Greetings! Welcome to Positive Living for People with Fibromyalgia & OOS, your Friends and Caregivers.   We're bringing Information and Relaxation to You! Inserted 10 July 2002

A Selected News Release
5th July 2002
 

Nationwide Black-Out Day
Healthfood stores nationwide protest
against proposed rules on dietary supplements

Attached is a news release with details of Blackout Day - Monday July 8 at healthfood stores throughout New Zealand.  The stores are raising awareness of the threat posed by a Government proposal to join with Australia to regulate New Zealanders' access to   dietary supplements (vitamins, herbs, minerals, amino acids and so on).  Consumers are being encouraged to have their say on the Government discussion document, on which submissions close on 2 August.

Three-quarters of all healthfood stores in NZ have advised Citizens for Health Choices that they will be participating in Blackout Day.   (The full list of stores and their locations given in the following media statement is omitted here. - Ed.)

STOP PRESS
Jacqui Leeden, Editor of "Positive Living" and Convenor of Fibromyalgia Support strongly endorses these moves to create awareness of this serious situation:
"We want everyone potentially affected to know what is going on and urge all consumers of natural health products to strongly voice their opinion to retain their choice of product available, and for New Zealand to retain control of their own Therapeutic Products Act".   **
Full information can be gained at the upcoming  HEALTH Forum  on 18 July.

 

Media Statement

HEALTH FOOD STORES
SUPPORT NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT DAY:

MONDAY 8th JULY 

Health food stores across the country will “black out” products endangered by the Government’s proposal for draconian rules on dietary supplements.  

On Monday 8th July health food retailers from Kerikeri to Invercargill will decorate their stores in black and cover supplement sections with black drapes to demonstrate the disastrous effects of the proposed Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Goods Agency.**  A total of 150 stores will be participating – three out of every four health food stores in New Zealand.

 The new agency would have sweeping powers to make rules and restrict access to vitamins, minerals, herbal and homeopathic remedies, and other nutritional supplements.

Health store retailers are concerned that unnecessary restrictions and red tape will drive up supplement prices and force many products off the market - reducing product lines and thus limiting their customers’ choices.

Australians would dominate the Agency – three of the five Board members will be Australian residents, the Board will be established under Australian laws, and the Australian Minister of Health has final sign-off on all appointments.

Australian regulations on dietary supplements are considered some of the most restrictive in the world.

The national lobby group Citizens for Health Choices is organizing Blackout Day to raise public awareness about the dangers of the proposed agency.

More than 30,000 consumers have already signed a petition that was tabled by the Green Party in Parliament on June 13th opposing the proposed “joint agency”. 

The major opposition political parties - ACT, Greens, National and New Zealand First – have all announced policies compatible with CFHC’s position.

Joint Co-co-ordinator Gary Mabey says “This proposal will increase costs and decrease choice of supplements for New Zealand consumers, with no improvement in consumer safety.”

“Dozens of New Zealand supplement businesses are threatened - manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers will all face cost increases, and that could mean hundreds of their employees’ jobs are at risk too. The industry could be facing multi-million dollar losses as a result of this regime.”

The Government released a discussion document last month on the proposal for a Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Goods Agency to regulate medicines, medical devices, and dietary supplements.  Public submissions on the document are due by August 2nd.  

Notes: 

1.      Citizens for Health Choices is a non-profit group representing consumers of dietary supplements, industry representatives and natural health practitioners.  It has been working for more than 10 years to retain informed consumer choice on dietary supplements.

2.      The discussion document was released by the Government on Friday 7 June, and can be accessed at Joint Therapeutic Agency Project.  Submissions close August 2, 2002.

For more information: 

Gary Mabey
Joint Co-coordinator
Citizens for Health Choices
(09) 420 5800                                        

STOP PRESS

The Healthy Living chain of healthfood stores has endorsed Blackout Day, said Murray Hardy, Managing Director of the Healthy Living Group.

Jacqui Leeden, Editor of "Positive Living" and Convenor of Fibromyalgia Support strongly endorses these moves to create awareness of the serious situation
"We want everyone potentially affected to know what is going on and urge all consumers of natural health products to strongly voice their opinion to retain their choice of product available, and for New Zealand to retain control of their own Therapeutic Products Act."
Full information can be gained at the  HEALTH Forum

to be held at 7.30pm, on 18th July 2002

at 130 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland 1005

(St Lukes Community Centre)

Three Speakers: Mike Cushman, Ken Shirley, Ron Law, Q & A

Phone (09) 578 1958 for further details.

** The NZ government is negotiating with the Australian government to create a single Trans-Tasman Therapeutics Agency (TTGA), based in Canberra, which will regulate all New Zealand dietary supplements and other complementary healthcare products like homoeopathy, Chinese herbs etc, along with medicines and medical devices.