Regulator is criticised on water action
The medicines regulator has been criticised for its response to claimed cancer-killing bleach water Te Kiri Gold.
Medsafe ordered the Taranaki makers of Te Kiri Gold, sold to cancer patients at $100 a bottle, to remove all therapeutic claims in late April.
Information released under the Official Information Act shows by the time therapeutic claims were removed, over 500 people had received the bleach water, produced by Taranaki farmer Vernon Coxhead’s company, Purecare,
Critics say the cancer claim horse has bolted, and a new law is needed to stop cowboy outfits from misleading consumers.
The story of unproven claims surrounding Te Kiri Gold (TKG) broke on April 7, after a positive testimonial from rugby-great Colin Meads generated public interest in late 2016.
Medsafe, a branch of the Ministry of Health, was first made aware of the claims in December 2016 media reports.
Medsafe group manager Chris James said they did not act on the initial public claims as they centred on a clinical trial, which was never registered with authorities.
No apparent action was taken by the Ministry of Health.
After media reports in early April revealed the product was potentially dangerous and being sold online, Medsafe began assessing the therapeutic claims and found a breach of the Medicines Act.
Asked if Medsafe should have responded earlier to public therapeutic claims, James said it was a matter of priority.
‘‘Obviously we get hundreds of these through ... the team is doing a good job on receiving complaints and prioritising them and making sure we’re targeting the highest risk issues first.’’
James said there was little point in testing TKG for safety, as the ingredients of the water - an electrolysed water that amounts to diluted bleach - were publicly known, and no adverse reactions were identified. Te Kiri Gold can continue to be sold as PureCure says it is simply ‘‘bottled water’’.
Mark Honeychurch, secretary of consumer watchdog Society of Science Based Healthcare, wants to see PureCure shut down. He laid a complaint with Medsafe in April.
‘‘I was quite shocked that, by that point, Medsafe wasn’t looking into PureCure. There were so many red flags.
‘‘We all know that this water isn’t treating cancer or any other disease.’’
Honeychurch said government needs to pass a long-awaited law to protect consumers from ‘‘unscrupulous alternative medicine practitioners making nonsense claims’’.
The Natural Health and Supplementary Products Bill, over 16 years in the making, has been gathering dust since passing its second reading in Parliament in 2013.
The bill would create an authority for natural products, a register for approved ingredients, and a $50,000 fine for individuals that sell unauthorised therapies.
Dr Shaun Holt, natural therapies researcher and director of HoneyLab, said the bill would allow companies to make evidence-based claims proportional to research.
‘‘We’ve got some great research showing that our honey product is very effective for rosacea, but we’re not allowed to market it for rosacea, because that’s a medical claim.’’
Director of Natural Products New Zealand, Alison Quesnel, said the bill would protect both the consumer and industry.