CONTENTS
1) Editorial
2) Feature: Asbestos Interests an Unholy Alliance
3) Issue Updates
--Canadians Call for Investigation into Whistle-Blower Firings
--New Forest Database Reveals Provinces Failing to Protect Species Habitat
--Campaign for a GE-Free Prince Edward Island
--Healthy Aging in Canada Survey
--US Asbestos Victim Aid Heats Up
--National Biotechnology Spending in Canada
--Canadians Spend Billions on Prescription Drugs
4) Media Watch
--Montana Saga May Complicate US Asbestos Fund Bill
--Acupuncture as Effective as Drug Therapy for Migraines and Headaches
--Prescription Drug Expenditures Rising Too Fast?
--Worrisome Ailments in Medicine: Misleading Journal Articles
--Health Risks Escalate for Overweight Kids
--Europeans Say Ignorant About GMO Foods, Crops – Poll
--Vitamin C May Cut Pregnant Smoking Risks
--Experts Downplay OTC Painkiller Risks
--Dioxin Risk Varies by the Type of Salmon Eaten
--Forget Counting Sheep, Music is the Key to Good Sleep
--High Intakes of Vitamins E and C Found Safe
--Mediterranean Diet Reduces Mortality Among CHD Sufferers
--Vegetable Oils at High Heat May Contain Toxic Compound
--Study Finds Americans Prefer “Safer” Older Drugs
--Ginkgo Biloba May Improve Memory in MS Sufferers
--Low-Fat Veggie-Based Diet Lowers Cholesterol
5) Calendar of Events
--When the Body Forgets to Heal: An Integrative Approach to
Reactivating the Healing Response
--The Future of Food
--When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress
--“Arresting AIDS” Breakfast
--Herbs: How to Know Them and Use Them
--International Symposium on Hyperbaric Therapy for Neurological Disorders, Athletes and Cellular Regeneration
--Small Scale Seed Production for Organic Farmers Workshop
*********************
1) EDITORIAL
Hello HANS Members and Friends;
May has been a busy time, what with HANS president Bayne Boyes and I flying to Ottawa to make presentations to the Standing Committee on Health about Bill C-420, a Bill that would reclassify nutritional supplements as foods, not drugs, the subcategory under which they currently fall.
Though HANS has always contended that vitamins, minerals and other supplements better serve Canadians when classified as foods, not everyone agrees. If you want to read the diversity of presentations offered to the Committee, this link to the Health Canada website will eventually offer transcripts: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteeList.aspx?L...
Then there’s CODEX Alimentarius, a hot issue relating to international food standards. Perhaps all of us can understand it better by sharing information, so go to our website at www.hans.org and become part of our online CODEX forum.
Ask yourself if you think CODEX is a threat, and please tell us why. You can also comment on Bill C-420, as well as any other topic related to the regulations of natural products either locally or globally.
To access our online forums, you’ll need to register first, an easy process. Just follow the instructions. After that, go for it! Type to your heart’s content, but no insults or offending remarks, please. The best answers will be placed in the HANS PICKS area if you just want some simple reading.
Soon, we’ll be letting you know about the results of our presentations in Ottawa, and notable quotes will be printed in our summer Health Action. Make sure you support this good work by being a solid HANS member, OK?
Lastly, have you checked out how you can benefit from our HANS ON Wellness insurance? Every BC naturopathic physician, chiropractor, registered massage therapist and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who (qualifies and) wants to build their practice should be a HANS Authorized Provider. This information is on the website, too!
All the best,
Lorna J Hancock
Founding Member and Director
********************
2) FEATURE: ASBESTOS INTERESTS AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE
Canadian companies peddle dangerous products to the Third World
By Trudy Peskett
Asbestos is so deadly that domestic use has all but disappeared and it has been completely banned in nine European countries. But tell this to developing regions that are caught in a struggle between undeniable medical evidence and asbestos industry pushers largely from--you guessed it--Canada.
Asbestos is a fire-resistant, durable mineral that was used extensively in building materials until the 1970s. It was then discovered that inhaled asbestos fibres lodge in the throat and lungs, causing asbestosis, a serious lung disease that can lead to lung cancer or mesothelioma, a form of chest cancer.
Symptoms of exposure aren’t immediate, although long-term exposure may cause coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. In Your Home, Your Health, and Well Being (Ten Speed Press, 1987), David Rousseau notes, “Diseases caused by asbestos accumulation will not appear for 20 years or more.”
Domestic asbestos use has been restricted since the 1980s. Health Canada’s Web site notes: “Consumer products that release asbestos fibres, as well as the sale of pure asbestos, have been banned under the Hazardous Products Act.
In addition, emissions of asbestos into the environment from mining and milling operations are limited under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.”
So how is it that a country known for environmental regard supports the exportation of a toxic hazard to Asia, the Far East, and Latin America?
Between 1990 and 2000, Canada produced 61 million tons of chrysotile (white asbestos) and remains the world’s second largest producer. “The fact that Canada exports over 95 per cent of all the chrysotile it mines suggests that while chrysotile is supposedly safe enough for foreigners, it is not safe enough for Canadians,” writes Laurie Kazan-Allen in the September 2003 International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. Her report, “The Asbestos War,” details the too-cozy relationship between pro-asbestos groups and our government.
In 1984, asbestos mine owners and representatives from the Quebec and federal governments set up the Asbestos Institute (AI). Between 1984 and 2001, Kazan-Allen reveals, the institute received $54 million from three equal donors: the federal government, the Quebec government, and the asbestos industry. Links between this “independent” organization and vested interests remain well documented. On May 30, 2002, the Canadian government pledged another $500,000 to “promote the safe use of chrysotile at the national and international level.”
In 20 years, AI has pursued its mission by attending conferences, seminars--even encouraging foreign journalists to visit Canada, expenses paid. When France announced its decision to ban asbestos in July 1996, Canadian interests lodged a protest with the World Trade Organization that, ultimately, failed in 2001. With Western markets declining, the asbestos industry has focused on non-Westernized countries. For the most part, the Sierra Club of Canada notes, “[Canada] sends this Class 1 carcinogen to countries with few, if any, safeguards, where it is used by poorly trained and uninformed workers with little access to medical care or sickness benefits.”
Fortunately, where weak policy has failed, victim support groups have been instrumental in highlighting the problem. The real heroes, says Kazan-Allen, are campaigners out for justice. “They are not motivated by greed, their work is not backed by a war chest of $54-million Canadian dollars.”
For more on the asbestos hypo-crisy, read “The Asbestos War” at www.ijoeh.com.
Reprinted from alive Magazine with author permission, February 2004.
*********************
3) ISSUE UPDATES
Canadians Call for Investigation into Whistle-Blower Firings
OTTAWA – Canadians are calling on the federal government to convene an independent investigation into the firing of Health Canada whistle-blowers Shiv Chopra, Margaret Haydon and Gerard Lambert.
A request written by the Beyond Factory Farming Coalition and endorsed by 70 organizations representing millions of citizens across Canada was sent to Prime Minister Paul Martin on May 12, 2005. A petition signed by thousands of individual Canadians was also introduced in the House of Commons by Nanaimo-Cowichan MP, Jean Crowder that morning.
The letter and petition follow on the heels of the Federal Court decision on April 29 that ordered the Public Service Integrity Officer to reconsider complaints from the three scientists. The scientists assert that they were pressured, harassed and finally dismissed for speaking out about the dangers of mad cow disease and about the use of hormones and antibiotics in the food supply, particularly the use of bovine growth hormones.
All three scientists were fired on July 14, 2004, shortly after the Martin government took office. No satisfactory explanation has been forthcoming from either Health Canada or the Prime Minister’s Office.
“All we want is an open, public investigation into what happened to us,” says Chopra. “Then the truth will come out. Our job was to protect the health of Canadians. That’s what we were doing. We believe the public has a right to know the full story.”
“There has been an incredible outpouring of support from Canadians all across the country who are outraged by this scandal,” observed Cathy Holtslander of the Beyond Factory Farming Coalition. “We certainly hope that Parliament will now act to ensure that a full, independent and transparent investigation will be done as soon as possible.”
For more information about the whistle-blowers see:
Federal Court Decision: decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca
Beyond Factory Farming Coalition: www.beyondfactoryfarming.org
Canadian Health Coalition clipping archive: www.healthcoalition.ca
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5
Tel: 613-233-2773; toll-free: 1-800-387-7177
Fax: 613-233-6776
E-mail: inquiries@canadians.org
Web: http://www.canadians.org
******
New Forest Database Reveals Provinces Failing to Protect Species Habitat
OTTAWA – The Sierra Club of Canada (SCC) has released the country’s most comprehensive database of forest management practices. The database, providing detailed performance analysis on forestry practices in each province and territory, raises serious concerns about Canada’s forestry practices.
“For the first time, detailed and comprehensive information is available for Canadians to compare forest practices and policies in their part of the country to what is going on elsewhere,” said Rachel Plotkin, the National Forests and Biodiversity campaigner for the SCC, and the database’s architect.
The database is being launched following the release of an updated book on Canada’s forestry practices written by SCC’s Executive Director Elizabeth May, At the Cutting Edge: The Crisis in Canada's Forests (Key Porter Books, 2005)
Visit the database at: http://www.sierraforestwatch.ca.
******
Campaign for a GE-Free Prince Edward Island
Europe has more than 100 GE-free regions and 3,500 GE-free localities. California’s Mendocino County went GE-Free in March 2004. Now PEI is holding public hearings to discuss possibly becoming Canada’s first GE-free province. Visit http://www.greenpeace.ca/e/campaign/gmo/depth/pei_ge....
******
Healthy Aging in Canada Survey
Canadians who indulge in unhealthy behaviours such as smoking and lack of physical exercise, and who carry extra weight are less likely to age gracefully. This, according to a new study by Statistics Canada. Visit http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050509/td050509....
******
US Asbestos Victim Aid Heats Up
Asbestos-related injury has resulted in a major damages fund for victims in the United States. But now asbestos companies have found a way to circumvent liability, says US consumer group Public Citizen. Visit http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1941... and http://www.citizen.org/asbestos.
******
National Biotechnology Spending in Canada
The Canadian government spent $764 million on biotechnology in the 2003/04, up 10.1 per cent from the previous year. Ninety-six per cent of this was invested in research and development. Visit http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050511/td050511.....
******
Canadians Spend Billions on Prescription Drugs
Eighteen billion, to be precise, according to new figures from the Canadian Institute of Health Information. What’s more, our drug expenditures are growing at more than $1.5 billion a year. Visit http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/172/10/1323?etoc....
*********************
4) MEDIA WATCH
Montana Saga May Complicate US Asbestos Fund Bill
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/3...
Acupuncture as Effective as Drug Therapy for Migraines and Headaches
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=7667
Prescription Drug Expenditures Rising—Too Fast?
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/172/10/1261?etoc...
Worrisome Ailments in Medicine: Misleading Journal Articles
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05130/501996.stm ...;
Health Risks Escalate for Overweight Kids
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&e...
Europeans Say Ignorant About GMO Foods, Crops – Poll
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/3...
Vitamin C May Cut Pregnant Smoking Risks
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=541&...
Experts Downplay OTC Painkiller Risks
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?artic...
Dioxin Risk Varies by the Type of Salmon Eaten
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/realfiles/press/050205b.htm...
Forget Counting Sheep, Music is the Key to Good Sleep
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=7621
High Intakes of Vitamins E and C Found Safe
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/54h281...
Mediterranean Diet Reduces Mortality Among CHD Sufferers
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/54h271...
Vegetable Oils at High Heat May Contain Toxic Compound
http://www.nutritionhorizon.com/newsmaker_article.as...
Dietary Fat Could Affect Liver, Study
http://www.nutritionhorizon.com/newsmaker_article.as...
Study Finds Americans Prefer “Safer” Older Drugs
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&...
Ginkgo Biloba May Improve Memory in MS Sufferers
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=59...
Low-Fat Veggie-Based Diet Lowers Cholesterol
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?artic...
For more current titles, check out “News” at http://www.hans.org.
*********************
5) CALENDAR OF EVENTS
When the Body Forgets to Heal: An Integrative Approach to
Reactivating the Healing Response
Who: Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Steven Aung, sponsored by the Association of Complementary Physicians of BC
When: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday May 27-29
Where: U of Victoria and Royal Theater, Downtown Victoria
Cost: $225-440
Contact: 250-382-6356
E-mail: info@acpbc.org
Web: http://www.bodyheals.ca
******
The Future of Food
Who: Presented by the Land Conservatory of BC and Open Cinema
When: 7pm, Monday May 30 and Tuesday May 31
Where: Hickman Auditorium (Harry Hickman Building Room HHB105), University of Victoria
Cost: $15; $12 for students, seniors, farmers, TLC members
Contact: 250-479-8053
******
When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress
Who: Dr. Gabor Mate
When: Saturday, June 4, 9:00am-4:30pm
Where: Sutton Place Hotel, 845 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC
Cost: April 22-May 22: $119; May 23-June 4: $139
Contact: 604-628-1772
E-mail: info@foundationsforlife.ca
******
“Arresting AIDS” Breakfast
Who: Dr. Harold Foster, author of What Really Causes AIDS, presented by the Royal City Rotary Club
When: June 8, 7am
Where: 713 Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC
Cost: $15
Contact: 604-519-1898
Dr. Foster’s website is http://www.hdfoster.com.
******
Herbs: How to Know Them and Use Them
Who: Lorene Benoit, Certified Master of Holistic Health, Herbalist, Iridologist, Contact Reflex Analyst and Regenesis Healer (emotional and energy balancing)
When: July 8-11, Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
Where: 5175 Bills Road, Duncan, BC
Cost: $475, early bird before July 1st, $375
Contact: 250-748-6802
******
International Symposium on Hyperbaric Therapy for Neurological Disorders, Athletes and Cellular Regeneration
When: June 8-11
Where: Quebec Convention Center, 1000, boul. René-Lévesque Est
Quebec City, PQ
Cost: 25$/day, simultaneous translation earpiece: 3$/day
Contact: http://www.billetech.com
******
Small Scale Seed Production for Organic Farmers Workshop
Who: John Navazio of the Organic Seed Alliance
When: July 12-14 - Tues 6-9pm, Wed and Thurs 10am-6pm
Where: Saanich, BC
Cost: $150, includes reading materials and meals
Contact: Chris Wells at 250-658-5420
E-mail: quinoa@shaw.ca
*********************
Founded in 1984, Health Action Network Society is a membership-based, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to gathering and disseminating health promotion information.