06 January 2012 by Scott Gavura
Generic drugs are popular in Canada, with over $22 billion in sales and 57% of prescriptions by volume. And more generics are on the way. Lipitor, one of the most popular Canadian prescription drugs, recently lost patent protection. And more blockbusters will lose their patent protection over the next few years. It’s been called a [...]
Posted in Health, Health Policy, Medicine, Science0 Comments
09 December 2011 by Marion Kilgour
Most of the cell phone / Wi-Fi hysteria seems to me like it’s been coming from the eastern provinces, although Edmonton has had some short-lived and ineffective campaigns to get Wi-Fi out of schools. But, this summer I got my first taste of local activism about cell towers. Initially, I was on board with the [...]
Posted in Alberta, Health Policy, Pseudoscience, Skepticism15 Comments
09 December 2011 by Michael Kruse
On November 29th, 2011, the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons voted to accept their new revision of the policy on Complementary/Alternative Medicine, a policy that has undergone revision with community consultation over the past two years. Skeptics at the Centre For Inquiry’s Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism, after celebrating a win described here, [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Health Policy, Medicine, Ontario, Skepticism0 Comments
25 October 2011 by Michael Kruse
I am on my way down to CSIcon in New Orleans, and currently in the town of Branson, Missouri, the Niagara Falls of The Heartland here in the United States. It was great to hear from my co-chair Iain Martel at the Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS) at the Centre for Inquiry [...]
Posted in Health Policy, Ontario, Skepticism1 Comment
19 October 2011 by Michael Kruse
This past year the Centre for Inquiry Canada, through its Committee for the advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS) submitted a complaint the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) through the Hon. Deb Matthews M.P.P Minister of Health and Long Term Care regarding a collection of homeopaths who had been using the restricted title [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Health Policy, Ontario, Skepticism6 Comments
06 October 2011 by Ethan Clow
About five months ago I wrote about the situation of Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site where drug addicts could receive clean needles, medical supervision during drug use, and access to drug treatment. I was very concerned as a skeptic that a new form of science based drug policy known as harm reduction was going to [...]
Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Health, Health Policy26 Comments
29 September 2011 by Marion Kilgour
Canadian Blood Services (CBS) and their MSM deferral policy have been on my radar for a while now. A friend passed this editorial along to me the other day from the Globe and Mail. On a positive note, CBS is reviewing their lifetime ban on men-who-have-had-sex-with-men (MSM) again! Maybe this time they’ll follow the recommendations of their own [...]
Posted in Canada, Health Policy, Skepticism0 Comments
31 August 2011 by Michael Kruse
Important Update: The deadline for submissions has been extended to September 16th 2011 – please do not miss the opportunity to comment. The Board of Directors of Drugless Therapy has. Over the past several weeks, there has been a lot of interest(see here, here, here, and here) generated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Health Policy, Ontario, Skepticism5 Comments
31 August 2011 by Erik Davis
Back in March, I embarked on an experiment to test Canada’s consumer protection mechanisms as they relate to natural health products. As you may recall, I made three simultaneous complaints about a product called Provize to Health Canada, Ad Standards Canada, and the Competition Bureau. Provize is a natural health product that claims to prevent [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Canada, Featured, Health, Health Policy, Medicinal Advertising, Skepticism8 Comments
13 August 2011 by Michael Kruse
Over the past 2 years, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) have been attempting to update their policy on the use of non-conventional medical therapies. They have landed on a draft policy called Non-allopathic (Non-conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice and there will be many in the skeptical community that will have a [...]
Posted in Alternative Medicine, Health Policy, Ontario14 Comments
Can Coconut Oil Reverse Alzheimer’s Disease?
Toronto Aetherius Society: His Master’s Voice, stuff that goes boom, and a lack of proof (Part 2)
Toronto Aetherius Society: Jesus, Venusians, and some bad astronomy (Part 1)
Skeptical Fails and Wins This Week
Acupuncturist claims cervical cancer is for prostitutes
