Paul, clearly the minister is in the pouch of the officials [[there's a word play there in case you missed it -- kangaroos and all that.
I've sent a reply to the NZ Herald for publication -- time will tell. The minister certainly has exposed her ignorance.
There is an unprecedented combined press conference today called jointly by all opposition parties (and bear in mind the governments own members agreed with the 33 unanimous recommendation (also an historic precedent I've been told).
I've been told my work will be tabled in parliament today... again, time will tell.
My response to the NZ Herald dialogue page is as follows.
"Annette King is patently wrong in stating that public safety is at heart
of new regulations on dietary supplements.
www.nzherald.co.nz/storyprint.cfm?storyID=3538491
The minister is the one who reneged on promised and agreed regulatory reforms in 2000 and provides no basis for the proposed joint agency.
If it proposed new agency looks like the Australian TGA, it sounds like the Australian TGA and it is dominated by the Australian TGA, then there is every chance that the new agency is nothing but the TGA, perhaps dressed up in drag.
This minister makes several statements that are factually incorrect and are nothing more than rhetoric penned by her minders; rhetoric that the Health Selecet Committee unanimously saw through and commented on in their report.
The minister says that New Zealanders are not being adequately protected from dietary supplements that have been found to cause serious illness and death. This statement is patently false. No such evidence exists. For the minister to be making such libelous statement this far down the 'consultation' track is prima facie evidence that the minister is in the pouch of her officials.
Contrary to the minister's assertion, there has not been a single death in New Zealand due to any dietary supplements. After an extensive inquiry, a coroner found that K4 was not the cause of death of a Hamilton man in his 80's who had terminal prostate cancer. The second person that the minister refers to was also an old man dying from terminal prostate cancer who died in Australia while visiting family & friends. He did not die in New Zealand, and again, there is no evidence that he died as a result of taking K4. Hundreds of millions of bottles of K4 have been sold around the world with no problems; because Medsafe says something is dangerous does not mean it is dangerous. K4 is still on the market globally, and in New Zealand under a different name with no ill side effects. If this was "the most tragic example" as the minister puts it, then the public can have a great deal of confidence in the safety of dietary supplements in New Zealand.
The Health Select Committee notes, with grave concern, that Medsafe freely admitted to that the New Zealand medicines act had not been administered for some years. Industry knows better than this; every day companies are hounded by officials and forced to take legal product off the market simply for making truthful statements regarding their products. What's been missing is a willingness on the part of the regulator to make regulation work, and to keep it up to date. The Ministry of Health has been pursuing a joint agency for more than a decade and has used Hegelian dialectics and conspiracy to achieve its aims.
To say that "Even food is more strictly regulated than alternative remedies," is also totally false. Dietary supplements are regulated under the food act so all food safety law applies to supplements. The dietary supplement regulations also apply and have strict labelling laws that the select committee notes have have been enforced pathetically by the minister's own officials. The minister has all the powers that she needs in section 8 to set any standard she wants -- including a code of good manufacturing practice. In fact, as early as 1988 industry and the ministry of health developed a cGMP code that the ministry never made mandatory.
What public outrage was there after the Pan Pharmaceuticals recall earlier this year? Mostly it was regarding the fact that the minister at first denied that supplements were regulated, therefore, she had no power to act, and then, with zero evidence of any adverse effects she did a tripple twist that Houdini would have been proud of and mandatorily recalled all product sold in Australia. To this day there is not a shred of evidence of any harm to a single person as a result of Pann-made product; yet industry and small investors have been punished to the tune of $400 million. The only evidence of harm related to a pharmaceutical product, and yet dietary supplements were crucified. Why was that? For the Minister to now have the gall to say that a joint agency is required because of the greatest regulatory failure in the world highlights the pathetic argument her officials have put up.
For the minister to say that New Zealand law is so outdated that solvents such as compact disc cleaners can masquerade as dietary supplements is absurd -- she clearly hasn't read the definition of a dietary supplement in the dietary supplement regulations.
If protecting the public from unsubstantiated or false claims, or from harmful products that masquerade as dietary supplements, is the Government's priority, how many of the purveyors of such products have been prosecuted by Medsafe? These words from the minister are simply smoke and mirrors. Existing law forbids supplements that contain prescription medicines and contaminants such as lead; yet I am not aware of a single prosecution in the six years I've been associated with the industry, not one. Why? It must be that they simply don't have any evidence that would stand up in a court of law... If they do have the evidence, then surely they are guilty of malfeasance for putting New Zealanders health at risk.
Finally, the minister states that "a transtasman agency with greater international recognition and a wider resource base will ensure New Zealanders are given the best possible protection from harmful products." The minister forgets that the Pan debacle was a classic example of regulatory failure in the lucky country under the ever watchful eye of the 'world-famous-in-Australia' TGA -- it did not occur in New Zealand so-called unregulated market."
Regards
Ron
At 10:09 10/12/2003, P.Taylor wrote:
Hi Ron
Annette King makes some pretty strong claims here. Whilst I presume that
they are groundless, upon what basis does she make them?
Also, presuming that the treaty is signed, what options will you be pursuing
next?
By the way, I am reassured to see that we in the EU are not the only ones
currently facing such a disproportionate regulatory system in relation to
dietary supplements. I particularly love the bit about "New Zealanders
not being adequately protected from therapeutic products or dietary
supplements that have been found to cause serious illness and death." One
would think that she would have studied your graph by now.....
Kind regards
Paul
