LATEST MOVES
FEBRUARY 2004The main recommendations to the House from the Parliamentary Health Select Committee are:
That the Government strengthen domestic regulation as the most appropriate method of governing complementary healthcare (dietary supplement) products in New Zealand.
That it pursue a mutual recognition regulatory option rather than pursue a joint agency with Australia.
That the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee refer any treaty establishing an Australia New Zealand Agency to regulate therapeutic products to the Health Committee for consideration.
DECEMBER 2003
HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO THE PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A TRANS-TASMAN AGENCY TO REGULATE THERAPEUTIC PRODUCTS
The Parliamentary Health Select Committee completed its hearings and presented its report to parliament on the 12th December 2003.
The committee has been:
* Considering the legislative and regulatory regimes governing dietary supplements and traditional remedies in other countries.
* Considering an appropriate regulatory framework to govern dietary supplements and traditional remedies in New zealand, including assesments of:
1. Whether this should be by the proposed joint trans-Tasman therapeutic products agency, including an examination of the process followed in developing this proposal.
2. The risk created by the use of dietary supplements and traditional medicines. 3. The compliance costs that would be imposed and any added cost to consumers. 4. Whether indigenous complementary medicinal/rongoa products and extracts used for alternative therapy would be protected.
The inquiry does not extend to pharmaceuticals, over the counter medicines or medical devices.
CFHC has contributed a joint submission with the 'unprecedented coalition' among practitioners and dietary supplement industry associations. We presented our oral submission to the HSC in Wellington, while supporting the other member associations of the group. Jan Mabey, Secretary of CFHC presented the very powerful CFHC oral submission with back-up from Joint-Co-ordinators Janice Priest and Gary Mabey. A further submission dealing specifically with points made by Medsafe in their written submission was presented to the HSC. This is because the Medsafe submission was not available prior to the oral hearings.
BACKGROUND The Healthcare and Therapeutic Products Bill that had been under discussion since 1992 was shelved by the Minister of health, Annette King in early 2001 in favour of her Trans Tasman Joint Agency to regulate medicines, medical devices and dietary supplements(complementary medicines in Australia).
REJECTION OF ANZ SINGLE JOINT AGENCY
On the 20th June 2001 a letter was sent to Hon Annette King as Minister of Health, from Citizens for Health Choices, N Z Charter of Health Practitioners, Direct Selling Association of New Zealand and the International Nutritional Products Association (NZ)representing over 100,000 New Zealanders, rejecting any Australia/New Zealand Single Joint Agency to regulate dietary supplements.
The letter pointed out "The dietary supplements available on the New Zealand market have a proven record of safety and are subject to regulation that is more than adequate to protect New Zealand consumers. Indeed, we would argue for some liberalisation of the existing regime."
"There is certainly no reason for any compromise with Australia's expensive and bureaucratic regime for approving dietary supplements. Any move to consolidate our law with Australia's would involve compromise that would increase costs and decrease choice for New Zealand consumers, with no benefits."
We requested various documents under the Official Information Act including a copy of all proposals, draft proposals, copies of correspondence, minutes, reports, proposals or drafts of the same which cover the status and governance arrangements under the proposed agency. We also asked for her officials to brief the organisations and hold a public meeting in Auckland.
The Ministers reply was received on the 27th July:
The only papers released were those already made public in June 2000 and October 2000. All other requested documents were "withheld in order to not prejudice the international relations of the Government of New Zealand and to enable a Minister of the Crown and any department holding the information to carry on, without prejudice, or disadvantage, negotiations."
"As the project progresses, further information will be published on a web site (www.jtaproject.org) which is expected to go live later this month (July). There will also be an opportunity for public comment and input when a planned discussion document is released, probably in February 2002. Please feel free to contact Susan Martindale at Medsafe if you have any queries on the joint trans-Tasman Agency proposal."
CFHC Conclusion:
The minister has ignored the fact that 100,000 New Zealanders have already rejected the ANZ SJA proposal. Also ignored was the request for a briefing from officials and for a public meeting in Auckland. What doesn't the Minister and her officials want you to know?
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS ARE NOT DRUGS
Dietary Supplements are not therapeutic drugs or medicines. They have been classified as foods since 1981 and America followed suit in 1994 with the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.Australia has been out of step with world thinking in this area since they stated vitamins, minerals, herbs, homeopathics and other nutritional supplements were drugs through their implementation of the TGA in 1991. They have worked for the past ten years to "export" their system around the world and it has been soundly rejected. Internationally Australia is viewed as having one of the most draconian regulatory regimes for supplements in the world.
Dietary Supplements save New Zealand huge amounts of money through people taking responsibility for their own health. Why would New Zealand want such a seriously flawed Australian system?
COMPARATIVE SAFETY OF SUPPLEMENTS
In the past decade properly researched, TGA/Medsafe regulated and properly prescribed prescription drugs have caused 14,000 deaths in New Zealand. and 100,000 Australian deaths. In America it is now the fourth biggest killer.Food born disease causes more deaths and illness than Dietary Supplements – 400 in Australia and 80 in New Zealand each year.
Dietary Supplements have caused two disputed deaths in the same period. Dietary Supplements are safer than food.
ENQUIRIES TO GOVERNMENT AND RESPONSES
All enquiries to the Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Negotiations have been referred to the Minister of Health, Annette King, who passes those enquiries to Tariana Turia who has written many factually incorrect letters showing a total lack of understanding of the supplement industry or its role in the health of New Zealanders. Even on February 14th 2001 she was still indicating that no decision had been made about a joint agency.An enquiry by Citizens for Health Choices to Paul Swain as Minister of Commerce brought a reply stating "I share many of your organisation's concerns to avoid the undesirable consequences that you fear might arise from any changes to the current New Zealand regulatory system for dietary supplements. In assessing any proposed changes the Government would expect to achieve a net benefit for the community."
This sounds nice but flies in the face of all other letters and reports to government.
On 2 May 2000 David Lambie, Deputy Director General Corporate, Ministry of Health recommended to Annette King, Tariana Turia and Ruth Dyson that officials continue work on the viability of a joint trans-Tasman agency to regulate healthcare and therapeutic products and report to the Ministers of Health (Annette King), International Trade (Jim Sutton) and Economic Development (Jim Anderton)
