Natural Health Products in NZ: Proposed New Government Regulations – Protect Your Right to Choose

To: [email protected]


Subject: Statement on Natural Health Products Regulatory System — Health Consumer

I am writing as a New Zealand health consumer to share my views on the proposed regulatory system for natural health products (NHPs).

I support access to safe natural health products and I want regulation to be proportionate, not restrictive.

I use natural health products as part of managing my own wellbeing. [Optional: add one sentence about what you use and why — e.g. “I take vitamin D in winter” or “I use magnesium for sleep” or “I prefer to try natural options before prescription medicines” or ” I no longer trust my doctor with my health” ( if this is true).

My key concerns with the proposals are:

1. Consumer choice should be a guiding principle.
The Government’s own discussion document says regulation should be “proportionate to the risks” and support “timely access”. NHPs are generally lower risk than medicines . Regulation should reflect that difference and not impose medicine-style requirements on low-risk products.

2. I do not want unnecessary barriers to access.
New Zealand already has consumer protection laws, food safety rules, and advertising standards. Before adding new layers of regulation, the Government should clearly identify what specific safety gap it is trying to fix. I am concerned that additional compliance costs will be passed on to consumers like me, reducing affordability and choice.

3. I support practitioner exemptions.
I believe doctors and other qualified health practitioners should be able to recommend and supply natural health products to their patients, including products from third-party manufacturers. This supports informed, personalised care.

4. I support a transparent ingredient list approach.
If a list of recognised ingredients is used to define NHPs, the process for adding ingredients should be transparent and should not exclude ingredients with established histories of safe use.

5. Access matters for people who cannot easily access conventional care.
Some New Zealanders rely on natural health products because they cannot get timely appointments, face long waits, or have not found conventional options helpful. Regulation should not make that situation harder.

My recommendations:

• Recognise informed consumer choice as a core objective of the new system.
• Demonstrate a clear, specific safety problem before imposing new requirements on low-risk products.
• Keep compliance costs low so products remain affordable.
• Allow qualified practitioners to recommend and supply NHPs within their competence.
• Ensure any new rules are transparent, evidence-based, and reviewed over time.

Thank you for considering my submission.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your town/city]