November 7, 2016 - Ottawa, ON - Health Canada

Ottawa, ON - For most Canadians, if not all, self-care is something we do for ourselves and our families. Each day, on multiple occasions, Canadians use self-care products to maintain or improve their health.

Whether we use them when we brush our teeth in the morning, take a vitamin or mineral, apply sunscreen to our children before they play outside, or wash and moisturize our face before bed; these products are part of our everyday routine.

Canadians are fortunate to have access to a great number of different self-care products on store shelves, including natural health products (NHPs).

This week marks NHP Week, an annual event to recognize the important role these products play in our daily lives. It is also a good opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of using self-care products wisely by carefully reading the information on labels and seeking out reliable sources of self-care advice.

NHP week is also an opportunity for Health Canada to share information on new approaches we're exploring to the way we regulate self-care products and facilitate the way they are used by Canadians. Our overall goals are straightforward: maintaining access to a wide range of products, ensuring consumers are properly protected, and providing the information consumers need to make their own informed choices. It is not our intention to remove NHPs from the market or make it harder for Canadians to access these products. In fact, under the proposed approach, certain products including many NHPs will actually get to store shelves faster.

We want a modern and responsive regulatory system for all self-care products that serves the needs of all Canadians.

Health Canada looks forward to continuing this conversation, and wishes Canadians a successful NHP Week. Remember you can always learn more about what Health Canada is doing to help you maintain and improve your health by visiting our website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/.

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?mthd=index&crtr.page=2&nid=1149439