Toronto Rally against Bill C-51 Sat. - big pharma vs. natural health products

[angela bischoff]

Toronto Rally against BILL C-51

Bill C-51 favours pharmaceutical companies and removes your right to buy,
sell and use natural health products freely to protect your own health

Sat. May 10
gather 10:30 a.m., start 11 a.m.
Queens Park (south side)

--------

Read Bill C-51:
<http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3398126>www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3398126

For the real reasons behind the proposed changes to the Food & Drug Act:
<http://www.healthcoalition.ca/safetylast.pdf>www.healthcoalition.ca/safetylast.pdf

Read Ill-Health Canada:
<http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&do=Article&call=1025&pA=BB736455&type=5>www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&do=Article&call=1025&pA=BB736455&type=5

For more information:
<http://www.medicare.ca/>www.medicare.ca

More reasons to oppose C-51:
<http://www.stopc51.com/>www.stopc51.com/

Call and email your MP now!

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ACTION REQUEST on Bill C-51             

The Harper government introduced Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Food and
Drugs Act, into the House of Commons on April 8th, 2008 together with Bill
C-52, An Act respecting the Safety of Consumer Products. Both bills are
part of the industry-friendly
<http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/pr-rp/action-plan_e.html>Food and
Consumer Safety Action Plan. In Orwellian fashion, new legislation that
dramatically reduces safety requirements for drug approval (C-51) is
described by the government and media as ‘getting tough on consumer
safety’.

Our current system of drug regulation, brought in after the thalidomide
disaster, requires evidence of a minimum of safety and efficacy for market
approval. Effectiveness evidence was the real innovation brought in after
thalidomide. The reasoning was that because a medicine could cause
unpredictable, horrific harm, no exposure was worth risking unless there
were tangible benefits. The government's proposal for progressive
licensing reverses this approach. The idea is to first bring "promising"
new drugs onto the market and then watch how they do. In other words,
expose Canadians first, then count the corpses.

The Minister of Health, Tony Clement, said that C-51 “is based on
preventing problems in the first place
” (House of Commons Debates,
Hansard, April 30, 2008). The exact opposite is true. If C-51 is passed as
is, rather than prevent problems in the first place – a precautionary
approach, it will result in more safety problems that will be ‘managed’.
With the recent Vioxx disaster, we have learned that an inadequate
regulatory response to early signs of harm, combined with intensive direct
to consumer advertising, leads to thousands of preventable deaths.

C-51 permits the speedy marketing of expensive new drugs - most of which
provide no therapeutic advantage over safer, cheaper drugs - before the
research on effectiveness and safety is completed.  Post-market
‘surveillance’ will manage the damage after the new drugs are marketed.
Furthermore, post-marketing studies are usually conducted by industry and
are biased in favour of their product. In effect, Canadians are being used
as guinea pigs and exposed to drugs that have not been adequately tested. 
We do need better long-term follow up on drug safety, but this should not
be introduced as a trade-off for lower pre-market safety standards.

The reason given for the additional ‘flexibility’ in bringing drugs to
market earlier is that some patients with rare diseases do not have
adequate treatments available, and they can’t wait for a long approval
process. This situation is very rare. But when it does occur, patients get
the new medicine through an existing Special Access Programme, without any
general lowering of safety and effectiveness standards.

C-51 lowers the Minister of Health’s legal ‘duty of care’ so that Health
Canada can evade liability for regulatory negligence when Canadians are
harmed by inadequately tested new drugs.


Bill C-51 will:

1.   Lower safety standards by shifting the basis of drug approvals from
the current Precautionary approach to a Risk Management approach where a
Minister can decide, based on secret industry data, that ‘benefits’
outweigh ‘risks’.

2.   Speed up drug approvals by providing a legal framework for
‘progressive licensing’ of pharmaceuticals, with less evidence of safety
or effectiveness. Speedy drug approvals have already led to harm (remember
Vioxx) and now Health Canada wants to speed up approval further.

3.   Eliminate barriers to direct-to-consumer advertising and could allow
the introduction of any kind of prescription drug advertising with new
regulations. Drug ads give misleading and harmful information and drive up
spending on new drugs that are costlier but not usually better.

4.   Enshrine secrecy and commercial confidentiality for the first time in
the Food & Drugs Act, instead of enshrining the citizen’s right to know
the scientific evidence on the safety and effectiveness of medicine.

Contact your federal MP today to voice
your objections to Bill C-51 !

Canadians don't want their health protection weakened. Don't give Health
Canada a legal mandate to continue its current policy of protecting
corporate interests instead of the health and safety of Canadians.

Tell your friends about the dangers of C-51 today!

Identify your MP here (Postal Code needed):
<http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx?L=e>http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx?L=e

Find contact information for your MP here:
<http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E>http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E


MORE RESOURCES

Read Bill C-51:
<http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3398126>www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3398126

For the real reasons behind the proposed changes to the Food & Drug Act:
<http://www.healthcoalition.ca/safetylast.pdf>www.healthcoalition.ca/safetylast.pdf

Read Ill-Health Canada:
<http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&do=Article&call=1025&pA=BB736455&type=5>www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&do=Article&call=1025&pA=BB736455&type=5

For more information:
<http://www.medicare.ca/>www.medicare.ca

More reasons to oppose C-51:
<http://www.stopc51.com/>www.stopc51.com/



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