There are many more items to add to this list (which you can read further down this post), but because these ones are common cooking items, I've mentioned them first.
Currently the NZ government is wanting (for the 3rd time in the past couple of decades) to RESTRICT the public from being able to purchase these items freely.
WHY?
Because their rational is (wait for this, it will have you falling off your chair in shock):
'If something can be proven to benefit health, it needs to be a medicine'.*
SAY WHAT?
Are they serious?
They sure are.
In other words, if you put anything in your mouth which could benefit your health, it might need to be deemed medicine and only dispensable by pharmacists?
Ridiculous, I know. The world really has gone mad. Or at least some people have.
Before I continue sharing some vital information, I highly recommend you watch the above video with Liz Gunn and Guy Hatchard, as he explains many fascinating facts about WHY the government is so keen to get this bill passed.
In his estimation, the bottom line is (a) the government and big pharma want to control natural health products because (b) they want to replace natural with synthetic so that it can be patented.
Explanation by VFF (Voices for Freedom) legal team of the NZ Therapeutics Bill and what you can do about it
Counterspin update with Naturopath David Holden and lawyer Sue Grey (Feb 23)
Liz Gunn interviews NZDSOS Matt Shelton
Template you can use to make a submission to the government if you wish to have your say on the bill
Links to government website
Request from FXMed Natural Health Supplement Company for practitioners to take action
Request from NZDSOS (NZ Doctors Speaking out with Science) for people to take action
Links to Dr Guy Hatchard videos and blogs
Request from NZAMH (NZ Association of Medical Herbalists) to make submissions
Blog and video by Natural Health Practitioner Gary Muller
Here is how VFF have described it (they write so clearly, much better I just share their text):
What is the Therapeutic Products Bill?
The New Zealand government has introduced the “Therapeutic Products Bill,” which will control how products that appear to benefit health are manufactured, prescribed, imported, advertised, supplied, and exported.
The government describes this bill as:
“intended to replace the Medicines Act 1981 and the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 to provide for the comprehensive, risk-proportionate regulation of therapeutic products, such as medicines, medical devices, natural health products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients."
According to Health Minister Andrew Little:
“It will enable New Zealand to take advantage of advances in medicine, such as cell and tissue therapies, emerging gene therapies, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning software. Having risk-proportionate approval systems will improve access to necessary and life-saving medicines, such as vaccines in a pandemic.”
Natural Health Products (NHPs) are set to be regulated alongside gene therapies and experimental vaccines.
TLDR: The government is proposing to include Natural Health Products (NHPs) in a new Bill seeking to regulate natural ingredients and compounds alongside pharmaceutical products such as gene therapies and experimental vaccines. If included, this will impact the availability of NHPs and remove the ability for Kiwis to make their own healthcare choices with respect to natural medicines and products.
For the submission template, scroll to the bottom of this article
Another Broken Promise
Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal that a government paper recommended that NHPs remain out of the Therapeutic Products legislation. During meetings across the country, officialspromised that Natural Health Products would not be included in the proposed law.
The inclusionof Natural Health Products in the Therapeutic Products Bill is yet another broken promise by Labour.
The following sections from this 2018 government paper clearly show that the advice was to keep NHPs out of the Therapeutic Products legislation.
So, why the change in direction?
Regulating Natural Health Products
An important part of the bill aims to regulate thenatural health productsused by more than 50% of our population.
This is the third attempt in recent years to introduce extreme regulation of the public’s healthcare choices, specifically natural products. Earlier attempts failed because of vocal public opposition.
In 2017, Labour collated a list of 300 common herbal ingredients that they planned to prohibit. The latest version of the proposed legislation omits such a list. We are left to assume that the previously published lists will form a basis for this new legislation if passed.
One could also argue this omission is deliberate and leaves the door open for the government to add whatever they like to the list once the bill has passed. We probably don’t have to spell out how opaque and dangerous that is.
Why the NZ public must demand that natural health products are removed from this Bill:
This is a critically important piece of legislation going through parliament. Every single person who uses natural health products in the country will be affected (whether that’s someone who sees a natural health professional, someone who pays attention to their health and likes to use supplements, or just a layperson with little idea about health but who likes to pick up a fish oil or vitamin C at the supermarket occasionally).
It will place the power to make decisions over what products we can access as consumers and as health professionals into the hands of one man (or woman), who is unlikely to have any actual knowledge of natural health products, and will be independent-but-not-actually-independent (quote “the regulator will be a public servant appointed by the Director-General of Health on the basis of their relevant knowledge and expertise. The Regulator will exercise their powers under the Bill independently of the Director General of Health and the Minister of Health, but may be subject to general policy directions issued by the Minister”). Does that sound independent to you?
There is no justification for including low-risk natural health products in this legislation. It isn’t appropriate, it isn’t necessary, it isn’t risk-proportionate, and it is utterly illogical. The thought that one person can hold so much power over what products we wish to use without truly understanding what they are or how they work is unthinkable.
NHPs are significantly safer than the other medicines and products regulated alongside them. That isn’t to say they are risk-free, but the risks are far, far lower than with pharmaceutical medicine. Many adverse effects involve polypharmacy, incorrect use, or adulterated product (which is an issue, but that doesn’t mean we need govt interference to remedy it!).
The Bill is very, very vague. There are no clear definitions for what constitutes a natural health practitioner or traditional medicine and traditional practice (Western herbalism, rongoa Maori, TCM, Ayurveda, and other traditional medicine systems should all be included in that, but the question is – will they be?). Nor are there any assurances that qualified members of the natural health community will be on the advisory panels, as they should be if this goes ahead.
Much of the Bill is predicated on lists and rules that haven't yet been published - making it very difficult to assess what's happening. All we have is previous lists from earlier attempts at the Bill, and what is on them is very limiting and very concerning.
There will be a list of allowable products and ingredients, and we stand to lose access to many of our best herbs and supplements under this legislation - even some foods - at the whim of one person. There is an entire section dedicated to removing any animal or human-derived 'low concentration natural health products' (homeopathic), which will mean homeopaths will lose access to a significant portion of their materia medica and nosodes. We don't have the herbal medicine list at this stage, but based on prior attempts, we know that a significant number will almost certainly be included.
If an ingredient is not approved, then any products based on that will be gone. For example, if lecithin is banned for internal use in supplements, as Dr. Guy Hatchard points out happened in the 2016 legislation, anything including it will be gone too, including liposomal forms of supplements.
Dosage limits are likely to be affected, with therapeutic dosing on nutrients made very difficult unless prescribed. We already have much lower levels available of a number of these, such as vitamin D3, and it will likely be made lower still, meaning therapeutic effects will be harder to attain and maintain.
Oftentimes, people turn to natural health practitioners and products after the mainstream medical system has failed them and no longer has solutions to their problems. This law will further remove choices for people seeking alternatives to mainstream options.
Natural health practitioners' tongues will be tied and free speech gone as their ability to tell you about the healing properties of virtually anything is under threat - if they make a therapeutic claim (or even imply that something may assist, such as garlic lowering heart disease risk) that hasn't been approved on a list that has yet to be printed, as a practitioner they face a $200,000 fine and/or up to five years in prison.
The way natural health practitioners practice will also be limited. They can still dispense herbs and products to you - but only in the context of proper consultation. They can't pre-pour formulas. They can't dispense for other practitioners in other towns. Dispensaries will be hugely affected, and their ability to help you will be greatly hindered. If you live overseas and aren't normally resident here, they can no longer send you anything. This will hugely affect their clinics and our ability to support you.
The enormous costs of registering products and the red tape in getting them to market will spell the end for many small to medium-sized natural health businesses. The compliance costs with this Bill will push many out of business and make it unattainable for all but the biggest to operate.
This is government overreach at its worst. The idea that a government-appointed regulator can control the activities of dozens of complementary medicine practitioners is beyond absurd. Each complementary healthcare system has its own internal standards, which have proved quite sufficient for decades, if not hundreds of years, in some cases.
Episode 82: Big Pharma vs Nature - Battle Lines Drawn in New Zealand with Tyrannical Therapeutic Products Bill
Kelvyn & Hannah focus on the most important issue in NZ right now - the globalist attack on our access to natural health products & practitioners.
Just before Christmas the Government tabled the Therapeutic Products Bill in Parliament expecting submissions to be in by February 15. Due to public pressure this has now changed to March 5.
Joining them to discuss the globalists attempt to take over NZ natural health is Naturopath David Holden from holdenhealthcare.com, NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party co-leader Sue Grey and Dana Lee, our Northland Correspondent.
The risks are real and NZ could lose access to a vast array of natural products due to big pharma collusion with Government.
There is also a risk of race based (apartheid) policy making special exemptions for Rongoa Maori (Maori medicine).
Here is our extensive blog post with all the information to get you started:
STOP THE THERAPEUTIC PRODUCTS BILL! – Counterspin Media: bit.ly/therapeutic-products-bill
The submissions date to object has now been extended to March 5.
Liz does a New Year update interview with Matt Shelton, the importance of objecting to the Therapeutic Products Bill, other subversions by the NZ govt, and how the last 3 years have affected Kiwis.
VFF strongly believes in the ability of Kiwis to have autonomy over their diet, health, and medical decisions. This includes unrestricted access to natural foods, herbs, and medicines that have been safely used for thousands of years.
If you value this too, it is essential that your voice is heard on this matter.
Our success in removing Natural Health Products from the Therapeutic Products Bill depends on you. This is a numbers game. If the government receives overwhelming opposition to the inclusion of NHPs in the legislation, especially during an election year, they will be more likely to remove them.
The closing date for submissions is 11.59pm Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Submissions Template
We urge you to make your submission to the proposed legislation here and share this page with like-minded friends and family so that they may do the same.
VFF's legal team has provided a submission template for you to use as a basis to oppose this bill. The advice is to keep your objection brief and to the point.
You may choose to include points from the Why are we concerned?section above.
You may also wish to email your local MP about this issue, outlining why you think NHPs should be removed from this Bill. Check back in a few days for a template letter to send to your MP, the PM, and the Health Minister.
Note on word 'submission'
Clarification from the VFF legal team, vis a vis the following comment which is within Gary Moller's blog below:
"A submission is the action of presenting a proposal, application, or other document for consideration or judgment.
Most commonly a submission is done in writing, but can also be presented verbally.
A submission, itself, is neither an objection nor an admission. It is simply the act of submitting.
The content of the submission however, can either concur with or oppose the subject matter being submitted upon.
Calling the submission on the Therapeutic Products Bill a submission will not mean that it is received as an approval of the Bill. The content of the submission will determine whether the submission is in favour, or against the Bill."
Information regarding submissions on the Therapeutic Products Bill
The government is calling for submissions on the Therapeutic Products Bill, which it introduced late last year. Those submissions close 11.59 pm Wednesday, 15 February 2023.
The Bill:
a. is intended to replace the Medicines Act 1981 and the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 to regulate therapeutic products, such as medicines, medical devices, natural health products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
b. Introduces a new regulator within the Ministry of Health, headed by an independent statutory officer, with a wider remit than the medicines regulator Medsafe.
For more information, you can review:
a. the consultation information here and other Ministry of Health documents relating to the regulatory regime are here
c. commentary in parliament on the Bill is here and here
d. the Ministry of Health is required to prepare a disclosure statement to assist with the scrutiny of this Bill - the statement seeks to bring together in one place a range of information to support and enhance the Parliamentary and public scrutiny of that Bill and is available here.
We encourage you to either prepare and file a submission with the Health Select Committee, which you can prepare and:
b. if you are having difficulties submitting your submission as per 4.a, then you can email it to the Health Select Committee secretariat at [email protected]
We encourage you to either prepare and file a submission with the Health Select Committee, which you can do utilising the template below.
Submissions on the Therapeutic Products Bill [TEMPLATE]
[DD/MM/2023]
The Bill proposes:
to replace the Medicines Act 1981 and the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 to regulate therapeutic products, such as medicines, medical devices, natural health products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients;
introduces a new regulator within the Ministry of Health, headed by an independent statutory officer, with a wider remit than the medicines regulator Medsafe.
I oppose the Bill including natural health products in the Bill.
I also oppose….
[list]
[expand where you feel necessary]
I wish / do not wish to be heard on these submissions.
FXMed urge practitioners and public to take action
This is an email I received from FXMed, natural supplements provider.
"Dear Practitioner,
As you may be aware New Zealand Parliament have released the Therapeutic Products Bill for public submission. The Therapeutic Products Bill is intended to replace the current Medicines Act 1981 and Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985.
Therapeutic products are divided into four types: medicines, medical devices, APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients), and NHPs (Natural Health Products).
The proposed Therapeutic Products Bill recommends a new regulator which will be a branded business unit within ManatΕ« Hauora, led by an independent statutory officer.
We understand that the Dietary Supplement Regulations 1985 Bill is outdated and needs reviewing. We all need to play our part in this review. It would be in your best interest to read and understand the new proposed regulatory framework as this affects us all as distributors, health practitioners, and consumers.
Our Technical Support Team is working their way through the bill, this is a massive undertaking, and we will share our submission once we have finalised it in the coming weeks.
What can YOU do between now and the submission closing date?
Ask for an extension!
Submission closing date is February 15th 2023. We have requested an extension to March 31st 2023.
You can request an extension by emailing the health select committee directly at [email protected] stating 'The Therapeutics Products Bill' and reason why you want the extension.
Please note the extension request will not be reviewed until February 15th 2023, so a submission still needs to be filed. We are hoping for an extension so we can then resubmit our further findings.
Make a submission!
Offering any objections or views you may have. This will be your only chance for public submissions for this Therapeutic Products Bill as it stands - Make a submission
Ask for the detailed list of permitted ingredients as there is currently no list available to review within this Therapeutic Products Bill or date on when this will be released.
Make your local Minister of Parliament (MP) aware of your views on this bill - Find your MP here
You can also send a copy of your submission to: Health Minister - Andrew Little Associate Health Minister - Dr Ayesha Verrall National Party Health Spokesperson - Shane Reti
Share the knowledge!
Tell your colleagues, clients/customers, family, and friends.
We would encourage all Practitioner bodies and Practitioner Groups – i.e. peer review groups to send in their submissions as those will have more voice than individual submissions.
The Therapeutic Products Bill affects everyone you know who consumes Natural Health Products!
This is an email received from NZDSOS (NZ Doctors Speaking out with Science)
Our health is currently being tabled in parliament.
The Therapeutics Product bill will limit access to supplements, herbs, spices & everyday foods.
What will you do to save your health & that of your children?
What will you do for happiness, wealth & a life well lived?
Without our health, these precious aspects of our lives are either not obtainable or meaningless.
Ardern may be gone, but the Therapeutics Product bill is not. There is a long way to go to reunite New Zealanders but a good place to start is in everyone's interest - our health.
Vitamin C, aloe vera (even in your garden), cinnamon, fish oil, n-acetyl cysteine, Vitamin B12, magnesium, kawa-kawa, zinc, selenium, astragalus, niacin, calcium, bilberry, Vitamin A, iodine, crampbark, thiamine, iron, lavender, riboflavin, thyme, oats, valerian, chromium, ginger, coenzyme Q10, glutamine, chaste tree, echinacea, pantothenic acid, St John's wort, slippery elm, tumeric, soy, probioitics, folate, licorice, garlic, flaxeed oil, cocoa, cranberry, pyridoxine, cloves, celery, carnitine, evening primrose oil, Vitamin D, New Zealand green lip mussel, psyllium, Vitamin E, tea, quercetin, rosemary...
These compounds and many more are now under threat of being restricted to big companies and only available on a doctor's prescription. The doctor in turn will likely not know anything about the health benefits of quercetin.
Think about how the "no" vote affected access to medicinal CBD. It is now on prescription only and costs around ten times the amount it did before. Do you want to pay ten times the price for Vitamin C or valerian?
And this for supplements that are estimated to be 45 000 times safer than pharmaceuticals and for food that we eat or drink daily.
Make a submission - Submissions close on 15th February
Start a petition
Visit your local MP - frequently.
The government needs to know how many people oppose this bill.
Let's Speak Out Together for Our Health - and Our Lives
NZDSOS is preparing a submission, but it is going to take all of us to let the government and whoever the prime minister is, know that the people of New Zealand oppose this bill and if it is passed it will hurt them in this election year.
While you're with your MP, why not mention the WHO's plan to impose health controls on us via the IHR, and that many of us are dying and injured from the jabs, especially the young. They need to know that we know.
NZ Government Reaches for Total Medical Control via a Therapeutic Products Bill
Reading Time:10minutes
Alongside officialalliances of NZDSOS, are independent public health analysts such as one of New Zealand’s best, Dr Guy Hatchard. In the ongoing incursion of government control over every aspect of our lives, a new Therapeutic Products Bill is being rushed through public consultation with a deadline of 15 February 2023. Read about it below and find out how you can help.
Alongside officialalliances of NZDSOS, are independent public health analysts such as one of New Zealand’s best, Dr Guy Hatchard. In the ongoing incursion of government control over every aspect of our lives, a new Therapeutic Products Bill is being rushed through public consultation with a deadline of 15 February 2023. Read about it below and find out how you can help. This is directly copied fromThe Hatchard Reportof 15 January 2023.
Around half the NZ population take supplements, and twice before pharma’s attempts to destroy natural health has been defeated by coordinated action from health companies, practitioners and the public.
This time is different, however. “They” plan to further prevent access to many healthy foods, not just vitamins, minerals and nutraceuticals, simply because they are used to make health products! Remember, many herbs and spices have powerful medicinal effects. They are edible plants that have become prized, over thousands of years of observation, to have particular value to human health. Of course, Big Pharma hates competition and has a clear business imperative to create as many sick customers as possible, and we see it’s greedy hand all over this latest attempt to block access to health products.
We have to make a stand for our rights and freedoms, which are being stripped at breath-taking speed. There is a true public health emergency of course, vaccine harms, that is completely ignored, along with all the victims. Having idiotically damaged the nations immune system, now they want to stop our attempts to nourish and repair it? There is overwhelming proof of the link between poor nutrition and almost all diseases, and covid vaccine harms are no exception.
The field of nutrigenomics and epigenetics, the absolute upside of biotech innovation, have led to some astonishing benefits from targeted food factors in the form of nutraceutical products, and the drug industry knows this. Do not let the politicians sacrifice human progress on the altar of corporate greed and deception. Stand Up. Lobby. Be heard. Fight.
For millions of years, humans and animals have maintained their health by eating the fruits of the earth.
The necessity and benefits of a broad natural diet are evident from Egyptian skeletal remains from 6000 years ago, which suggest scurvy—a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. In 1753 a Scottish surgeon, James Lind demonstrated that scurvy could be treated with citrus fruit. The New Zealand government seems intent on changing history.
Just before Christmas, our Government introduced the Therapeutic Products Bill for its first reading. Public consultation is being rushed through the summer holidays here in the southern hemisphere and closes on February 15th. The Bill contains 423 pages of dense provisions with countless cross references. I am not sure whether any MPs actually read it before voting for its acceptance or whether the public could stand to do so. You can view my video summary of its draconian provisions here.
You might be interested in the kind of nation we will end up inhabiting:
Reverse Patenting
If a Natural Health Product is found to benefit a serious illness (such as lemons which benefit scurvy), according to the Bill it should be classed as a medicine. Consequently, according to the letter of the new law, only doctors will be allowed to prescribe lemons. Joking apart, most foods benefit serious illness. You might think there is no need to pass a law classifying them as medicines, but according to the government you would be wrong.
80% of drugs are in fact derived from the properties of plants. For years pharmaceutical companies have been trying to patent medicinal plants and secure a monopoly of their supply and use. But this effort largely failed in the patent courts. The remedy for pharmaceutical companies is contained in the Bill being introduced by our Labour government. If a plant is used to make a medicine or the molecular structure of any of its compounds is mimicked by a medicine, then the use of the actual plant should be restricted.
For this reason, in 2016, a bevy of well-paid Ministry of Health experts (???) produced an idiotic list of common plants that they envisioned should be restricted. Natural products in this list included cinnamon, eggplant, almond, mustard, tea (yes you did read that correctly), coconut, and many many others. The present Bill (the third attempt over the years to get this past Parliament) sets up the same conditions that prompted the 2016 list of restricted plants. A sort of frenzied desire to control the minutia of individual life driven by a mad instinct that the government always knows best.
More than 50% of NZ citizens use natural products, so you might think their availability should not be controlled by the government. Wrong again. The Bill requires the appointment of a regulator who will decide for us what among what we have eaten for millennia can be sold openly and what should be restricted. The idea that one person can decide for all of us what plants that grow in the earth, can be sold, eaten, or used puts New Zealand in a unique class among tin pot kingdoms. We can imagine as we gather around the family breakfast table a swarm of well-paid government experts with pens and questionnaires hovering close by for a final check.
The situation at the border is very similar. If a herb benefits health, it will be a medicine and therefore cannot be imported except with a permit. Border officials will be very busy examining packages and if they find anything healthy, tossing it in the bin. Am I exaggerating? No. Rauwolfia Serpentina is an Indian herb that reduces blood pressure. Studies such this one published in 2015 show it is a safe and effective treatment for high blood pressure, but it is banned here in New Zealand because some hypertension drugs contain synthetic copies of one of the many alkaloids found in the whole plant—reverse patenting at its best.
Why is the Government Intending to Regulate Natural Health Products?
A rational answer to this question is hard to find. A recent EU study found that natural health products are 45,000 times safer than pharmaceutical drugs. The government, however, apparently believes they are unsafe, but where is the evidence? It doesn’t exist. An imaginary NZ doctor explains to their teenage patient:
“Years ago, before you were born, dearly beloved, a person whose name is lost in the mists of time might have felt a little off colour after taking a vitamin tablet and then recovered quickly. Ever since then, the New Zealand government has quite rightly been very suspicious of vitamins and plants grown in soil. So they are introducing a new and very honest law for us all.” or words to that effect.
There are many continuous traditions of natural approaches to health that have been followed by cultures on every continent for thousands of years and still are. There are more modern ones too that have attracted followers guided by trained practitioners. These include Indian Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, etc. The idea that a regulator who is unfamiliar with these traditions should control their practice and availability is inherently flawed.
This Bill represents an attempt to impose a modern medical/pharmaceutical straight jacket on the process of medical choice. A straight jacket that will no doubt be administered by people who are unfamiliar with and even opposed to natural medicine. The apparent intention is to drive people towards pharmaceutical-based medicine. It is worth noting that modern medical misadventure and misprescription is the third leading cause of death—hardly a direction that deserves a monopoly.
The logic of insisting on total government control of medical choice escapes me. It fits with a perspective that has been steadily growing throughout the pandemic: the government is seeking to control every aspect of life and impose a kind of uniformity on the nation. This originates from a distorted one size fits all view of reality. Diversity is actually a great source of progress and happiness, not something to be stamped out—a discredited communistic perspective.
It is rather curious that for two years the government has been denying there is any connection between serious illness and mRNA vaccination despite tens of thousands of instances of illness proximate to inoculation and studies showing a statistical connection, as well as plausible biomolecular mechanisms. In contrast, on account of a very, very small handful of unproven historical complaints about natural health products, despite widespread safe use, they wish to control what we eat and what health choices we can make.
Whichever side of the vaccine debate you are on, it should be clear that the government cannot have it both ways. They can’t apply different and incompatible logic as it suits their agenda. All the more curious when many vaccine injured and long Covid sufferers are relying on natural health products to help get them through conditions which many of our medical professionals deny exist.
Last night I spoke to a medical doctor who described how his comments on the benefits of Vitamin C and D have been censored by his colleagues and officials. No surprise really, doctors only spend an hour or two learning about the principles of nutrition during the entire course of their long training. One of his colleagues told him the only benefit of vitamins is to change the colour of urine. That just about says it all. James Lind, who found that lemons cure scurvy, must be turning in his grave.
There is in fact no reasonable rationale for introducing restrictions on Natural Health Products, they are not harming anyone and studies show that many of them have significant benefits for health. The introduction of the new law will cost a lot and it will be paid for by financial levies on manufacturers, importers, suppliers, practitioners, and retailers. A single company selling 300 products, each making two health claims, will be liable for as much as $3 million in government charges. Ultimately these costs will be passed onto the public making natural health products unaffordable.
What the Bill Doesn’t Do
Gradually over the last few years, synthetic flavours and additives have been turning up in processed supermarket items. If you are buying vanilla ice cream, it is now usually labelled as containing natural vanilla flavour. This is not in fact made from natural vanilla beans, it is a synthetic flavour. The use of the term “natural” is intended to disguise this fact. In 2016 our Ministry of Health approved over 3,000 synthetic ingredients, many of them without safety testing.
The Therapeutic Products Bill will do nothing to correct the sleight of hand that is describing synthetic additives with an unknown safety profile as ‘natural’. I discuss many of the ways synthetic additives are affecting health in my book Your DNA Diet.
Nor will the Bill encourage the distribution of information about natural approaches to health that studies show are very beneficial in controlling common serious health conditions. Advice for example about diet, exercise, and the curbing of unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive drinking, or ultra processed foods. Changes in lifestyle can be very influential in reducing cardiac problems as this BBC interview reports. Many other serious health condition outcomes could be improved in this way including cancer, obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, etc.
If the government wishes to encourage improvements in health and longevity, it would do well to launch a public education programme about natural health products and approaches rather than seek to limit their use.
What You Can Do
If we wish to be able to continue to freely choose natural health options, herbal medicines and supplements without government interference, we will need to speak up. Go to this link to make a submission before February 15th.
Write to your MP and complain that the appointment of a regulator amounts to an open ended blank cheque to control the sale and use of products used by more than 50% of our population without fully specifying the principles he should use. Moreover, it will put many NZ businesses out of action.
I could say a lot more but now is the time for all of us to have a go and hold up our hands. If we don’t, we will only have ourselves to blame. Given the short submission time available, we have to take a scattershot approach, contact as many people as you can and explain how this is going to seriously affect their health options now and down the line.
Therapeutic Products Bill – Save our Supplements by Making a Submission Before 15 Feb 2023
Reading Time:4minutes
Let’s tell Chris Hipkins that we are not standing for the Therapeutic Products Bill. It is easier than you may think to make a submission and very easy to sign a petition. What would happen if we could get a million people to say:
No, we don’t want Natural Health Products regulated.
We urge Kiwis to join together, putting aside our differences, which in the whole scheme of things is tiny. We all want health and happiness for ourselves and future generations.
For more information on how the government wants to restrict your access to common foods, plants and supplements see:
There are two easy ways you can add your name to the increasing number of people who are saying no without leaving the couch!
1. Make a submission
This might sound scary, but we can tell you it is not. We’ll talk you through it.
Go to thiswebpageand start filling out your details. For those fired up you can request to make a submission in person but this is not compulsory.
Add your submission. This can be uploaded as a document or typed directly on the webpage.
Then simply click/press done!
Here are some hints about making a submission.
MPs are people too and they don’t like to read through screeds of evidence or hear your life story. They also won’t react well to you denigrating them either.
Keep it short
Make it personal but not long-winded
State whatyouwant. You do not need to justify yourself. MPs work for us.
Useful comments you can add.
We don’t want natural health products regulated
Natural health products are much safer than many over-the-counter medications
We trust our own bodies and know what they need
Access to natural health supplements takes the pressure off the New Zealand health system by helping people to stay well
At least 50% of New Zealanders use supplements
As Maori, we have a right to easily access Rongoa, our traditional medicine
New Zealand boasts many people from diverse backgrounds. We all demand access to traditional medicine that has been used for centuries, whether it be Traditional Chinese Medicine or Traditional Western Herbal Medicine and everything in between.
Here is anexample letterwhich you can use to help structure your opposition to the Therapeutics Bill. This example is long but gives you an idea of how to begin your objection.
2. Sign The Petition
When you signthispetition by lawyer and freedom fighter, Sue Grey, the government gets a message. Let’s get this to 1 million messages!
Lawyer Sue Grey’s message on the petition
The proposal to regulate foods and herbs and traditional medicines is unlawful, irrational, unreasonable and unnecessary and is contrary to the interests of New Zealanders.
I am opposed to this bill because:
Foods, herbs and traditional medicines belong to the people, not the government.
It is contrary to the interests of New Zealanders to restrict affordable access to our foods, herbs and traditional medicines.
The Bill is too complex and impossible to understand.
The Bill is a poorly disguised attempt to privatise and block access to natural remedies with layers of costly red tape.
The Bill fails to recognise the considerable difference in risk between artificial and novel pharmaceutical drugs and natural products and that Pharmaceutical drugs are a significant cause of harm and death, whereas food and herbs are not.
New Zealanders need access to natural health practitioners. It is wrong to threaten them with civil and criminal penalties.
The NZ Government has NO mandate to reduce or remove our access to cheap, effective herbs, spices and nutritional supplements. This bill stinks of excessive influence of foreign corporations, and weak government that puts their profit ahead of our health.
Please take our foods, herbs and other safe, effective, traditional natural health products out of the Therapeutic Products Bill!
Message from Medical Herbalist Association NZ
TPB Submission Guidelines for Medical Herbalists
"Hello There,
You may have noticed that the government has released the Therapeutic Products Bill (TPB) for submissions over the summer holidays, and we have until 15 Feb 2023 to make submissions, before it goes to the select committee. See TPB Details Here
The purpose of the bill is to protect, promote, and improve the health of all New Zealanders by providing for the:
Acceptable safety, quality, and efficacy or performance of medicines, medical devices, and active pharmaceutical ingredients across their life-cycle; and
Acceptable safety and quality of natural health products across their life-cycle.
We have been discussing and sharing information about the bill with other organisations such as Naturopaths and Medical Herbalists of NZ (NMHNZ), and Natural Health Products NZ (NHPNZ).
NZAMH will be making a submission as an organisation but we thought we could help simplify things for you as individual members to make submissions also.
The more submissions we make on this subject the more likely they will be heard.
See below a basic step-by-step guide to making your submission.
Read the Highlighted sections below in the Bill which relate to Herbalist practitioners and Herbal Medicines, especially sections 83-91 and 112.
Full TPB Document with clauses below highlighted Click Here
Clause 20 - Types of therapeutic products
Clause 29 - NHP (Natural Health Products)
Clause 30 - NHP ingredient, recognised NHP ingredient, and additive or formulation aid
Clause 48 - Manufacture of NHP
Clause 61 - Health benefit claim, permitted health benefit claim, and substantiating claims
Clause 83-91 - Practitioner Dispensing
Clause 112 - Personalised NHP’s
Clause 122-125 - Application for market authorisation for NHP, Issue of market authorisation for NHP, Criteria for market authorisation of NHP, Criteria for sponsor of NHP
Clause 347 - Advisory committees
Clause 379 - Exemptions
Read the ‘Easy Guide’ on making a submission Click Here
Visit Herbal Hub and ask questions to the group, if you are unsure or need help from other members. Click Here
Points for consideration
The Bill is light on detail on several areas, and clarification about various issues should be requested in submissions (objections), ahead of the Select Committee process. This is to try and ensure the Regulations (which will contain much more detail about how things will work in practice), adequately address Medical Herbalist Practitioner needs.
The ability of NHP practitioners to carry on Controlled activities as is summarised in Clause 11, is pleasing, but ensuring the actual final Regulations and secondary pieces of legislation adequately allow for and protect this right, and that more clarity is established re exactly what it should and shouldn’t entail, will be important.
More clarity around the definition of a ‘Natural Health Practitioner’ is required
A definition is needed for ‘Traditional Medicine and Traditional Practice’. This should include Rongoa Maori, Traditional Western Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ayurveda and Naturopathy.
Permitted activities currently under HPCA scope of practice should be expanded to include Allied Health Professionals scope of practice.
Market Authorisation exemption for community herbal businesses such as products made at home and sold at local markets.
Allowed health benefit claims require ‘Evidence of Traditional Use’. This should include Empirical Evidence such as Materia Medica
Request Members of NZAMH, and other professional associations be appointed to the TPB advisory committees
Rescheduling of herbs, eg: Artemisia annua needs to allow for ‘practitioner only’ use, not just ‘prescription only’
A clear Market Authorisations exemption clause is missing for practitioner compounded products (Similar to what was in the previous ANZTPA proposal 2.2.8 (Section 28, page 45) Exemption from requirement for a product licenceClick Here)
Similarly, we believe a Market Authorisation exemption clause should be included for small herbal businesses where turnover is under a certain amount, and where compliance would remove viability. This was to be included in the previous Natural Health Products Bill.
While the Bill appears to acknowledge this, the makeup of the Expert Advisory Committees associated with the Bill, needs to incorporate adequate representation from the NHP practitioner sector when it comes to regulating NHP’s and NHP practitioners. NHP’s are quite distinct from other medicines and specialist expertise and input from the industry and profession into scheduling and other decision making, will be important.
Other suggestions.
If you are manufacturing herbal products (NHP) for sale outside of the context of a one to one consult then you will need to read further than just the highlighted clauses as this is outside the scope of NZAMH.
Refer directly to the clauses in the document when asking for amendments to the bill
Give clear reasons why you see the need for change
"I made this video nine months ago, which is as relevant as ever. Just one thing: We thought the fine for making unapproved health claims was to be $50,000. I was wrong. It is$200,000 or five years in jail– This is not punitive law: this is a kill shot.
Yes. Under this law, if an “impermissible” health benefit claim is made about a natural health product by an individual, they could be liable for a$200,000 fine or five years in prison.This is regardless of whether or not there is research evidence to support the claim: If the regulator does not approve it, including the dose and the way it is administered, then any such claims are illegal.
Am I prepared to risk jail if, for example, if I claim turmeric has health claims unapproved by the regulator, such as reducing lifetime cancer risk? No – not me! I’ll quit and retire rather than risk imprisonment or financial ruin.
Health professionals who practice natural health are being corralled, and then they face extermination by the government. They are working for Big Pharma, Big Food and Big Medicine – not you.
I’m not kidding – this bill is serious stuff! They are coming for your food – and our livelihood.
Natural health practitioners are on the endangered species list
I’ve been in the health business, beginning as a student in 1972 and still going strong in my 70thyear. That’s longer than most in professional practice (or still alive!). I’m the two times masters’ mountain-bike world champion and ranked second in cyclocross, so I must be doing something right.
Gary and daughter, Mary-Ann
My partner, Alofa, has to be the healthiest ‘older’ Pacifica woman you’ll ever encounter. So, I can confidently say we know what we are doing and probably better than anyone else.Yet, now, they will appoint a ‘regulator’ to tell us how to do our job, and if we don’t comply, they’ll ruin us financially and throw us in prison!How outrageous can things get? Leave us alone and let us get on with helping people stay healthy, fit and out of the hospital. (While I have been typing this, the ambulances have been constant, wailing their way to Wellington Hospital.)
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
We know what we are doing and have done so for a very long time. So, what is the problem? There ain’t none. The consequence of what we do for a living is people are healthier, are no longer burdens on the health system and have no need for pharmaceuticals!Nobody dies from eating good food or taking a vitamin pill.
Preventive health will become a luxury for the wealthy
This bill is aimed at supporting big businesses, those who have multiple products on the market and a big turnover. Natural Health Practitioners and small business owners will be collateral damage. Any costs incurred by these businesses will have to be passed on to the consumer.
Barbara Roberts
We need your help, folks, and we were hoping you couldACT NOWby making an objection to the Therapeutic Products Bill! It’ll take only a few minutes because we are here to help you get it done.
Following three years of pandemic control, governments are not stopping there. Here in New Zealand, the government has introduced the “Therapeutic Products Bill” which will control how products which appear to benefit health are manufactured, prescribed, imported, advertised, supplied and exported. According to Health Minister Andrew Little: “It will enable New Zealand to take advantage of advances in medicine,such as cell and tissue therapies, emerging gene therapies and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning software. Risk-proportionate approval systems will improve access to necessary and life-saving medicines, such as vaccines in a pandemic.”
Dr Guy Hatchard
When you read what Andrew Little said in the quote above: It is all about biotic AI and gene therapy –the modern-day gold rush, the Klondike of the New Century.
We are being progressively shoved more and more into the Big Food, Big Medicine, Biotech and Big Pharma camps. No more natural or plant-based medicine; only GE food, mRNA drugs and microchips in our brains.
Challenge the government and individual MPs to give hard evidence that health and safety problems justify such open-ended, wide-ranging, costly and punitive laws.
Write to MPs and complain that the appointment of a regulator amounts to an open-ended blank cheque to control the use of products used by more than 50 per cent of our population without fully specifying the principles he should use.
Tell MPs that this legislation will be the last straw, which, if it passes, they will not just lose your two votes at the coming election, butyou will also actively campaign against their re-election.
It is preferable, as well, to make an appointment to meet your MP at their electorate office, so you can tell them what you think face-to-face.
Get onto politicians’ social media – FaceBook, Twitter and so on – and tell them what you think.
Do not submit to anyone: Object, challenge and reject, but never submit to evil.
To help you write your objection in your own words, here is some material to inspire you and save you time. Refer, as well, to the more detailed explanation of the implications of this bill, by a health professional Barbara Roberts and her helpers. You can find her work at the bottom of this article and a link to her Facebook page.
Here is an example of a simple submission by one of my supporters:
My/our commentsI shall keep this brief for the sake of clarity. The proposed therapeutics bill is spurious and ridiculous. I would be most appreciative if examples were to be presented illustrating harms done by the benign, safe and helpful list, not to mention culinarily indispensable herbs this bill proposes to restrict. No government anywhere has the right to deprive anyone of these remedies/condiments provided free by nature and used freely for thousands of years. The agenda is patently nefarious and intended to propagate the use of pharmaceuticals for ALL health matters and, as such, is intolerable and unacceptable. The ramifications for food preparation, too, would be massively impacted. In short, the proposed bill is ridiculously conceived and intolerable!
My/our recommendationsThat the proposed bill be scrapped in its entirety forthwith!
You can make your objection along these lines from Dr Guy Hatchard, in your own words:
More than 50 per cent of the New Zealand public uses natural products. The structure of the proposed bill is very concerning. It establishes a regulator who will be empowered to make decisions and control availability. It does not adequately specify what factors should influence his decisions. In other words,it is an enabling bill favoured by repressive regimes.The 2016 Natural Products Bill planned by Labour pre-2008 was eventually abandoned after careful consideration of its impact. As was the case then, I don’t see any evidence that the public is being disadvantaged under current regulations, nor is there any evidence natural products are harming them. This is another area where the government does not need to tighten regulations. The bill will place additional financial burdens on manufacturers and end users and introduce uncertainty about products that have been sold and relied upon by millions of New Zealanders. I think it is an underhand move to structure the bill as regulation without specifying content. This is designed to disperse and deflect public interest, especially as the public consultation period spans the summer break.
The very long list of common herbals planned to be banned under the 2016 bill drawn up by Medsafe with the help of ICMRA is still in existence. Some of these are even used regularly and traditionally in cooking. Under the bill, there is nothing to stop the new regulator from simply adopting this list as soon as appointed. This list would disrupt the availability of traditional remedies.
It is of note that Indian traditional medicine Ayurveda would be particularly affected. Something of concern to a large segment of our population and the Indian government.
People: We are being bombarded by this government, left, right and centre, and it can seem overwhelming, but be encouraged that cracks are appearing in the dam, and it may be about to burst. The resignation today of our Great Leader, also known as the kind Mother of our Nation, is the encouragement we need to keep pushing back against what I think is not only stupid but also evil. People are waking up to the deceit and harm these politicians have wreaked upon Godzone and realising they are not working for us but for interests beyond our borders. So, please take heart and keep chipping away.
Be strong and do not falter: We occupy the moral high ground; therefore, you are on the winning team, but only if you act promptly and do so with resolve!
We defeated this kind of legislation on two previous occasions, so let’s stick it to them by defeating them a third time!
At the end of 2022, this bill was introduced to Parliament and had its first reading. It is not the first time that there has been proposed legislation for Natural Health Products, and the current legislation it proposed to replace – the Medicines Act and the Dietary Supplements Regulations – arguably need updating. But there are a large number of areas that are problematic for users and practitioners of a wide range of complementary health modalities. Even medicines and medical devices will be impacted, and costs will increase particularly for medical devices, even if you are just replacing parts.
If you use homeopathy, herbs or supplements and want to continue to have the freedom of choice for modalities and practitioners and the choice of herbs, supplements and remedies, if you want to be able to support micro and small businesses and individual practitioners then PLEASE read this post, or the bill itself and make a submission. You can just pick out one thing that resonates with you, and the write something in your own words about what it would mean for you, why you are concerned. There are no spelling or grammar checks and it is not marked, but your individual voice is important.
The bill is huge, and it is incorporating the Medicines Act, with Medicines, Medical devices and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, as well as Natural Health Products (NHPs).
Let’s start at the beginning –
Clause 30 defines what NHP ingredients are. As a homeopath this does not directly impact my practice, but if you use locally sourced herbal products grown from a micro business, this clause defines them as a NHP, which has implications further on in the bill. It includes plant and non-human animal extracts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and ingredients to formulate these. Under this clause, placenta capsules, made from your own placenta after birth would not be possible.
Clause 31 is a biggie for homeopathy. It is about low concentration NHPs which includes homeopathic products and tissue salts. Homeobotanicals and flower essences would fall under clauses 29-30 as they are not dilute enough to be considered low concentration. The biggest issue here is 31 (1) (c) and (d), which say that a low concentration NHP cannot contain anything of human origin or from an animal covered in the rules (sheep and cows).
This will make our Matridonal remedies – Lac Humanum, Lac Maternum, Vernix, Amniotic Fluid and Placenta Humanum unavailable. It will mean that we cannot use our old nosodes – Tuberculinum Bov which is from cattle, and any nosodes that are made from diseased human tissue, or discharges, like Carcinosin, or Psorinum, would not be available either. These are such important remedies that make up a large part of my practice and are so effective. They are remedies that can be used for recurring illnesses, for inherited predispositions to disease (miasmatic influences) and when other indicated remedies are not working as well as they should.
If you are writing about this clause in the submission then ask [that] all homeopathic remedies or low concentration NHPs with a concentration less than 1×10*23 are exempt because there is no risk of disease from them.
Clause 69 makes manufacturing, or exporting NHPs and importing a low concentration NHP a controlled activity – that is prohibited unless allowed by license. You want to send some kawakawa balm to your cousin in Australia? Nope, can’t happen as that would be exporting an NHP.
Clause 71 there will be no injection or parenteral infusion of NHPs – this means no IV Vitamin C. It also means no IM Vitamin B12 which is a standard treatment and no iron infusions, so will be a disaster for conventional medical treatment also.
Clause 86 allows Health Practitioners (ones under the Health Practitioner Competency Assurance Act, so doctors, nurses, pharmacists, chiropractors) to dispense medicines for their own clients, or at the request of another practitioner. They can also compound medicines. (Pharmacists get their own section, they can also dispense prescriptions and sell pharmacist only, pharmacy only and general sales medicines).
However Natural Health Practitioners do not get the same thing. Under clause 112 we can manufacture for a client that we have had a consultation with. We can’t sell wholesale to other practitioners, we have to have a consult with the person we are selling to, and we cannot send an NHP overseas to a client if they are not normally resident in New Zealand. If you have a homeopath in one town and you live somewhere else and want to collect your prescription from a local homeopath so you can get it faster – you can’t. I have a few clients overseas. If they can’t source a remedy in their country I post it to them – but under this law I will be unable to do that. Those small businesses selling herbal tinctures will not be able to do so unless they have a consultation with each sale, and they cannot supply wholesale to a shop.
Clause 252 is scary for me – if an impermissible health benefit claim is made about an NHP by an individual they could be liable for a $200,000 fine or 5 years in prison. This may make many small businesses unable to talk about what sorts of things their herbal tinctures or aromatherapy ointments could be used as this is making a claim and the fines are out of proportion to income for these micro businesses. Could my posts be construed as making claims – possibly. One homeopath commented that it is not safe to talk about remedies, and this clause will make that a reality.
Clause 330 is about the regulator – one person to oversee every medicine, medical device, active pharmaceutical ingredient and natural health product in New Zealand. This is huge, and so broad that it would be impossible to have enough knowledge to do the role justice. In my opinion this is a job for a medicines and medical devices regulator, and a separate role for NHPs.
Clause 346 is also problematic, that they can take the decision of an overseas entity and use this for New Zealand. Do we want to allow the regulator to do this? Australia has already been shown to be biased against homeopathy with their fraudulent NHMRC review, and the FDA has also come out with a policy (not a law) which is anti-homeopathy. With this clause we open the door to losing sovereignty, with the regulator able to adopt and follow agendas from overseas. This is also risky for our rongoa Maori and Treaty of Waitangi obligations as no other country has any understanding of Te Ao Maori.
Following on is clause 347 about advisory committees. This should be strengthened, as in this bill while they advise the regulator it is not binding, so comes back to the regulator and their knowledge and biases. Also, the regulator needs to be “satisfied [members of the committee] have knowledge, skills, and experience” relevant to the issue. This is not satisfactory – it should be qualifications in the appropriate medical or NHP discipline, AND experience in New Zealand. I am not qualified to assess traditional Chinese medicine supplements, and so I should not be involved in making decisions about them. Likewise, the people who should be making decisions about homeopathic products are qualified homeopaths themselves: those who have completed a diploma or degree in homeopathy, not just done a short course.
This bill is aimed at big businesses, those who have multiple products on the market and a big turnover. Natural Health Practitioners and small business owners will be collateral damage. Any costs incurred by these businesses will have to be passed on to the consumer. There is already a wide range of cost for different supplements, some practitioner-only ones costing dollars every day. That will only increase with this bill, making preventative health a luxury.
Say whether you support or oppose the bill (I will be opposing the bill) and then write about what the issues are for you with this bill.
I hope if we get enough support they will see the error of their ways and we can stop this bill before it becomes law.
Credit to Sonia Pechner for organising the group and also Lora Hagemann, Mike Dong, Angela Hair, Sarah Penrose and Jem Moon who came together last week so we could discuss these issues.
* 'If something can be proven to benefit health, it needs to be a medicine'.* This was an explanation given by Guy Hatchard in the above video with Liz Gunn.
