Dear Friends,
Many of you will remember that the previous (Labour-led) government wanted to pass legislation “The Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill” (colloquially known as the “anti-vitamin bill”) that proposed to enter New Zealand into an Australian-based trans-Tasman agency (Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency – ANZPA) to regulate dietary supplements and other natural products. The proposed agency, modeled on the Australian TGA, would have resulted in restricted access to natural products, increased costs for consumers and driven many small NZ natural health product manufacturers out of business.
Fortunately, concerted action from a coalition of consumer groups, Maori and the natural health industry brought enough pressure to bear upon MPs that the Labour-led government was unable to muster enough votes to get the legislation passed, and shelved it. National, The Green Party, The Maori Party, The Act Party, NZ First and independent MPs Taito Philip Field and Gordon Copeland united to deny the government sufficient votes.
Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health under the current National-led government has just released a discussion document for the development of Natural Health Products bill. The proposed bill appears to be practically as bad as the legislation proposed by the Labour-led government. Bad for consumer choice. Bad for consumer’s wallets. Bad for the the many small and medium sized businesses that manufacture and/or distribute natural health products. Please read the letter below from Niccola Grace from Health Freedom NZ and take action NOW to protect your health choices.
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