Halifax Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Defence Lawyers on Facebook

Everybody seems to be interested in Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media networks these days. That includes lawyers who represent insurance companies. There have been a series of cases across Canada where lawyers for insurance companies have demanded production of plaintiffs' Facebook pages in order to use the information against the plaintiff.

Depressed Victim Looked Too Happy

In a recent case in Quebec, Nathalie Blanchard was on disability for depression. She had her benefits terminated because her insurance company, Manulife found pictures on her Facebook page where she was smiling and looking like she was having a good time. In other words, she didn’t look depressed so the insurance company cut off her benefits.

Blanchard is now suing Manulife to reinstate her disability benefits.

In New Brunswick the Court of The Queens Bench recently ordered a plaintiff to produce the contents of her Facebook page to the lawyers representing the defendant’s insurance company.

Online Information Must be Disclosed?

Court rules in each province require the parties to disclose any information they have that may be relevant to the matters at issue in litigation. This now includes any electronic information in possession of the parties. While this commonly refers to things like e-mail or digital documents, the courts have been extending the reach of this disclosure obligation to include online information.

In Leduc v. Roman the Ontario Court required the plaintiff to produce information from a “private” Facebook account. The judge in that decision stated:

“It is now incumbent on a party’s counsel to explain to the client, in appropriate cases, that documents posted on a party’s facebook profile may be relevant to the allegations made in the pleading.”

Facebook May Be Used For Cross Examination

In a recent case in Newfoundland, Terry v. Mullowney, the lawyer for the defendants used excerpts from the plaintiff’s facebook page to cross examine the plaintiff about his social life.

The judge commented on the use of this information:

“While not getting into the details of the excepts, they convince me that Mr. Terry (at least in the few months prior to his testimony in court) recorded on facebook had a rather full and active social life…I find it incredible that Mr. Terry’s social life miraculously improved in the few months he was communicating on facebook and that for the remainder of the time from 2001 to 2007 he essentially had little or no social life. Without this evidence I would have been left with a very different impression of Mr. Terry’s social life.”

Disclosure Obligations Extend Online

So in the future you can expect parties in litigation to demand complete disclosure of Facebook pages, Linkedin profiles, Twitter accounts and public Blogs. In short, any information that you post online can and may be used against you. Beware.

Continue reading "Facebook Being Used Against Personal Injury Victims" »

Hydroxycut Recall

The Hydroxycut recall that I posted about 10 days ago has resulted in an investigation by Health Canada.

Adverse Effects Reported in Canada

To date Health Canada has received 17 reports of adverse reactions related to hydroxycut use. The adverse reactions relate to the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological systems. So far, none of the adverse reactions reported in Canada relate to liver injuries, which were the main cause of the FDA recall.

How to Report Hydroxycut Problems

Health Canada indicates that you can report any adverse reactions that you think may be related to Hydroxycut three ways:

Report online at the MedEffect™ Canada Web site

Call toll-free at 1-866-234-2345

Complete a Canada Vigilance Reporting Form and either: Fax toll-free to 1-866-678-6789 Mail to: Canada Vigilance Program Health Canada AL 0701C Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9

Continue reading "Canadian Hydroxycut Injury Claims: Health Canada Update " »

Weight Loss Product Recalled

Hydroxycut, a weight loss supplement, has been recalled by the FDA as a result of at least 23 reports of serious liver injuries and one death.

Liver Injury, Heart Problems and Muscle Damage

Hydroxycut is a diet supplement marketed to help people lose weight and burn fat.
In addition to the risk of liver injury, reported health risks have also included heart problems, seizures and a serious type of muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis.

Cause of Problems Unknown

It isn’t clear which Hydroxycut ingredients are causing the problems or whether the product increases the risk of illness for certain consumers. However, the FDA reports that people who have not had any pre-existing medical conditions have ended up needing a liver transplant after using Hydroxycut.

Symptoms

If you or a family member have been using Hydroxycut, symptoms to watch for include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes), brown urine, light-colored stools, fatigue, stomach cramps or pain, weakness, nausea, and vomiting.

This Hydroxycut recall applies to the following products, which are being removed from the market:
• Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
• Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
• Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
• Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
• Hydroxycut 24
• Hydroxycut Carb Control
• Hydroxycut Natural

Ingredients Dangerous

The ingredients include herbal extracts, chemicals and metals which could cause liver damage, even when the product is used as indicated on the warning label.

What Should You Do?

If you have any symptoms of liver injury you should see your doctor immediately. Keep any unused portions of the product for evidence in case you decide to pursue a claim for compensation.

Continue reading "Injuries, Death Lead to Hydroxycut Recall" »

We have been investigating potential personal injury claims against Bayer Inc. the manufacturer of the drug Trasylol (Aprotinin) for almost a year now.

In January 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that of the 4,400 heart surgery patients who received Trasylol:

1. Trasylol increased the risk of stroke by 181%;

2. Trasylol increased the risk of heart attack by 48%; and

3. Trasylol increased the risk of heart failure by 109%.

Furthermore, in a Canadian Research Study referred to as the BART Study, Trasylol was compared to alternative health surgery drugs. The BART Study found that 1 in 50 patients who received Trasylol died from complications related to the drug.

Some patients at the cardiac unit of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax Nova Scotia received Trasylol as part of the hospital’s pre-operative procedures. There are no public statistics about how many patients from the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre received Trasylol or how many of those patients who received Trasylol developed debilitating or fatal complications.

If you or a family member had heart surgery at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre and suffered stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney damage after your surgery, you may have a potential claim for compensation.

Continue reading "Trasylol (Aprotinin) May Cause Fatal Side Effects: Information for patients" »

A “multi-million dollar” class action law suit has been filed against drug manufacturer Bayer Inc. for injuries allegedly caused by the drug Trasylol (also known as Aprotinin)

CTV News has reported that a number of class action lawsuits have been filed in the United States. Now patients in Canada have filed a similar lawsuit.

Bayer Inc. withdrew Trasylol from the market after medical research studies showed that patients treated with the drug were more likely to die than patients treated with other medication.

We have been investigating potential Trasylol claims for almost a year.

In May of this year I posted about a Canadian study called the “BART Trial” which found that patients who received Trasylol were 53% more likely to die than people who received other common anti-bleeding agents like Aminocaproic Acid.

You can read the post here: Trasylol (Aprotinin) Anti-Bleeding Drug Raises Death Risk: Canadian Study.

Almost a year ago a documentary on CBS’s 60 Minutes discussed the risks posed by the drug and suggested that the manufacturer, Bayer, hid evidence that Trasylol was dangerous. The documentary pointed out that as far back as January 2006 the New England Journal of Medicine published a study reporting that Trasylol was connected with kidney failure, cardiac arrest and stroke in patients undergoing coronary artery surgery.

You can watch the whole 60 Minutes story here.

You can also take a look at my earlier post: Is Trasylol (Aprotinin) the Next Vioxx? Manufacturer Hid Evidence Drug was Dangerous.

Trasylol (Aprotinin) has been used by the cardiac surgery unit of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre for many years. If you or a family member suffered kidney failure, cardiac arrest or stroke after having heart surgery, you may have a potential claim.

For more information you can contact me at www.apmlawyers.com or toll free 1-877-423-2050 or through this blog.

Insurance companies use "dirty tricks" and "unethical behavior" to deny legitimate claims and boost their profits, according to a new report released by the American Association for Justice.

The report explains how insurers have:

...endeavored to deny claims, delay payments, confuse consumers with incomprehensible insurance-speak, and retroactively refuse anyone who may cost them money.

Although the report takes a look at the practices engaged in by American insurance companies, the insurance industry is multi-national in scope and many of the insurers exposed in the report, for example Allstate and AIG carry on business in Canada.

The report describes how:

Allstate gave employees who denied valid claims rewards such as portable fridges, and used a “boxing gloves” approach to policyholders who refused to accept lowball offers.

Here in Nova Scotia, Justice Walter Goodfellow of our Supreme Court just finished hearing a trial involving a constitutional challenge to our province's Insurance Act. The law places a "cap" on the amount of compensation that innocent victims can receive for their pain and suffering if they have suffered a "minor injury". The problem with the law is that the law defines almost every injury as "minor"; making it very difficult for legitimate innocent victims to receive fair compensation for their injuries.

When Justice Goodfellow releases his decision on the constitutional challenge we can expect the insurance industries' "public relations" machine to kick into high gear, claiming that the insurance industry is losing money because of payments to innocent accident victims.

Don't believe a word of it.

Related posts:

Why you may have a "Minor Injury" from your Nova Scotia Car Accident: Reason #3

Why the Insurance Company says you have a "Minor Injury": Reason #2

Why the Insurance Company Says you have a "Minor Injury": Reason #1

Continue reading "How Insurance Companies Deny, Delay, Confuse and Refuse: New Report" »

Provincial health authorities in Quebec have announced a recall of three brands of cheese after one person died and 87 people became sick from salmonella food poisoning.

The recall has increased the hysteria surrounding the Maple Leaf Foods listeria recall.

I have seen at least three media reports incorrectly linking the cheese recall with listeria. See here and here, for examples.

The media reports have helped Canadian's become more aware of some of the risks inherent in our food safety system. However, they have also created a great deal of fear in many people who are now afraid to eat any kind of packaged food product.

The fact is that those most at risk from listeriosis are infants, the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. The general public has very little risk of becoming seriously ill as a result of listeria.

It is certainly possible for people to suffer serious injury or death if companies responsible for manufacturing and packaging foods are negligent. It is also people for people to suffer illness or death if food is not properly prepared/cooked.

Most listeria and salmonella outbreaks are due to contamination by the person preparing/cooking food products.

So be careful how you prepare your food. Pay attention to "Best Before" dates on food packages. And keep track of how long that leftover meatloaf has been in your fridge before you feed it to your kids!

Have a safe Labour Day weekend!

Maple Leaf Foods Recall

Last week Maple Leaf Foods announced a voluntary recall of meat products produced at their packing plant in Toronto, Ontario as a result of several cases of illness and death linked to food products contaminated with Listeriosis.

Media Frenzy

The outbreak and recall has received a considerable amount of attention from the media. In fact, it would be an understatement to describe the reaction as a “frenzy”.

Several Lawsuits Filed

Not surprisingly this week saw at least 5 class actions filed on behalf of people who suffered illness, death, mental distress or financial loss as a result of the tainted meat recall.

Recall to Cost Millions

Maple Leaf Foods predicted that the recall would cost the company $20 million dollars.

Stock prices have "plunged" hitting record lows in less than a week.

Risks Not Explained

The shock and fear expressed by the public as a result of this recall has served to highlight the risks inherent in our food safety system. Unfortunately I have not seen a great deal of media coverage explaining the risks to the public as a result of this outbreak.

Fortunately, the general public, as a whole, has little risk of contracting any serious illness or suffering a fatality as a result of contracting listeriosis.

Unfortunately, the persons who are most likely to contract the disease, and suffer serious illness or death, are those members of society who are most vulnerable; the very young, the elderly, those who are sick or frail, and pregnant women.

What is Listeria?

Listeria is a bacteria. It is commonly found in soil, vegetation, animal feed and in feces.

What are the Symptoms?

Infants, the elderly and those who are already sick or frail are most susceptible to becoming ill after exposure to listeria. Symptoms include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, headache and fever. The disease is often misdiagnosed as the flu.

How Long Before Symptoms Appear?

Symptoms usually appear within 2 days to a week after consuming food contaminated with listeria. However, the bacteria can colonize for up to 30 days before symptoms appear.

Treatment

The symptoms can be treated effective through the use of antibiotics. However, if symptoms are not treated promptly they can develop into more serious problems like septicemia ( blood infection) or meningitis or encephalitis (brain infections).

I have included a link to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Listeria site for more information.

Maple Leaf Food’s Response

From a public relations standpoint, I have to applaud Maple Leaf Food’s response to the recall. The CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, Michael McCain, immediately issued a public apology (no doubt something the company lawyers urged him not to do).

Although the apology may slightly increase the risk that Maple Leaf Foods will be found legally liable for losses suffered as a result of the outbreak, I think it will do a great deal to increase the public’s confidence in Maple Leaf Foods and limit the number of people who will consider suing the company if they haven’t suffered a catastrophic illness or lost a love one.

I expect the apology will also do a great deal to protect the value of Maple Leaf shares in the long run. In fact it appears that the apology is already having a positive effect. Maple Leaf's stock prices rose today.

The value of an apology cannot be underestimated. I posted about this issue a few months ago on my other blog, Halifax Medical Malpractise Lawyer Blog, Doctors: Say “I’m sorry” and Don’t get Sued! The New York Times reported on a study that found that doctors who apologized for their mistakes get sued far less often than doctors who refuse to admit that they have done anything wrong.

This listeria outbreak is truly a tragedy. My sympathies are with all of those who have lost loved ones as a result of this totally preventable illness. Time will tell if Maple Leaf Food’s conduct in not preventing the outbreak will result in the company being held legally liable.

In the mean time, the public needs to educate itself about the risks inherent in our food safety system.

Continue reading "Listeria Outbreak and Lawsuits Highlight Risks/Misunderstandings of Food Safety System" »

A diet supplement used by bodybuilders called 6-OXO and 1-AD can trigger seizures and blood clots in the brain that can lead to lasting disability according to a warning issued today by Health Canada.

Both 6-OXO and 1-AD are manufactured by ErgoPharm-Proviant Technologies and are popular among amateur and professional bodybuilders.

CTV news reports that Health Canada has received one report of a serious adverse event that has been linked to use of the supplements. According to the report, a man who had no known health problems suffered seizures and blood clots in his brain after using the supplements.

6-OXO is not approved for sale in Canada, but consumers can buy the supplement over the internet or while travelling in the United States.

1-AD contains an anabolic steroid. That means the supplement is a controlled substance in Canada and can only be purchased by prescription and is supposed to be used only under the supervision of a doctor.

If you are using either of these supplements, you should seek advice from a doctor immediately.

Last month Bisphenol A was officially designated a dangerous substance by Health Canada. I posted about the news here.
The ruling came about as a result of concerns when the hormone was found in children’s baby bottles.

Now tests conducted for CTV News and The Globe and Mail on cans for several popular children’s foods shows similar or higher levels of bisphenol A than in baby bottles.

Baby bottles were found to leach about 6 parts per billion of BPA. The new test results showed higher concentrations of the dangerous substance in some popular children’s food containers.

Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup: 8.61 (Parts per billion)
Heinz Tomato Juice: 14.11
Allen’s Apple Juice: 17.9
Hunt’s Tomato Sauce: A whopping 18.21 parts per billion!

For those of you that think just children are at risk, the chemical was also found in Molson beer cans 8.19 and Labatt beer cans 9.27.

The scary part is that these results are likely low:

"The tests we did in the cans are fairly conservative," said Julia Taylor, the lab technician that conducted the tests. "We used water, which is less likely to pull out BPA in a can."

My boys love Campbell's chicken noodle soup. What do you eat when you have a cold or aren't feeling well? Chicken noodle soup. Is there any product out there that has a reputation for being healthier than chicken noodle soup?

I guess now I'm going to have to dig out my grandmothers recipe for home made chicken noodle soup. Yum!

A number of Canadian hospitals are reusing "single-use" medical devices (SUDs) that are supposed to be disposed of after being used. Worse yet, the vast majority of hopitals that are reusing the medical devices are sterilizing the devices in-house. Infection control experts have criticised the practice as being "fraught with risk", according to a story by the Canadian Press.

...tragedies like the tainted blood scandal and cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease -- the human form of mad cow disease -- linked to reuse of tools used in brain surgery have deepened the understanding of infection risks and raised the bar for infection control in hospitals.

The story reports that while there appears to be consensus among health care professionals that a national policy is needed and that the practice of in-house reprocessing ought to be banned, a regulatory void means that in many parts of the country hospitals can do as they wish when it comes to reuse of single-use medical devices.

Saving Money vs. Patient Safety:

The cost of health care has become so astronomical that hospitals have been forced to find any way they can to save money. Some would say by cutting corners at the expense of patient safety.

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) is a national body that provides Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial health care decision makers with impartial advice and evidence-based information about the effectiveness and efficiency of drugs and other health technologies.

Reuse Poses Legal Liability Issues:

CADTH has produced a series of reports on reprocessing of SUDs that address concerns about possible risks to patients of infection or other complications, legal liability issues, and uncertainties regarding cost-effectiveness.

CADTH concluded that there is:

"Insufficient evidence to establish safety and effectiveness "of reusing SUDs.

Reuse Endangers Patient Safety: United States:

Almost three years ago the Washington Post published a story about the dangers of reusing SUDs. The report documented dozens of cases of patient injuries and device malfunctions after single-use devices were reused.

Government Investigates Health Risks:

The practice has become so widespread that the United States Government Accountability Office prepared a report on the issue. The title of the report concludes that FDA has increased its regulation of the reprocessing of SUMDs and "available information does not indicate that use presents an elevated health risk".

But on the very first page of the report the authors state:

Neither existing FDA data nor studies performed by others are sufficient to draw definitive conclusions about the safety of reprocessed SUDs compared to similar original devices.

How comforting.

Trasylol also known as Aprotinin, an expensive anti-bleeding drug used during heart surgery actually increased the risk that patients would die during surgery or in the 30 days following by more than 50%!

The Canadian Press has reported that a recent Canadian study called the BART trial compared Trasylol to two far cheaper alternatives found that patients who received Trasylol were 53 per cent more likely to die than people who received the other anti-bleeding agents, tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid.

Dr. Paul Hebert, a critical care doctor at the Ottawa Health Research Institute and one of the investigators in the study, was quoted as saying that:

"The risks of aprotinin are greater than its benefits,"

Dr. David Mazer, a cardiovascular anesthesiologist and critical care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and one of the lead researchers in the BART trial said:

"The BART study has changed the way heart surgery will be done in Canada and around the world,"

I have posted about the risks surrounding Trasylol before. According to an investigation by CBS's 60 Minutes, Bayer, the manufacturer of Trasylol knew about dangers associated with the drug in 2006 but failed to advise the FDA and Health Canada.

You can watch the whole 60 Minutes story here.

Continue reading "Trasylol (Aprotinin) Anti-Bleeding Drug Raises Death Risk: Canadian Study" »

The federal government is considering declaring an ingedient used to make chewing gum as toxic after tests linked it to cancer in lab rats.

The Canadian Press reported that vinyl acetate is one of 17 substances Health Canada could recommend be deemed toxic in a draft report to be published Saturday.

There has been no link demonstrated between vinyl acetate and cancer in humans.

Many major chewing gum manufacturers were quick to point out that their products do not contain vinyl acetate.

I don't smoke and now it looks like I have to stop chewing gum. If they find out that coffee causes cancer I am in big trouble.

Bisphenol A has been officially named a dangerous substance by Health Canada. The Globe and Mail reported the story here.

There is wide concern that the hormonally active chemical, which is commonly used in products like baby bottles, can have long term negative health effects. Toxicnation.ca published a helpful list of baby bottles that are manufactured using the chemical. You can find the list here.

The move is widely expected to be the first step in an outright ban on the chemical in products designed to contain food or drinks.

Bisphenol A is one of the:

...most widely used synthetic chemicals in modern industry. It is the basic building block for polycarbonate, the see-through, shatter-proof plastic that resembles glass, and is also used to make the epoxy resins lining the insides of most tin cans, along with some dental sealants, sports helmets, and compact discs.

You can read more about the chemical on Kathy Farber's blog Non-Toxic Kids.

Next time you go to the gym, take a look and see how many people are chugging their water out of Bisphenol bottles. The question is, what else are they chugging?

Bisphenol A has been officially named a dangerous substance by Health Canada. The Globe and Mail reported the story here.

There is wide concern that the hormonally active chemical, which is commonly used in products like baby bottles, can have long term negative health effects. Toxicnation.ca published a helpful list of baby bottles that are manufactured using the chemical. You can find the list here.

The move is widely expected to be the first step in an outright ban on the chemical in products designed to contain food or drinks.

Bisphenol A is one of the:

...most widely used synthetic chemicals in modern industry. It is the basic building block for polycarbonate, the see-through, shatter-proof plastic that resembles glass, and is also used to make the epoxy resins lining the insides of most tin cans, along with some dental sealants, sports helmets, and compact discs.

You can read more about the chemical on Kathy Farber's blog Non-Toxic Kids.

Next time you go to the gym, take a look and see how many people are chugging their water out of Bisphenol bottles. The question is, what else are they chugging?

Trasylol (Aprotinin) is a drug used during heart bypass surgery to help reduce bleeding and the need for blood transfusions. But a documentary on CBS's 60 Minutes last night suggests the drug may be responsible for contributing to the loss of one thousand lives a month.

You can watch the whole story here.

On January 26, 2006, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published an article by Dr. Dennis Mangano reporting an association of Trasylol (aprotinin) with serious renal toxicity (kidney failure) and ischemic events (cardiac arrest and stroke) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

Although the Trasylol study was published in January 2006, Bayer failed to disclose the study to the FDA until after an advisory panel meeting in September 2006. The study's researcher, Dr. Dennis Mangano, has said that 22,000 patients could have been saved if Trasylol had been taken off the market when the January 2006 study was first published.

The F.D.A. issued a Public Health Advisory in November 2007. On November 5, 2007 the drug manufacturer Bayer agreed to suspend marketing of the drug at the request of the F.D.A.

Bayer suspended marketing of Trasylol (aprotinin) in Canada in November 2007 following a request from Health Canada.

Bayer is now facing hundreds of lawsuits in the United States alleging injury of death due to the drug and the Defective Drug Claims are likely to spread to Canada, just like the Vioxx litigation.

Is this another case of a drug manufacturer puts dollars over lives? You decide after watching the video.

Lead contamination in toys and other consumer products has been receiving a great deal of coverage from the media lately. See this story, for example.

However, China is not the only source of potentially dangerous toys. The Attorney General of Vermont has sued Canadian Toy manufacturer Ganz Inc. of Woodbridge, Ontario, for distributing items of jewelry and other metal products containing high amounts of lead through retail stores in Vermont.

The lawsuit points out the consumers shouldn't be complacent or assume a product is safe simply because it isn't made in China. So how do you find out if a product is safe?

Katy Farber runs a great blog called Non-Toxic Kids with information about product recalls and contaminated toys and dangerous products. It's a great resource. Check it out.

Health Canada has a website listing all it's Advisories, Warnings and Recalls. You can find it here.

The popular anti-wrinkle drug Botox and a competitor have been linked to dangerous botulism symptoms in some users, cases so bad that a few children have died, the government warned Friday.

Botox, and its competitor, Myobloc, use botulinum toxin to block nerve impulses, causing them to relax. In rare cases, the toxin can spread beyond the injection site to other parts of the body, paralyzing or weakening the muscles used for breathing and swallowing, a potentially fatal side effect.

The drugs are not approved for use with children but are commonly used to treat severe muscle spasticity in children with cerebral palsy.

MSNBC has reported that the FDA:

...warned that patients receiving a botulinum toxin injection for any reason —cosmetic or medical — should be told to seek immediate care if they suffer symptoms of botulism, including: difficulty swallowing or breathing, slurred speech, muscle weakness, or difficulty holding up their head.

Health Canada is now reviewing the safety of Botox as a result of the reported deaths.

Health Canada spokesperson Carole Saindon told CTV News:

"Departmental experts are currently reviewing safety information on the issue of toxin spread regarding Botox. Canadians can be confident that after a thorough review, Health Canada will take action, if necessary,"

These reports highlight the dangers of "off label" use of drugs. Since the drugs are not being used for their approved purpose, they have also not been subjected to testing by the FDA and Health Canada for potential side effects from the non-approved drug use.

Nearly 200 Chinese cancer patients were paralyzed or injured by contaminated leukemia drugs manufactured by a Chinese pharmaceutical company that supplies the abortion pill Mifepristone (or RU-486) to the United States.

The New York Times has reported that Chinese drug regulators have accused the drug manufacturer, Shanghai Hualian, of a cover-up and have closed the factory that produced the tainted cancer drugs.

The Times has reported that the same company is the sole supplier of Mifepristone (the abortion pill) to the U.S.

The Times has previously reported on how a Chinese drug company Honor International Pharmtech had been accused of shipping counterfeit drugs into the United States.

Health Canada has not approved Mifepristone for use in Canada. So why should we Canadians care?

There are numerous products manufactured in other countries that are approved for sale in Canada. There has been an explosion recently in the popularity of alternative health products and herbal or "traditional" remedies.

How do you know if the drug, or product you are taking is safe?

Drugs and natural health products that are authorized for sale in Canada will have either an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN), a Natural Product Number (NPN) or a Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label. These numbers indicate that the products have been assessed by Health Canada for safety, effectiveness and quality.

You can check for a list of foreign product alerts, advisories and warnings issued by Health Canada here.

A drug designed to help people stop smoking may be linked to "serious psychiatric problems."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory Friday saying is "increasingly likely" that Pfizer Inc.'s smoking-cessation drug Chantix may be tied to serious psychiatric symptoms.

Health Canada approved Chantix for sale in Canada in early 2007.

There is no indication if Health Canada will be issuing a similar warning here in Canada.

A new study, led by researchers at The Montreal Children’s Hospital, has revealed that certain over-the-counter earwax softeners containing the active ingredient triethanolamine polypeptide oleate condensate (10%) can cause severe inflammation and damage to the eardrum and inner ear.

The research team studied the impact of the non-prescription drug Cerumenex on hearing. In addition, overall toxicity in the outer ear and changes in the nerve cells of the inner ear were analyzed.

"Harmful effects to many of the cells were observed after only one dose,” says Dr. Melvin Schloss co-author and MCH Director of Otolaryngology. “We observed reduced hearing, severe inflammation, and lesions to the nerve cells.”

This study highlights the fact that over the counter medications still carry the risk of serious side effects. The use of such products should be discussed with your family doctor.

Unfortunately, The College of Family Physicians in Canada has reported that approximately five million Canadians (17 %) do not have a family doctor.

Who do they turn to for advice about routine health care matters?