On July 1—Friday—labelling changes for children’s homeopathic cough, cold and flu products will be put into place by Health Canada. This change will directly affect homeopathic and natural health retailers that stock these goods, as they will need to be removed from shelves.
The Canadian Homeopathic Pharmaceutical Association (CHPA) issued a response to this change, calling it a “very serious mistake.” Now, the organization is considering its next moves.
“CHPA started meeting three days ago and we are going to send a new proposal to Health Canada to reach a fair agreement between Health Canada and the industry, and of course the consumer,” says Pascal Frochisse, president of Distripharm, Inc. “The first thing we ask is to postpone these deadlines because it will be impossible for the industry to be in compliance. I think we will able to maintain some indications, but we will have avoid words like ‘treat’ and ‘cure’.”
“I’m very concerned to learn that the implementation of these changes will proceed, as I am quite sure that the drug options available for families will decrease,” adds Yvan Bourgault, co-owner of Homéopathie Quebec. “Homeopathic medication offers a great alternative that is effective and is appreciated by many parents, and this will restrict their options.”
However, Health Canada is still dead-set on its decision.
“Labelling changes for children’s cough, cold and flu homeopathic products were introduced to help Canadians who choose to use homeopathic products have the information they need for their safe use. Health Canada is concerned that many consumers do not understand the philosophy underlying homeopathy, nor are they necessarily receiving advice about their use from a health care practitioner,” says André Gagnon, Media Relations Officer for Health Canada. “However, they see similar packaging and marketing of homeopathic and non-prescription drug products, which can lead to confusion if they conclude that homeopathic products are similar to or the same as health products with scientific evidence to support their effectiveness.”
“That is why the Department has requested companies to no longer make specific health claims for cough, cold, and flu on homeopathic products for children 12 years old and under, unless those claims are supported by modern scientific evidence. Health Canada is working with the homeopathic products industry to provide Canadians with clear information on the product label of homeopathic cough and cold products so that they can safely select products for their children. The industry has until July 31, 2016, to make changes to existing labels.”
Ensure that you have made the proper changes to your stock before this date.
