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Health Canada Warning The same day that Health Canada received a copy of our book back in April 2003, they issued this warning to Canadians. Health Canada advised consumers not to use Empowerplus, also known as EM Power+ and EM Power. It is a drug - being sold by the company Truehope Nutritional Support Limited (also known as Synergy) - which has not been approved for sale in Canada. Health Canada is the federal government regulatory body that authorizes the manufacture and sale of all drugs in this country. Health Canada has identified risks associated with the use of Empowerplus. The safety and efficacy of Empowerplus has not been shown. The drug is being sold to treat serious disorders, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, panic attacks, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, fibromyalgia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Serious central nervous system conditions are best treated under the supervision of a health care provider. These serious disorders should not be self-medicated or self-diagnosed. Before a drug can be sold in Canada, the manufacturer must first provide Health Canada with scientific evidence that the drug is safe and effective at meeting its stated claims of effectiveness of treatment. In order that consumers can distinguish between approved and non-approved drugs in Canada, all approved drugs sold in this country carry an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN) on the label. While this product has not been found in retail stores in Canada, it is being shipped to Canadian consumers following orders taken by TrueHope. Health Canada has a directive on personal importation of drugs. The directive can be found at: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/inspectorate/imp_hum_drug_per_use_enf_dir_tc_e.html Health Canada reminds consumers of the importance of discussing the use of any non-prescription drugs, including vitamins, minerals and herbal products, with their health care provider. This may include a physician, pharmacist or complementary or alternative practitioner. Health Canada recognizes the difficult circumstances faced by people with serious central nervous system conditions, and understands that some may have been using Empowerplus. In recognition of the seriousness of this issue, Health Canada is working to provide these individuals with appropriate referral options to health care professionals and services, by setting up a toll-free health assistance referral line. That number is 1-800 504-4156.

• CBC coverage - Terry Reith - May 27, 2002
• What's Wrong With Truehope? - Dr. Phelp's PsychEducation.org
• Read the introduction

Their pitch was based on the absurd notion that young piglets on their way to becoming ham for your dinner table could be cured of a condition that is know as Ear and Tail Biting Syndrome. They claimed that pigs of course could be healed by just throwing them a haphazard mixture of vitamins, minerals, and herbs - the pig pills. Yes, pig pills! Then in an amazing leap of faith, these two fellows from rural Alberta, Canada, with connections to nutraceutical conglomerates in Utah, came up with the idea that their pig pill formula could help wipe out the scourges of otherwise incurable mental illness in humans.

Pig Pills, Inc. is based on over two-years of research into The Synergy Group of Canada, their product E.M Power +, Dr. Bonnie Kaplan PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, and:

• How the Alberta government spent close to $3/4 million funding research based on this “cure”.
• How Health Canada spent close to a year attempting to make a senior research psychologist from the Alberta Children's Hospital and the University of Calgary comply with the Food & Drugs Act and stop this dubious research.
• How the Alberta government funded research on American children in spite of explicit refusal of permission to do so.
• How Canada Customs issued orders to seize the pills at the border, and yet the research continued and sales to individuals continue to this day.
• How products made by a company that had been warned by both the U.S. FTC and the FDA for making false health claims for their products, were approved for research with children at the University of Calgary.
• How a respected Harvard affiliated psychiatrist participated.
• How yet another pediatric psychiatrist at the University of Utah conducted research studies that his institution had not approved.
• How major media outlets bought the "pig pill cure" hook line and sinker, and fueled the story around the world.
• How the Canadian government has been unable to stop the sale of these pig pills, from June 2000, when the first complaint was received.

The biggest scandal of all, however, is the number of innocent people who have been, or could have been harmed because they followed the advice of untrained, lay people who advised them to either take their special "pig pills", or in many cases, stop their psychiatric medications altogether. The issue here is not the fact that people just wasted their money, some have had their hopes for good health shattered once again.

And readers will learn something amazing: if these folks conducted objectionable research on pigs, they could have faced staggering fines and penalties. Pigs - animals - used in research are protected by laws: humans, it would seem, aren't so lucky.

The Pig Pill, Inc. team:

• Terry Polevoy, MD - Kitchener, Ontario physician and founder of healthwatcher.net
• Ron Reinhold - Calgary, Alberta, Rainbow Investigations, and former Health Canada investigator
• Marvin Ross - Hamilton, Ontario, Bridgeross Communications, freelance medical journalist and author

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION   

CHAPTER 1 - CARDSTON, ALBERTA - THE DISCOVERY

CHAPTER 2 - PSYCHO PIGS   

CHAPTER 3 - EARLY RESEARCH   

CHAPTER 4 - BAIT AND SWITCH   

CHAPTER 5 - RESEARCH AS MARKETING   

CHAPTER 6 - SALES STRATEGIES & SPAM A LA CARTE  

CHAPTER 7 - BONE PICKING @ THE U. OF CALGARY   

CHAPTER 8 - RESEARCH ETHICS?   

CHAPTER 9 - UNIVERSITY & RESEARCHERS AS SHILLS   

CHAPTER 10 - PIGGING OUT   

CHAPTER 11 - MILKING THE MEDIA   

CHAPTER 12 - IT’S NOT THE LAW    

CHAPTER 13 - SHOW ME THE MONEY   

CHAPTER 14 - CORPORATE CHAMELEONS   

APPENDIX 1 - ALBERTA & CALGARY COVER-UP   

APPENDIX 2 - BARNYARD BULLIES   

APPENDIX 3 - BONNIE KAPLAN ON SHRINK RAP   

APPENDIX 4 - TRANSCRIPT OF A SALES PRESENTATION   

APPENDIX 5 - FORMULAS COMPARED   

APPENDIX 6 - SSO LETTER TO HEALTH CANADA   

APPENDIX 7 - REVIS & BUTTHEADS	   

APPENDIX 8 - SYNERGY SPIN

APPENDIX 9 - CTV TRANSCRIPTS - AVIS FAVARO

ABOUT THE AUTHORS   

BIBLIOGRAPHY - ON THE PIG PILL TRAIL   

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