SUBMISSIONS
On The Natural Health Products Bill
Submissions are due by 24 Feb 2012
We have been getting quite a few enquiries about The Natural Health Products Bill - here's How to send in a submission in just a few minutes.
The more people who make a submission the more likely the government is to respond to our concerns.
You can send your submission directly to parliament using the email form here
The politicians are now doing some damage control here, but the bill could certainly oppress NZ supplement production and trade
This is the very brief summary – if you would like more information, there is a more complete summary is further down the page
Just so things are clear, there are two bills that have been causing public concern The Food Bill, and The Natural Health Products Bill. Although they are separate bills they both apply to many of the same things because the line between a food and a supplement is blurred.
The Food Bill was a 378 page bill that was introduced to parliament in 2010. Very few people were aware of it and there were only 66 written submissions on it. It is about to go up for it’s second reading very soon and unless there is a public outcry, it could soon be law. To sign the petition against it, go here: Petition
To find out more about its dangers and what else you can do about it, go to: NZ Food Security
The Natural Health Products Bill is a 38 page bill that aims to regulate vitamins, minerals, herbs etc as a different class of products, distinct from foods or pharmaceutical medicines. Like the Food Bill this is being rushed through, but this bill is one that we can still make submissions on for a few more days. Submissions on the Natural Health Products Bill are due by 24 Feb 2012.
Both bills are long documents that are deliberately vague in their wording. The Natural Health Products Bill is what is known as a “thin" bill. The current Natural Health Products Bill also gives wide powers to whoever is charged with administering it. This allows for them to altered in the future as the government deems necessary.
A bill that is long and vague is very difficult to make a coherent submission on. The biggest danger of these bills is not what is actually said, but what is not said. In the Natural Health Products Bill, the lack of detail and wide powers given to those charged with administering it means that this bill could later be used or twisted by the government to mean almost anything.
A key aim of The Natural Health Products Bill is to establish a Natural Health Products Regulator within the Ministry of Health, and make it a legal requirement to apply for a licence to manufacture natural health products in NZ. This will certainly create increased costs for manufacturers, distributors and consumers, and reduce the range of products available.
It’s important for the future of natural health products in NZ that as many people as possible make a submission on this bill, and if the government are going to write a long vague bill we may as well write a large number of vague submissions.
Only 66 submissions on the Food Bill was a poor result, though not really surprising given that the bill was incomprehensible and very few people knew about it. But we are aware of the Natural Health Products Bill, and the key thing here is not what to say in your submission; it’s the sheer number of submissions received. Our raw milk submissions numbered over 1600 which was pretty good – this is an even larger issue, so get a submission sent in urgently - if you are short of time, just knock up a short submission and email it here
A sample submission template
(this is a very short version - there is a longer one below, and please personalise this a little to make it unique)
To the Health Select Committee, NZ House of Representatives
Re: Proposed Natural Health Products Bill
I am a natural health products consumer and I am seriously concerned about aspects of the proposed bill.
I request that the bill incorporates the proposals developed by the NZ Health Trust, consumer groups and NZ natural health industry groups. I am concerned that the tabled Natural Health Products Bill in its current form does not include most of these proposals.
I am concerned that the current proposal for the NZ natural health products industry to have to bear most of the costs of the Natural Health Products Regulator will cause an increase in the price of natural health products that would make many natural health products unaffordable. High compliance costs for businesses that manufacture or distribute natural health products also have the potential to drive many small companies out of business and this would lead to decreased choice and less competition within the natural health products market in NZ.
I believe that it is important that natural health products in NZ continue to be regulated by the NZ Natural Health Products Regulator, if NZ and Australia develop a joint agency to regulate pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices
[If you like, add statements here about how you and your family have benefited from the use of natural health products.]
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
SUBMISSIONS
on The Natural Health Products Bill (the longer version)
The government has called for submissions on the Natural Health Products Bill. Submissions are due by February 24. It is very important for the future of natural health products in NZ that as many people as possible make a submission on this bill.
The purpose of this webpage is to give you information to help you make a submission on the bill. If you are too busy to write your own submission, there is a template submission further down the page
Introduction
The Natural Health Products Bill was developed following an agreement between the National Party and the Green Party as an alternative to NZ natural health products being regulated under a joint Australia-NZ therapeutic products agency – as had been the preference of the previous Labour-led government.
While the Natural Health Products Bill has been developed with good will, in its present form, the Natural Health Products Bill has serious omissions and could potentially have devastating effects on the New Zealand natural health industry. Without significant changes the bill could seriously impact upon the availability of natural health products and traditional medicines, and increase the price of those products that remain on the NZ market. It is imperative that submissions are made to the government to remedy the deficiencies in the bill and direct the government to implement the proposals jointly developed by the NZ Health Trust, consumer groups and NZ natural health industry groups in their model "Natural and Traditional Health Products Bill" which may be downloaded from here
Key Information About the Natural Health Products Bill
* The Natural Health Products Bill will establish a new Natural Health Products Regulator within the Ministry of Health.
* It will become necessary to apply for a licence to manufacture natural health products in NZ
* Products (whether manufactured in NZ or overseas) must be registered with the regulator before they can be marketed. (Practitioners will still be able to prepare a personalised formula for a patient without obtaining a licence for that product.)
* There will be large fines for anyone who manufacturers natural health products without a licence or distributes unregistered products.)
* Manufacturers will have to use premises and processes that conform to a code that will be developed in consultation with the natural health products industry.
* The government wants the natural health products industry to pay for the most of the costs associated with setting up and running the natural health products regulator. It has been proposed that these costs may be funded by a levy being imposed on manufacturers/distributors of between approximately $180 - $550 per product per year.
The current version of the Natural Health Products Bill includes very few details. If the bill passes in its present form, it will be entirely dependent on the staff within the new agency whether or not the Natural Health Products Regulator develops regulations and a fee structure that are appropriate for the low risk of natural health products and the small-medium sized businesses that manufacture them – or conversely implements a heavy-handed and expensive regime that destroys NZ jobs and businesses and deprives consumers of many of the quality natural health products that are currently on the NZ market.
Risks Posed by the Proposed Natural Health Products Bill
1) Increased costs for manufacturers, distributors and consumers: If the current version of the bill becomes law, it could significantly increase the costs of manufacturing and/or distributing natural health products in New Zealand. Manufacturers and distributors will have to pass these costs along to the consumer, resulting in price increases for nutritional supplements, herbal remedies etc.
2) Reduced product choice: The government wants the natural health products regulator to be funded by the natural health products industry. There is a danger that the government will levy distributors and manufacturers with a levy ranging from between $180- $560 per product, per year. This could hugely impact on small distributors and manufacturers and result in important products becoming unavailable. (An alternative means of funding the regulator such as increasing the amount of funding contributed by the government and/or charging manufacturers a levy based on a percentage of their turn over (similar to ACC levies) would be one way to minimise this risk.
3) Increase compliance costs could cause job losses and business failure: The Natural Health Products Regulator (which will be established by the Natural Health Products Bill) will establish a code of practice for manufacturers. If the code of practice for manufacturers requires unnecessarily high standards, many small businesses may not be able to afford the cost of complying with the regulations. This could cause business failures and job losses. It would also reduce consumers' choices – and potentially also contribute to increased prices for consumers through lack of competition. (Most of the businesses involved in manufacturing or distributing natural health products in NZ are small to medium sized businesses.)
Making a submission
Please make a written submission on this issue. The more people who make a submission the more likely the government is to respond to our concerns.
You may send your submission to parliament using the email form here
You can also print and post your submission to parliament.
Three copies of the printed submission are required. Put your name, address and contact details on a cover sheet that accompanies your submission, rather than on the submission it itself, otherwise your name, contact details etc may be posted on the parliamentary website along with your submission. As a submission is a public document, please consider privacy issues when writing it.
The address to post your submission to is:
Secretariat
Health Select Committee
Select Committee Office
Parliament Buildings
WELLINGTON 6011
Making an oral submission
If you wish to appear before the committee to give a presentation about your written submission, include with your name your daytime telephone number and email address on the cover letter. Not everyone who wants to speak to a select committee may be invited to appear before the committee. If you do get an appointment to address the committee you will be responsible for your own transport costs and are only likely to be able to speak for about 15 minutes.
See here for more information on how to make a submission
You may wish to include the following points in your submission:
* Explain why you think it is important that New Zealanders continue to have access to a large range of natural health products. (You may wish to use some examples relating to your own experience with using natural health products to maintain good health, to treat an illness etc – or those of a friend of family member, assuming they agree for you to share their story.)
* State that natural health products are low risk products which have a very good safety record and that therefore you support a light regulatory framework that takes this into account – rather than a heavy handed approach such as is used for pharmaceuticals.
* State that you want the Natural Health Products Bill to incorporate the proposals jointly developed by the NZ Health Trust, consumer groups and NZ natural health industry groups in their model "Natural and Traditional Health Products Bill" in the primary legislation. (This document may be downloaded from here
* State that you support comprehensive labeling of products, including a list of all ingredients in a product including both active ingredients and also the specific name of any inactive ingredients such as tableting aids, sweeteners etc to help consumers choose quality products and avoid any that contain ingredients to which they may be allergic. You may also like to state your support for labeling to be able to include information about the traditional uses of herbs, nutrients etc and that information on labels should not be limited to a restricted list of permitted claims.
* State that natural health products (unlike many pharmaceutical drugs) are not subsidised by the government. An increase in the price of natural health products would adversely affect many people and you hope that this will be taken into consideration by the government.
* State that that most companies that supply natural health products are small or medium sized businesses and that with the recession it is important to minimise costs to these businesses from new regulatory regime to protect NZ businesses and people's livelihoods. (If you have friends or family whose business could be affected you may wish to state this, assuming that they are happy for you to do this.)
* State that you think that the government should fund the full set up costs for the Regulator and at least 50% of the on-going costs to help keep natural health products more affordable and support NZ natural health product manufacturing and protect New Zealand businesses and jobs.
* State that you are concerned that the proposal to charge businesses a levy for each product that they manufacture or distribute could have a devastating effect on small businesses with a large range of products that sell in small volumes – and that you think it would be fairer to use a percentage of turnover (similar to the way in which ACC is funded) for manufacturers'/distributors' contributions to the Natural Health Products Regulator.
* State that you believe that use of traditional medicines is an important part of many people's cultures and that you want the bill to facilitate, rather than restrict continuing access to Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicines etc as well as respecting our native Rongoa (traditional Maori herbal medicines.) In support of this, state that you think that the bill should make provision for people with qualifications and/or extensive experience in the practices of Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Rongoa, Naturopathy, Homoeopathy, Aromatherapy and Ethnobotany to be members of the Technical Expert Advisory Committee.
* State that you think that the bill should be amended to allow an exemption from registration for products that imported for personal use (rather than for sale to others.) (This would help to ensure consumer choice in the event that some products currently available in NZ are no longer available because it becomes uneconomic to supply them or the manufacturer goes out of business.)
* In 2011, John Key announced that the NZ and Australian governments had made an agreement to develop a new joint agency to regulate pharmaceuticals and medical devices within the next five years: see http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/transtasman-medical-regulation-agency-way-key-ck-95632 It is therefore important that you state that you want natural health products in NZ to continue to be regulated in NZ by the Natural Health Products Act even after NZ and Australia have developed a joint trans-Tasman regulatory agency for pharmaceutical drugs.
More information for making a submission:
This link includes a good overview of the bill and some suggestions for submissions:
http://www.organicnz.org/organic-nz-magazine/1278/the-natural-health-products-bill-is-here-have-your-say/
You can read the bill here: http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/b/c/8/00DBHOH_BILL11034_1-Natural-Health-Products-Bill.htm
The regulatory impact statement produced by the Ministry of Health is here: http://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/legislation-and-regulation/regulatory-impact-statements/development-natural-health-products-bill
The model "Natural and Traditional Health Products Bill" which was developed by the NZ Health Trust, consumer groups and NZ natural health industry groups may be downloaded from this link http://www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz/proposed_bill.htm
You may also find it helpful to read the document at this link http://www.healthfreedom.co.nz/images/hfnz_pdf/hfnz-consultation%20paper%20response.pdf which was prepared by The Health Freedom NZ Trust in response to an earlier version of the Natural Health Products Bill.
(NB: If you have time, please take the time to read the bill and regulatory impact statement and write a personal submission based on these and/or the suggestions that we have made under "Making a Submission". (Parliamentary Select Committees are more responsive to a variety of submissions coming from individual perspectives than they are in submissions that are very similar.)
However, the number of submissions is important too, so you if you too are busy to write your own submission, please use the template submission below:
Template submission
To the Health Select Committee, NZ House of Representatives
Re: Proposed Natural Health Products Bill
Dear Sirs/Madams,
I am a distributor/consumer and I am seriously concerned about various aspects of the proposed bill. I respectfully request that the following points be addressed.
I am pleased that we currently have a large range of good quality natural health products available in NZ. It is important that New Zealanders are able to continue to buy natural health products in NZ at an affordable price
Whenever possible I use natural health products that are produced by NZ manufacturers – or buy from NZ distributors as I think it is important to support NZ businesses.
I direct the committee back to the proposals jointly developed by the NZ Health Trust, consumer groups and NZ natural health industry groups and request that the bill incorporates these proposals. I am very concerned that the tabled Natural Health Products Bill in its current form does not yet include most of these proposals.
I am also concerned that the current proposal for the NZ natural health products industry to have to bear most of the costs of the Natural Health Products Regulator could cause an increase in the price of natural health products that would make many natural health products unaffordable.
I am also concerned that many of the small and medium sized businesses that supply natural health products may not be able to survive with increased regulatory costs during a recession. This could result in job losses as well as decreased choice and competition within the natural health products market in NZ which would be bad for everyone.
Considering that having a wide range of quality natural health products available means that people are better able to maintain their own good health or recover more quickly if they are sick, thereby reducing the need for tax-payer funded medical treatment, I believe that the government should assist the natural health products industry and the public by funding the start-up costs for the Regulator and 50% or more of its ongoing costs.
In order to help maintain a good range of products on the NZ market, I think it would be fairer (and less likely to cause small businesses to go out of business) for contributions from the natural health products industry towards the operating costs of the Regulator to be levied as a percentage of turn over (rather than a fee being charged for each product, as has been proposed.)
I am in favour of comprehensive labeling of natural health products, including a list of all ingredients in a product including the names and amounts of active ingredients and also the specific name of any inactive ingredients such as tableting aids, sweeteners etc to help consumers choose quality products and avoid any that contain ingredients to which they may be allergic. As a consumer I also think that it is important for product labels to include information about the uses of that product, including any traditional ways in which herbs (or other natural health products) have been used. I believe that the Natural Health Products Bill should allow manufacturers to include truthful information about the uses of their products on the label. I do not believe that information that is allowed on a label should be restricted to a certain limited conditions.
As modern New Zealand is a multicultural nation, I also think it important that the bill supports access to traditional medicines valued by different cultures, including Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ayurvedic medicines from India etc as well as guaranteeing access to traditional New Zealand Maori herbal medicines (Rongoa).
Last but not least, once NZ and Australia have developed the joint agency to regulate pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices I believe that it is important that natural health products in NZ will continue to be regulated by the NZ Natural Health Products Regulator.
[If you like, add a statement here about how you and your family have benefited from the use of natural health products.]
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
ry iPlease send in your submission ASAP if you haven't already done so - submissions need to be in by 24 February 2012
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