A small victory is still a victory.
On Saturday, Bad Science Watch announced Health Canada had responded to the consumer protection
organization's criticism of licensing nosodes, also known as homeopathic "vaccines."
The new regulations will require manufacturers of these products to include a warning on the label that reads: "This product is not intended to be an alternative to vaccination."
A small victory is still a victory.
As you might have guessed, I'm not quite satisfied with this, but the victories are starting to add up.
In February, the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation dumped Jenny McCarthy, the notorious anti-vaccination activist, from their annual "Bust A Move" fundraiser after a public backlash against her
continued promotion of a totally debunked pseudoscientific link between vaccinations and autism.
A small victory is still a victory.
In March, the Canadian Homeopathic Pharmaceutical (CHP) Association issued the following statement.
"Our association and its members cannot recommend the use of any homeopathic medication, in lieu of conventional medical vaccinations. To our knowledge there have been no homeopathic substances thoroughly tested as consistently effective replacement therapeutics for conventional medical vaccinations."
Okay, a little equivocal, but a small victory is still a victory.
In May, Ottawa Public Health made good on an ultimatum to parents of school age children to immunize or have their kids suspended.
This may seem a bit draconian, but in light of the fact childhood infectious diseases are making a comeback after being all but eradicated from the western hemisphere by the end of the 20th century, a very good idea and it's working.
To be fair, low inoculation rates can't be entirely laid at the feet of the anti-vaccination movement. There is also complacency. For parents of my generation of Canadians, these diseases were visceral. For my generation, we followed our parents lead, but as time goes on and we became further removed from these threats, there was bound to be a bit of a drop off. Parents of the newest generation of Canadians
can look to Pakistan to understand the value of vaccinations. In that country this year there have been more than 25,000 cases of measles killing at least 146 children.
I will keep reminding myself that a small victory is still a victory, but the battle is not over. Health Canada needs to be held accountable.
The Health Canada website states: "To be licensed in Canada, natural health products must be safe, effective, of high quality and carry detailed label information to let people make safe and informed choices."
Clearly this is a direct contradiction of its decision to continue to licence nosodes. These products are not effective, period. Even the CHP has said so, although somewhat equivocally. The British Homeopathic
Association was less so stating there "is no evidence to suggest homeopathic vaccinations can protect against contagious diseases. We recommend people seek out the conventional treatments."
Nothing less than delisting these products-and that applies to all homeopathic products not just vaccine alternatives-is acceptable. Health Canada's wishy washy response to this issue begs the question: Is the organization's purpose to grease the wheels of commerce or protect the health of Canadians?
