Health Canada wished to gauge current awareness, attitudes knowledge, and behaviours among Canadian consumers. As such, the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) wished to perform a benchmark survey which measures awareness levels, attitudes towards, knowledge about, and behaviours of Canadians as they pertain to natural health products.

Research Objectives - The study will be used to determine which specific target groups should be reached by the NHPD's Public Education and Outreach Program, and to track the evolution of relevant attitudes and beliefs in the target groups over successive years. Results will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Program and to support revisions in following years.

Target Audience - Canadian Adults

Methodology - A national random telephone survey among 2,004 adult Canadians aged 18 years of age and older was conducted between February 17^th and March 17^th, 2005. A sample of this size yields a margin of error of +/- 2.2%, 19 times in 20.

Subject Matter -

Awareness and Use of NHPs Among Canadians
NHP Awareness and Use
Attitudes Towards NHPs
Information Requirements

Key Findings -

NHP Awareness and Use

Canadians most associate NHPs with vitamins and minerals (13%), herbal remedies and teas (12%), additive-free foods (8%), organic food/biologics (8%), and plants/plant products (8%).
In general, more Canadians are unfamiliar (45%) than familiar (36%) with NHPs.
Seven in ten Canadians (71%) have ever used an NHP. Of this group, a plurality report that they do so on a daily basis (38%), followed by "only during certain seasons" (37%), and weekly usage (11%). Vitamins (57%), Echinacea (15%), herbal remedies and algal and fungal products (11%) top the list of NHPs used.
Personal health concerns and the desire to maintain and promote personal health are primary drivers for use of NHPs among those who use them (52%). Three in ten (29%) feel that NHPs are natural and safe or better than conventional medications. Twenty percent report that they acted on the recommendation of others such as family or a physician.
Few of those who use NHPs (12%) report that they have experienced an unwanted side effect or reaction to using an NHP. Three in five of those who say that they experienced an unwanted side effect or reaction (59%) did not report it to someone, while two in five did (41%). A plurality (41%) report unwanted side effects or reactions to medical doctors.
Among those who have not used NHPs, the primary reasons for not doing so include: no need (20%), lack of information on NHPs (17%), and the attitude "I am healthy" (13%).

Attitudes Towards NHPs

A majority of Canadians agree that NHPs can be used to maintain or promote health (77%) or to treat illness (68%). Fewer agree that NHPs are better than conventional medicines (43%).
While more than two in five Canadians agree (46%) that a lot of claims made by the manufacturers of NHPs are unproven, few agree that NHPs are harmful to use (14%) or were advised against using NHPs (12%).
Canadians are divided on whether NHPs are too expensive for them to use (38% disagree vs. 37% agree).
Eight in ten Canadians (81%) think it is important to respect the role that NHPs play in some cultures. A majority (81%) think the use of NHPs will increase over the next ten years, and seven in ten (72%) believe Canadians have the right to use any NHP they choose.
One half of Canadians (52%) think that NHPs are safe because they are made from natural ingredients. Three times as many Canadians (62%) disagree as agree (21%) that if a health product is made of natural substances there are no risks associated with its use.While over two in five disagree (45%) that if an NHP is for sale to the public, they are confident that it is safe, over one-third agrees (37%).
When asked on an unaided basis, the federal government (27%), followed by Health Canada (17%) and the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (12%) are the agencies most commonly identified as responsible for regulating NHPs and for deciding how to label them.
Nine in ten (91%) agree that all NHP manufacturers must ensure that the products they sell to consumers are safe. A majority of Canadians (84%) agree that the Government of Canada should regulate the claims made by manufacturers of NHPs. Over three-quarters (76%) agree that Health Canada should regulate NHPs the same way they regulate prescription drugs.
Close to half of Canadians (47%) agree that any government regulation of NHPs will drive up their cost. Over two in five (43%) agree that regulating NHPs will limit access to them.

Information Requirements

Over three-quarters of Canadians (77%) agree that it is okay for the NHP industry to put health claims on the labels, as long as they are backed by scientific evidence.
Two-thirds of Canadians (67%) read the labels of NHPs. A plurality agree (52%) that there is not enough information on NHP labels. While over four in ten disagree (44%) that they do not trust the information on the labels of NHPs, three in ten agree (30%). More Canadians disagree (42%) than agree (30%) that they do not understand the information on NHP labels.
Seven in ten Canadians (69%) agree that they need more information on NHPs and an even larger majority (84%) believes that more needs to be done to inform Canadians about the safe use of NHPs. While over two in five Canadians (47%) disagree that consumers have enough information to make informed decisions, three in ten agree (32%).
Half of Canadians (52%) do not believe that Health Canada does a good job of informing Canadians about NHPs, while one-quarter feels they do (26%).
Seven in ten Canadians (71%) think it's important to talk to a physician before using an NHP The importance of consulting a medical doctor drops among those who have used a NHP.
Canadians are most likely to say that they completely trust the NHP information provided by their doctor (47%), pharmacists (43%), Health Canada (34%), and registered dieticians (30%).
Family members or friends (28%) are identified as primary sources of information on NHPs followed by the Internet (19%), pharmacists (18%), and physicians (14%). Pharmacies (27%), Health Canada's Web site (26%), and Health Canada's publications (25%) are the most preferred (9 and 10 on a 0-10 scale) means of receiving information among various venues.
Canadians are very interested in NHP information on recalls of NHPs (53%), potential side effects (52%), possible drug interaction (51%), information on the uses and benefits of NHPs (41%), on understanding NHP labels (38%) and on NHP regulation (37%).

Research Company - Ipsos-Reid

The PDF full report of this survey is available in PDF version.


	Last Updated: 2005-09-13		Important Notices