In accordance with its Policy for Natural Health Products (NHPs), the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) has progressed with the planned removal of NHPs from the National Drug Schedules (NDS), in the stepwise, risk-based approach initiated in 2019.

Effective January 2, 2022, all NHPs that were listed within Schedules I and II were removed from the NDS, with the exception of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The removal of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine will occur on January 2, 2024. NHPs in the lowest risk categories, Schedule III and Unscheduled, were removed from the NDS in January 2020.

As of 2024, all products with a Natural Product Number (NPN) or Drug Identification Number-Homeopathic Medicine (DIN-HM) from Health Canada will be considered outside the scope of NAPRA’s NDS.

NAPRA believes the public interest will be best served through the development of a more comprehensive framework from the federal government that would better protect Canadians from the risks of the entire class of NHPs. As such, NAPRA will continue to engage in ongoing opportunities to further encourage the development of such a framework.