EDMONTON -
A Health Canada order to stop selling the herbal relaxant kava kava is
being widely ignored, a new study has found.
The agency banned the sale of products containing kava kava in August
2002 over concerns about a link to serious liver problems. Health Canada
had previously issued a warning about the herb in January 2002.
However, a study at the University of Toronto, published in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that more than half
of retailers the researchers checked on were still selling kava kava.
The herbal preparation is commonly used to treat insomnia and anxiety.
Kava kava has been linked to 39 cases of liver damage around the world,
including four cases in Canada. Three of those cases resulted in death,
although there have been no deaths in Canada.
Researchers sent eight trained "simulated customers" into 33 health food
stores one month after Health Canada's warning. It found that 22 of the
33 stores recommended the herb for anxiety. Only nine mentioned
potential adverse effects of the herb.
The researchers sent the customers back to the same stores after Health
Canada's ban on kava kava and found that 17 of the 30 stores still sold
the herb. (Three of the stores had closed.)
The study's lead author, University of Toronto researcher Heather Boone,
reviewed the evidence Health Canada used to justify its ban and said she
found it lacking.
Still, Boone said Health Canada acted prudently in banning the herb, but
many in the industry just aren't listening.
"They can't possibly be in every store in every small town and every
city. So, ultimately they're going to have to rely on the people selling
the product to remove it from the shelves," said Boone.
Herbal retailer John Biggs stopped selling kava kava after Health
Canada's ban, but he's not surprised some of his colleagues didn't.
"In so many cases when it comes to natural health products, the
regulations are totally out of proportion to the degree of risk
involved," said Biggs.
Joe Schwarcz, a chemistry professor at McGill University in Montreal,
said part of the reason the herbal industry isn't complying with the ban
is that they aren't buying Health Canada's message on herbal remedies.
"Why pick on kava kava? There are many, many other herbal remedies which
also have potential side effects," said Schwarcz.
Health Canada is bringing in new herbal regulations before the new year
to regulate all natural health products.
The new rules are already facing stiff opposition and may be just as
difficult to enforce as the kava kava ban.
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