Steve Anthony: True Canadian Pharmacy

Hundreds of natural health products could disappear from store shelves next spring because of a Health Canada backlog in approving licences, warns the Canadian Health Food Association.
We’re at a critical stage, said Carl Carter, director of regulatory affairs and policy development for the CHFA.
The biggest concern we have at this point is the standards of evidence Health Canada has been requesting for products’ efficacy, he told CBC News.
!–more– Firms that make and sell natural health products are not opposed to being regulated. In fact, they welcome the Health Canada stamp of approval, said Carter. However, he said the pendulum has swung too far in terms of proving that a drug works.

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American drug regulators are considering pulling some products with acetaminophen off the shelves and Health Canada is keeping a close eye on the deliberations as it also moves to warn consumers about the risk of liver damage due to an overdose of the drug.
Acetaminophen, widely used as a pain reliever and to reduce fever, is generally a safe and effective drug, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but when a patient exceeds the recommended !–more– dosage, it has been known to cause abnormalities in liver function, liver failure and death.
The FDA has made various efforts since the 1990s to stem what it calls a public health concern, but it has been unsuccessful in reducing the number of cases of liver damage related to the drug.

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“Pharmacists are scientists, and I urge them not to sell products that are proven to be ineffective”, states Dr. Shaun Holt in the latest issue of Pharmacy Today.
Mirroring a similar call made by Professor Ernst in the UK, Dr. Holt said that homeopathic products did not contain any active ingredient but supposedly had energy of substances that were in the product before they were diluted away. “Not only does this make no sense, (more…)

5 percentage points 19 times out of 20. A study by researchers at the University of Regina suggests consumers remain reluctant to consume Maple Leaf foods products six months after the company issued a major recall of products contaminated with listeria. The survey results are considered accurate to within 3. Most respondents were aware of the recall, Charlebois said, noting that 90 per cent had heard of the listeria problems. He said it was also (more…)

Joint meeting of Anest hetic and Life Support Drugs and Drug
Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committees determines risks outweigh
benefits of Darvon and Darvocet.
FDA’s Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs
Advisory Committee and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory
Committee held a jo int meeting January 30 to discuss the safety and
efficacy of propoxyphene (Darvon) and propoxyphene-combination products.
Committee members (more…)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has added another 21 products to the growing recall list because the peanuts they contain may have been contaminated with salmonella.
Consumers should not eat the products, because Peanut Corp. of America has recalled them due to salmonella contamination.
“This is an ongoing food safety investigation,” the CFIA said Saturday, adding it is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to remove all the contaminated (more…)

The outbreak has been traced to the Peanut Corp. of America, which sells peanut paste and peanut butter to food companies and institutions such as nursing homes.
More than 125 products have been voluntarily recalled in the U.S. because of a salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts, federal officials in the U.S. said Wednesday.
The list of products ranged from cakes, ice cream and dog biscuits, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
The products (more…)