
product label will bear an 8 digit product license number,
proceeded by the letters "NPN".

The gold standard for clinical testing is the control group,
double blind, random test.   That's where the drug is given
to people in one group and a dummy drug is given to those in
another.  Subjects in both the experimental group and the
control groups are selected to be similar in all relevant
ways and those giving the drug don't know who is in which
group.  And neither the test subjects nor those who evaluate
the efficacy of the treatment knows who receives the actual
drug.  To top it off, the selection of who will receive the
drug is random.

This test takes the human factor out of the equation.  For
example, if evaluators find that all subjects in both groups
improve then it's simply a result of the placebo effect. In
other words, subjects improve because they think they will. 
It doesn't matter whether they get the "real thing" or not.

The new regulations are generally supported by manufacturers
and retailers because the regulations  will increase
consumer confidence.  It's going to be expensive to
scientifically test products.  Jim Strauss, of Strauss Herb
company of Kamloops, is not concerned about the new
regulations.  He told CFJC television that "similar
regulations in Australia affected only operations with sales
of less than $5 million (January 9, 2004)."

Once Strauss's products are labeled correctly and proven
effective, markets will open that were previously closed. 
As it now is, some of his products are banned by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.

Up until now,  herbal remedies have benefited from a
suspicion that natural treatments have been suppressed by
big global pharmaceutical corporations.  Although that's
often a valid suspicion, the conclusion sometimes leads to
conspiracy theories in which "they" are out to get "us."

Such conspiracy theories lead to black and white conclusions
in a world that is shades of grey.   Natural health products
are a big business, just like big corporations.  And big
global pharmaceuticals develop useful drugs - - often
over-priced but useful.

Conspiracy theories assume that people are powerless victims
- - up against powerful dark forces.  Instead of thinking
that the world is conspiring against us, consumers  should
actively investigate products and become familiar with
methods of valid testing.

Consumers are not always delusional - - often someone is
really out to get them and deceive them.  But those
deceivers are not always who you think.  Consumers need to
become proactive and question slick ads, personality-driven
marketing, and testimonials.  Look for the results of the
clinical test and the Health Canada label.

Governments can only do so much in protecting us.  Promoters
of natural health products, like stock promoters,  have an
obvious self-interest. There is no replacement for healthy
skepticism and personal research.

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