Next month, changes will come into effect for certain products that fall under the Natural Health Product Regulations (NHPR), specifically homeopathic cough, cold and flu products for children 12 and under.
Under these regulations, Health Canada will no longer approve specific health claims on these products unless they are supported by scientific evidence. Additionally, it will require any labeling that suggests products of this sort are recommended for treating children 12 and under to be removed entirely. The deadline for these changes to be made is July 31, 2016.
Last year, Health Canada said that the current packaging for homeopathic products “may not be adequate for Canadians to make informed choices.” The Canadian Homeopathic Pharmaceutical Association (CHPA), however, said that these requirements are “a very serious mistake” and a direct contradiction to the widespread endorsement of homeopathic products.
The CHPA also had objections to Health Canada having released this policy decision without consulting “the CHPA, healthcare practitioner associations, consumer associations and other stakeholder associations whose views are normally sought in a transparent public consultation process.”
How will this affect the homeopathic industry?
Serena Yang, the marketing manager for PASCOE Canada, the Canadian Distributor of the homeopathic and phytotherapeutic lines of PASCOE Pharmazeutische Präparate GmbH, notes that this decision will definitely have financial repercussions. “We have to redo all of our marketing materials both online and offline, as well as reprint the packaging in Germany,” she says. “Also, we cannot promote our remedies to children under 12 years old any more, which will definitely affect our sales.”
