Submissions
Patrick Fahy and Ken McIver have been burning
the midnight oil and have completed two sets of
submissions since the last ezine. These submissions
covered the New Zealand Food Safety Authority
regulations. The Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation,
and Compensation Amendment Bill (acupuncture).
We have also been in contact with members of
parliament regarding the Joint Therapeutic Agency
Treaty as well as answering by letter specific
questions. All in all it has been a very busy
time; just keeping up with developments is a full
time role.
Joint Therapeutic Agency Treaty
With the Joint Therapeutic Agency Treaty it is
“All Quiet On the Western Front”
or so it would appear on the surface. Meanwhile
underneath there is a lot going on. The Government
has responded to the report of the health committee
on the Joint Therapeutic Agency Treaty and is
in the process of developing implementing legislation
for the joint scheme.
All of the opposition parties on the select health
committee voted against the implementation of
the Joint Therapeutic Agency Treaty, the Labour
members voted for the Treaty which was a complete
reversal of the Labour vote on the earlier enquiry
into the Joint Therapeutic Agency Treaty, which
was against the Treaty.
Obviously the whips have been cracking and the
hierarchy has instructed the Labour members how
they should vote.
A close reading of the Government report tends
to indicate that there has been some cosmetic
changes and we now have a Joint Therapeutic Agency
Product Proposal (JATPP). The Minister now proposes
that unit offices be established in both countries.
However regardless of the cosmetic name change
and minor adjustments the main thrust of the Bill
will be for New Zealand to surrender its sovereignty
in health and become a subservient
state of Australia.
No matter which way you look at it Australian
manufacturers and Australian trade interests are
going to be the controlling factor of the Joint
Therapeutic Agency Treaty (JT AT) or the Joint
Therapeutic Product Agency) or whatever is the
final terminology.
A lesson from History
In 1995 it required 700 submissions and 8,500
letters to defeat the draconian Ministry of Health
therapeutic legislative proposals.
It will require a far greater public input before
the present Government backs off from the Joint
Therapeutic Agency Treaty/Joint Therapeutic Product
Agency proposal. The Australian manufacturers,
Australian Trade, Pharmaceutical manufacturers
and Australian Administrators are behind these
proposals, aided and abetted by the present Government
and the New Zealand Ministry of Health Administrators,
who will receive a bigger pay packet if the proposals
are adopted. These factors indicate that it will
require a large amount of work at the grass roots
level to preserve New Zealanders Freedom of Choice
in Health and self determination in regards to
Health care.
All Quiet on Joint Therapeutic Agency
Treaty Front
During this quiet stage all of our members are
encouraged to prepare for the coming battle.
Step One: All members are encouraged to compile
lists of supporters for Freedom of Choice in Health
Care. Canvas your family, friends and clients
and list their contact details.
Step Two: Discuss with everyone you possibly
can regarding the impact of the Joint Therapeutic
Agency Treaty et al. If you require more info
surf to www.healthcharter.org.nz
and read the submissions that the Charter
has already placed before Parliament.
Main discussion points:
• This Treaty will take over full
control of all natural healthcare therapies,
not only Dietary Supplements but all forms of
therapy. Even though you may not recommend supplements,
your ability and right to perform therapy will
be dominated by this treaty.
• This treaty will cost the New Zealand
Taxpayer an additional one hundred and sixty
two million five hundred thousand dollars per
year for subsidised medicines. Plus a high increase
of up to 25% for Dietary Supplements.
• This treaty will remove from over-the-counter
sale thousands of safe and effective dietary
supplements that are presently available.
• This treaty will restrict the employment
of thousands of New Zealanders.
• This treaty will put at least 200 New
Zealand manufacturers out of business.
• This treaty will make New Zealand a
subservient state of Australia.
• This treaty will not be defeated without
thousands of New Zealanders informing the Government
with a great big NO, by letters,
faxes emails and phone calls.
• This Government is determined to adopt
this treaty.
• This Government does not believe that
New Zealanders have the ability or expertise
to regulate their own health regulations and
are determined to give your sovereignty away
to an Australian Corporation.
Legislation
Once the JTA proposals are placed before Parliament
the Natural Health Care Industry will have to
act immediately to convince the Government that
there is total public opposition to the proposals.
It is to be expected that this will be a long
and drawn our campaign. Letters from government
members indicate that they are blindly following
the party line and have not individually assessed
the inherent safety of Dietary supplements under
the present regulations.
Government members are blindly following the
dictates of Ministry of Health Administrators,
supported by a Minister who is out of touch in
regards to the positive effects of natural health
care and the cost saving to government from New
Zealanders taking care of their own health status
using the existing safe and effective Dietary
Supplements and Natural HealthCare therapies.
Start making your list of activists –
now –Today for Tomorrow may be Too Late.
Congratulations
Congratulations to all those members who surfed
to www.healthcharter.org.nz/
and forwarded our email to members of Parliament.
Our emails highlighted the fact that New Zealand
Food Regulations (which regulates Dietary Supplements)
are three times more effective than the Australian
Food Regulations (So why Adopt the Australian
System?) has had a positive effect in an unexpected
quarter.
The New Zealand Food Regulation Authority has
announced that they will be improving the New
Zealand Regulations, which can only be good news
for consumers.
For those that have not forwarded our email to
members of parliament do so now today.
Make it a rule go to www.healthcharter.org.nz
on a weekly basis, the site will be changing as
our Health Freedom campaign develops
Special Congratulations
We would like to take this opportunity to forward
special congratulations to David Sloane and Amy
Adams of www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz
Amy and Dave are in the forefront of the campaign
for Freedom of Choice in Health. If you haven’t
done so yet Charter’ members are encouraged
to go to www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz/
click on “Contact your MP Link”
to send an email to members of parliament.
The Executive Board knows the huge time
and expense that David and Amy have and still
are contributing to fight the JTA bill. Therefore
as a board we unanimously agreed that the Charter
will help and support them with all our resources
available (non financial) in their ongoing continuing
fight.
So How Can We Help
The more information that you have as a Charter
Member to pass on to as many people as you can
the greater the impact we will have in defeating
the proposed JTA Treaty. The board has
agreed to let David and Amy and the www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz/
contact Charter members direct to keep you informed
of the latest developments. UNSUBSCRIBE if you
do not want to receive the information from the
www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz/.
The Executive Board
While on the subject of congratulations, special
mention and congratulations to Royce McLean for
his tireless efforts to ensure that the Enzine
gets out to members on a regular basis.
Pharmaceutical Recall
Members would have noted the voluntary recall
by Merck of the COX-2 Inhibitor analgesic (painkiller)
Vioxx. For a number of years it has been recognised
that Vioxx could actually cause back pain and
did not perform any better than the common aspirin.
Merck could have applied to the FDA for a warning
label when it discovered during an off label clinical
trial involving Colon Polyps prevention with 23,497
people, that the heart attack or stroke rate for
those taking Vioxx doubled those who were taking
a placebo. So much for the scientifically tested
proven and FDA approved pharmaceutical drug.
(The same system that the pharmaceutical/medical
lobby, your Ministry of Health and the Government
wants to institute for Dietary Supplements in
New Zealand).
The Darker Side
Merck decided to voluntary withdraw Vioxx, Why?
It was a money spinner, two and a half billion
dollars in annual sales. An FDA spokesperson interviewed
on the American National Public Radio (NPR), stated
that the agency thought that the risk to individual
consumers was "small."
Merck spent more money advertising Vioxx than
was spent promoting Pepsi worldwide, so why the
recall and the loss of all that revenue?
Very simply the “small” risk alluded
to by the FDA spokesperson above turns out to
be based on an estimated 27,000 heart attacks
and sudden cardiac deaths that would have been
avoided if patients had not been using Vioxx.
It would appear that Merck’s voluntary
withdrawal could be based on the knowledge that
such a withdrawal would lessen the potential of
thousands of additional law suits and lower actual
payouts on successful lawsuits. “We didn’t
know your Honour and when we did find out we removed
Vioxx from the market place”.
Could be the intended mitigation.
Speaking of heart attacks, one automatically
thinks about cholesterol levels. Which is a tribute
to the powers of modern advertising?
For years Statin drugs have been dished out like
candy as the flavour of the month by the medical
profession. Statin drugs were first developed
by a pharmaceutical company some sixteen years
ago. The same company also took out a patent for
the combination of the Statin drug and Co enzyme
Q10, because they found that Statin drugs deplete
the body of Co enzyme Q10.
Strangely enough they never marketed the combination.
With a twenty five percent reduction of Co Q10
in the body there is the danger of a cardio-vascular
event. A seventy five percent reduction and you
are dead. Clinically, patients taking Statin drugs
present with a compromised immune system, short
term memory loss and fatigue, due to the depletion
of Co Q10 and other essential vitamins and minerals.
Generally supplementation with CoQ10 brings the
patient into an improved state of health. With
long term use of Statin drugs the reduction in
dosage has to be taken slowly to avoid complications.
Coincidentally during the years of increased
Statin drugs usage (currently statin drugs are
the top of the prescribing list in New Zealand)
there has been a rapid increase in cardio-vascular
incidents. Today cardio-vascular incidents are
the number one killer and have passed the level
previously set by cancer.
The cancer death statistics have not improved;
cardio-vascular deaths have surpassed cancer deaths.
Yes we can blame the modern diet but just possibly
there could be other previously unrecognised contributing
factors.
It is interesting to note that the company that
first developed Statin drugs and patented the
Co Q10 combination was Merck Sharp and Dome. Interesting
history!
In future for my hearts sake I will pass
on anything manufactured by Merck and take the
placebo instead.
Edited Breaking News
October 16 2004
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Antidepressant Breakthrough
The United States Food and Drug Administration
Orders Strong Antidepressant Warnings
By DIEDTRA HENDERSON, AP Science Writer WASHINGTON
All antidepressants must carry a "black
box" warning, the government's strongest
safety alert, linking the drugs to increased suicidal
thoughts and behaviour among children and teens
taking them, the Food and Drug Administration
said Friday.
Because the warnings are primarily seen by doctors,
the agency also is creating an information guide
for patients to advise them of the risk.
The Food and Drug Agency's action comes at a
time when it faces withering criticism for not
acting sooner on antidepressants, and for the
shortage of flu vaccine and the high-profile withdrawal
of Vioxx for safety concerns.
Congressional investigations have focused
on allegations the agency silenced its own employees
who tried to raise safety concerns on the antidepressants
and Vioxx.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has
been strangely resistant to the idea of warning
patients of an increased risk of suicides when
taking antidepressant drugs "the APA is mired
in special interests. ... all of them are sponsored
heavily by Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Glaxo, Wyeth, Johnson
and Johnson, Novartis, Abbott Labs ..."
For more than 15 years drug companies,
the psychiatric establishment - including the
American Psychiatric Association, the National
Institute of Mental Health - and the FDA denied
the link between antidepressants and increased
suicide.
But the evidence from controlled clinical trials
and post-marketing case reports is overwhelming:
children and adolescents who were prescribed an
antidepressant were twice as likely to become
suicidal compared to those given a placebo. Furthermore,
the drugs showed no clinically significant benefit
beyond placebo.
News reports rarely disclosed that leading
psychiatrists who are cited as “experts”
have significant financial ties to the manufacturers
of these drugs, and might therefore have a conflict
of interest. Is it unreasonable to suspect
that their steadfast defense of the drugs’
efficacy and safety might be even slightly influenced
by their financial ties?
(By “expert” read, psychiatrists
whose institutions are dependent on antidepressant
drug company funding.)
Take Care out there and remember
– “When in doubt take a placebo instead.”
Dr Kenneth V. McIver Ph.D.Bio-Med
OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE
The NZ Charter currently has a 538 sqft ground
floor unit available to RENT IMMEDIATELY.
Address: Unit B6 – Lovell Mews 400 Rosedale
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the Charter office for further details.
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