MEDIA RELEASE
19 July 2007

Natural Products NZ Welcomes Asa Decision But Disappointed It Has Come Too Late

Natural Products New Zealand (NPNZ) welcomes the decision by the Advertising Standards Authority to uphold its complaint regarding false advertising run by the Health Freedom NZ group during the recent debate surrounding the establishment of a trans-Tasman joint agency (ANZTPA).

“The misleading advertisements and claims by opponents to the Bill distorted the democratic process,” said Michelle Beckett, NPNZ executive director.

“While the ASA’s decision justifies our claims that this group and others conducted a campaign opposing the Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill based on misinformation and scaremongering; unfortunately for the public of New Zealand this has come a little too late.”

The campaigners against the Bill told the public that “60% of New Zealand made supplements and vitamins would be forced from the shelves” and that “prices will increase between 20% and 100%” under a joint Tasman regulator. Clearly this information was false and made with no evidence to support the misleading claims - as the ASA has determined that the advertisers breached the Advertising Code of Ethics on several counts.

“That group was still able to peddle its message based on false information and ridiculous claims via the media even after we laid our complaint on May 2nd 2007. We believe this played a crucial part in creating uncertainty among the public which ultimately resulted in the Government having to put the bill on hold.

“The issue here is that the New Zealand public have been misled and were asked to make a decision about regulation of complementary medicines based on erroneous information,” said Ms Beckett.

While NPNZ is disappointed that no "compromise" between the political parties could be reached it firmly believes complementary medicines in New Zealand require regulation to protect consumers and such regulation should be risk based and cost effective.

NPNZ would like to invite all parties to join in a rational, fact-based and constructive discussion to determine what comes next. “We are committed to having on-going constructive discussions with responsible participants in the industry and the government and will work with them to determine an effective regulatory scheme for the industry and the public,” concluded Ms Beckett.

ENDS

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