The Demise of Natural Health in Canada
We are on the verge of a tremendous paradigm shift that will permanently alter the natural health business. Following its newly enlarged mission to include the regulation of non-prescription and natural health products (NHPs), Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) is now known as the Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD).
If you use health supplements or are a natural health care practitioner that sells supplements, the news is bad. The Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act will now cover natural health goods. Any unexpected effects of their use may result in them being recalled or mandated by Health Canada.
While some may consider this to be a positive development, natural health products now fall into the same category as pharmaceuticals in terms of how they’re regulated on the market. This despite their risk of harm being astronomically low compared to pharmaceutical drugs.
This law would also impose major new compliance expenses on the sector, such as licensing, registration, and labelling, which will be exceedingly difficult for small enterprises to absorb. As a consequence, individuals and small companies may be pushed to quit the sector, diminishing market competitiveness and innovation.
I believe that many practitioners participating in the sale of NHPs will likely close their doors permanently over the next several years, and that customers will ultimately lose access to NHP’s such as:
Vitamins
Minerals
Homeopathic medicines
Nutritive powders
Herbs
Natural alternatives will become too costly for the typical consumer as costs continue to rise. Pharmaceuticals will then become the sole choice for many people since they’re government subsidized as part of the Pharmacare Act.
On paper, it's all done in the name of safety and effectiveness, but this legislative effort was pushed relentlessly by pharmaceutical lobbying and advocacy work by the Canadian Pharmacists Association.
We should have seen this coming. Already, the development of online medical sites has transformed the internet so profoundly that the first 30-40 pages resemble a sales pitch for pharmaceutical information.
Natural health websites are also being throttled and restricted, subjected to "fake news" checks if they’re large enough, and mocked by "paid" shills. Non-compliance means that websites (such as Mercola.com) are attacked, and their personal and professional life are uprooted through judicial actions.
Risk Versus Risk
Naturally, some natural health items are of poor quality. That occurs in a growing, competitive market, but they’re often considerably less harmful than prescription pharmaceuticals that have a proven record of harmful repercussions.
No one is against safeguarding against adulteration and fraud. However, the cult of allopathy has not only inflicted great harm to the natural health industry over the last few decades, but also to greater society, with properly prescribed medications being the third leading cause of mortality in North America. Now they desire to spread that lethal net over a wider sector of humanity by eradicating natural health in favour of complete pharmaceutical domination.
While the bill’s measure is couched in the language of safety, the truth is that consumer faith in our political leaders, medical experts, legacy media, and the pharmaceutical business is already at an all-time low as a result of the horrible Covid catastrophe.
It’s become difficult for many to believe that the Covid response was motivated by anything other than profit behind medical care. Experts who proposed safe and low-cost alternatives to the pricey and experimental vaccinations were censured. It was sheer greed and a blatant disregard for human life in exchange for massive financial flows.
It's no surprise that many consumers turned to natural products for relief without side effects. Consumers recognize that NHPs are more effective against diseases in many circumstances, and their popularity is skyrocketing. This is deemed a competitive danger to the pharmaceutical sector, and through incremental (perhaps now fatal) injuries such as this bill, it is now a death sentence to natural health products.
Inflation in Canada is already at an all-time high, and this act of bureaucratic treason against Canadian goods and employment will propel it even higher. Folks, they don't want you to get well; they want you to be a statistic in the medical system, and they'll destroy your quality of life and consent of what you put into your body in order to do so.
Only The Largest Will Survive
I believe that the current regulations will impose such a financial burden on businesses via licensing, labelling, and fee payments that it will hinder innovation and prevent many items from reaching the market. This suppresses competition and guarantees that only the most powerful players survive the struggle.
This is terrible news since pharmaceutical firms already control the majority of the top businesses in the natural health market. Below, as per lifechoice.net, is a very short list of the more recognizable names in the industry:
Pfizer owns:
Centrum
Emergen-C
Caltrate
Nestle owns
Genestra Brands
Garden of Life
Douglas Laboratories
Pure Encapsulations
Bayer owns:
One A Day
The Carlyle Group owns:
Ester C
Nature’s Bounty
Sundown Naturals
Puritan’s Pride
This is only a short list of companies swallowed up by giant drug companies, and it means that value, integrity and quality over profit will be front and centre as regulations increase the costs of doing business.
The responsibility for your health is in your own hands and your choice now is important. Your purchasing dollar, coupled with well-informed choices decides who is worthy of it. Seek out and support companies that align with your views, while boycotting companies aligned with pharmaceutical interests. Check out the infographic to see which companies to avoid:
Remember, your choices make a difference.
Other Sources:
Global News - March 30, 2023
Global News - May 2023