For those interested in mental health I have forwarded the following.

For suicide issues, try the following...

www.siec.ca
www.suicideprevention.ca
http://www.who.int/mental_health/Topic_Suicide/suicide1.html




-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alexandra Petr
Sent: September 12, 2001 1:43 PM
To: ''Auto_Alert-L (E-mail)'
Subject: [auto_alert-l] CMHA Ontario Division - Mental Health Notes,
Sept.7,2001




MENTAL HEALTH NOTES
NEWS & EVENTS FROM THE CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION, ONTARIO
DIVISION
September 7, 2001


Mental Health: A Sound Investment

According to a new report by the National Mental Health Association
(NMHA),
untreated and mistreated mental illness is costing American business,
governments and families $113 billion per year.

NMHA's Labor Day 2001 Report concludes that investing in prevention and
treatment could cut losses by half - or by $56.5 billion. The United
States
currently spends $92 billion on the direct treatment of mental illness,
but
an additional 5.5 percent investment ($5 billion) could yield between a
two
and 10 times savings rate by reducing employee absenteeism,
unemployment,
welfare and other factors.

"Our current business and governmental policies deny the truth about
mental
illness: that mental illness is very treatable and that prevention
programs
work," said Michael M. Faenza, President and CEO of NMHA. "Business
needs to
help end the stigma against mental illness by adopting appropriate
health
insurance and human resources policies, and governments need to shift
spending priorities."

NMHA's Labor Day 2001 Report can be found on NMHA's website at
www.nmha.org.

Patent on Prozac Ends This Month

The United States Court of Appeals has found the patent that would
protect
Eli Lilly's Prozac until 2003 to be invalid, allowing Barr Laboratories
to
market a generic version of the drug, fluoxetine, as early as next
month.
But is this good news for consumers?

According to the Congressional Budget Office, generic drugs increased
their
share of the prescription market from 18.6 percent in 1984 to 41.6
percent
in 1996. During their first year of competition with generics, brand
name
drugs lost an aver-age of 44 percent of their market share to generic
versions of their drugs. Even though generics cost an average of 25
percent
less than the original brand name drugs at retail prices, the price of
brand
name drugs did not decline.

The Food and Drug Administration maintains that generic drugs are safe
and
effective, despite the social bias against them. It is suspected that
patent-holding companies encourage this suspicion. Some patent-holding
firms
fund studies to try to find that generic drugs are not equivalent to
their
brand name competitors.

In order to produce a generic version of an already-approved drug, a
company
submits an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to the FDA. An ANDA
does
not require the company to produce preclinical (animal) or clinical
(human)
data to prove safety and efficacy of the drug. They must show that the
generic drug is comparable to the patented drug in dosage form,
strength,
route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and
intended
use. The main issue is whether the generic delivers the same amount of
the
active ingredient into the bloodstream in the same amount of time, known
as
bioavailability.

For more information on this issue, read "The 'Generic-ization' of
Drugs:
Will Patients Benefit?" in the August 2001 issue of Psychopharmacology
Update.

Breaking the Mask

Ten young artists with personal mental health experience share their
stories
through music, drama, art, poetry, and photography. Though none had
previous
video experience, as a team they were responsible for every aspect of
the
production, and the result is a very moving, honest, and innovative
program.

Sponsored by the Homewood Foundation with the participation of the
Schizophrenia Society of Canada, "Breaking the Mask" debuted in June
2001 in
Guelph and at the National Conference for Schizophrenia in Toronto. The
production is meant for national broadcast and distribution to high
schools
and health organizations. Beginning in the fall of 2001, the video will
be
available as a live presentation for school groups with participants
describing their experiences and answering questions.

Presentations of the video will be available in October in Waterloo,
Wellington and Dufferin counties. If you would like a presentation
outside
of these areas, please contact us to make arrangements.

The video is 30 minutes long. For home use, the cost is $25, for public
performance, $75. For both, add taxes and $4 shipping and handling. To
order
a copy or to receive more information, visit Breakinf the Mask online,
www.sentex.net/~gormorse/Breakingthemask.html, or contact:
Joanne Tofflemire
Phone: 519-837-3757
Email: [log in to unmask]


Changes to Zoning May Help Toronto's Homeless

City housing officials in Toronto are moving to phase out zoning
obstacles
that have made it difficult to open homeless shelters throughout large
areas
of the amalgamated city. The move is the result of overcrowding in
motels
that have been used for families as a result of overflow in hostels.
Zoning
laws have made it hard to spread the hostels more evenly across the
city.

If neighbours challenge a shelter project at the Ontario Municipal
Board,
rezoning can take more than 18 months. By that time the site may no
longer
be available. A new bylaw will override the restrictions, stating that
shelters are allowed in any zoning district, assuming there are no
specific
restrictions to the contrary.

Citizens can speak to council about the proposed bylaw on September 11,
at
council's planning and transportation committee meeting. The bylaw would
then go to city council in early October for a final vote.


Events of Interest

The Events of Interest section is for new postings only. For a complete
listing of upcoming events, visit our website at
http://events.web.net/index.cfm?app=cmha_pub
or go to the CMHA, Ontario Division Home Page at www.ontario.cmha.ca,
then
on the sidebar "Activities", then "Events Calendar". You can view the
events
list like a monthly calendar ("calendar view') or ordinary list
("browse").
Inclusion in these listings does not imply endorsement by CMHA-OD.

Reclaiming Our Roots Conference
October 22 & 23, 2001
Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel,
901 Dixon Road, Toronto

Hosted by Partnering in Mental Health and Addiction, a project of the
CMHA
and the CAMH. Keynote speakers will include author, broadcaster, and
former
host of CBC's Man Alive, Roy Bonisteel and Dr. James Prochaska,
Professor of
Clinical and Health Psychology at Rhode Island University,
internationally
recognized for the development of the stage model of behavior change.
The
registration fee is $350 before Sept. 30, $400 thereafter.

The conference will feature an innovative new format, offering 7
in-depth
Learning Institutes on: Spirituality; Organizational Excellence in
Running a
Non-Profit Agency; The Workplace and Mental Health and Addiction;
Forensics
in Mental Health; Building Children's Resilience; First Episode
Psychosis;
and Concurrent Disorders - Past, Present, and Future.

For information or to register, contact:
Rachel Gillooly
Fax: 1-705-454-9792
Toll Free: 1-877-372-2435
Email: [log in to unmask]

You can also visit the conference website at
www.ontario.cmha.ca/conf2001/index.htm

Send us your news!
Mental Health Notes is always looking for interesting news and events.
Please submit your item to Lucas Southern, Communications Assistant, by
noon, Wednesday to be included in that week's mailing. Fax to
416-977-2264
or email to [log in to unmask] Email is preferred. We reserve
the
right to edit for length and clarity. Mental Health Notes is published
by:
Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division
180 Dundas Street West, Suite 2301
Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z8
Ph: 416-977-5580 ext. 4136 www.ontario.cmha.ca