For immediate release
May 31, 2004
‘Make prescription drug safety an election issue; support the Standing 
Committee on Health,’ say consumer health groups
This week, in a Canada-wide awareness campaign, a coalition of consumer 
health groups is calling on all federal candidates in the upcoming election 
to support recommendations by the Standing Committee on Health included in 
the report, Opening the Medicine Cabinet: First Report on Health Aspects of 
Prescription Drugs released in April.
Consumer health watch-dog groups Women and Health Protection and 
PharmaWatch join with DES Action Canada for DES Awareness Week – May 31 to 
June 4 – challenging candidates to raise the issues of prescription drug 
safety and effectiveness during this election campaign.
“We strongly support the Committee’s recommendations to increase 
transparency for clinical trials, improve post-market surveillance and 
enforce the ban on direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs,” 
says Anne Rochon Ford, coordinator at Women and Health Protection. “During 
the election campaign, we want to hear from the candidates what they and 
their parties are willing to do to make these recommendations a reality.”
PharmaWatch and Women and Health Protection both made submissions to the 
all-party Standing Committee on Health, supported by DES Action Canada and 
other organizations across the country.
“The Committee's report confirms what we have been saying – that Canada's 
system for reporting adverse effects needs increased resources to respond 
to consumer reports and to support greater transparency,” says Colleen 
Fuller, president of PharmaWatch. “As the experience with the drug DES 
clearly illustrates, and as the Standing Committee also recognized, 
evidence submitted by consumers plays a key role in drug safety. But 
consumer reporting is inadequately supported and funded by Health Canada, 
something we'd like to see changed.”
DES (diethylstilbestrol) was prescribed to 200,000 to 400,000 pregnant 
women across Canada between 1941 and 1971 in the mistaken belief that it 
prevented miscarriage. Marketed as a “wonder drug,” DES remained on the 
market for 18 years after it was scientifically proven ineffective. The 
women prescribed DES and their offspring continue to suffer from adverse 
effects, decades after the initial exposure.
“Our members are acutely aware of the need for better post-market 
surveillance and the need to limit direct-to-consumer advertising,” says 
Barbara Mintzes, health researcher and vice president of DES Action Canada. 
“Unfortunately, the legislative renewal process currently underway at 
Health Canada is heading in the opposite direction. Unless politicians take 
leadership, and make sure that public health is given priority over 
commercial interests, there’s a risk that the Standing Committee’s 
recommendations will be ignored.”
Key recommendations from Opening the Medicine Cabinet:
· Clinical drug trials: increased transparency, better monitoring by Health 
Canada and more accountability.
· Drug safety: Health Canada needs to greatly increase the resources 
allocated to post-market surveillance.
· Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs (DTCA): enforce the 
current ban on DTCA. There is no public health rationale for existing legal 
loopholes allowing some types of DTCA in Canada; the loopholes should be 
eliminated.
The Standing Committee report is available at www.parl.gc.ca under the 
title Opening the Medicine Cabinet or contact the Clerk of the Standing 
Committee, Carmen DePape at (613) 995-4108 or E-mail at [log in to unmask]
DES Action Canada is the only non-profit consumer organization alerting the 
Canadian public and health professionals to the risks associated with the 
drug diethylstilbestrol (DES). DES Action Canada’s mission is to identify, 
inform, provide support to, and advocate for people exposed to DES. The 
organization also works to prevent similar public health disasters and 
supports efforts to strengthen health protection in areas such as 
prescription drug testing and approval, post-marketing surveillance and 
drug advertising. For more information, visit www.web.net/~desact
PharmaWatch was founded in 2001 to support “direct-from-consumer” reporting 
of adverse reactions to prescription drugs. PharmaWatch’s goal is to 
highlight and validate consumer experiences and heighten consumer 
involvement in adverse drug reaction reporting. In addition to documenting 
these experiences, PharmaWatch aims to facilitate adequate post-market 
monitoring by the pharmaceutical industry and Health Canada. For more 
information, visit www.pharmawatch.net
Women & Health Protection (WHP) is a coalition of community groups, 
researchers, journalists and activists concerned about the safety of 
pharmaceutical drugs. The group keeps a close watch over proposed changes 
in federal health protection legislation and examines the impact of those 
changes on women's health. Their documents make clear recommendations to 
the government with a view to ensuring that Canadian legislation truly 
provides "health protection.” For more information, visit www.whp-apsf.ca
DES Awareness Week: May 31 to June 4, 2004
-30-
Media contacts*:
Ellen Reynolds
Communications
DES Action Canada
Victoria, BC
Tel: (250) 519-0497
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Gloria Straccini
Communications
DES Action Canada
Montreal, PQ
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Anne Rochon Ford
Coordinator
Women & Health Protection
Tel: (416) 712-9459
Toronto, ON
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Colleen Fuller
President
PharmaWatch
Tel: (604) 687-6613
Vancouver, BC
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
*Contacts in other parts of Canada are also available


Mona Dupré-Ollinik, BSW, BA
Coordonatrice de liaison/Outreach Coordinator
Canadian Women's Health Network/Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes
419, avenue Graham, Suite 203
Winnipeg (MB) R3C 0M3

Tel: (204) 942-5500 ext,/poste 13
Fax/Télécopieur: (204) 989-2355
Toll free/Numéro sans frais: 1-888-818-9172
www.cwhn.ca
e-mail/courriel: [log in to unmask]

TTY 204-942-2806
TTY toll free number 1-866-694-6367

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