FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2013
OTTAWA – In light of recent media reports linking the death of 23 Canadian women to Yaz and Yasmin brands of birth control pills, New Democrats are asking the Minister of Health to implement better drug safety measures in Canada.
“Once again, the health and safety of Canadians are being put at risk and the Conservative government simply is not doing enough,” explained NDP Health Critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East). “Our drug safety standards lag behind the U.S. and Europe, and we have poor labeling and drug information systems. We need serious reforms to bring us up to international standards.”
Furthermore, according to a recent report of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, from 2010 to 2011, around 27,000 Canadian seniors were hospitalized as a result of an adverse drug reaction.
“We need better mechanisms for evaluating drug safety and the effectiveness of reporting adverse drug reactions,” said Davies. “And, more importantly, we need better mechanisms to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for safety.”