Message from the Minister of Health International Self-Care Day – July 24, 2018    

Today is International Self-Care Day—the perfect opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of self-care and the role it plays in helping people lead a healthier lifestyle.

This year, the theme of International Self-Care Day is: “Feel good, 7/24.”

Millions of Canadians practice self-care every day, from maintaining a healthy diet to getting enough physical activity and sleep. Canadians also rely on self-care products—cosmetics, non-prescription drugs, and natural health products—to maintain their health, treat minor ailments, and to take care of their appearance, such as through the use of sunscreen, moisturizer, or vitamins. Self-care is also usually the first treatment response to everyday health conditions and common ailments.

In the year and a half since the launch of the public consultation on the Self-Care Framework, Health Canada has made significant progress in the development of its proposed policy to update how self-care products are regulated.

This fall, the Department will be bringing forward a regulatory proposal for consultation to improve the labelling of natural health products. These changes will make labels easier to read, understand, and compare, and will better support consumers in selecting and safely using a product. The proposed policy will also give consumers faster access without compromising safety to low-risk non-prescription drugs.

Ultimately, these changes will help ensure Canadians are properly protected and have all the information they need to make the right choices for themselves and their families when buying and using self-care products.

In addition to the specific self-care products we choose, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity and healthy eating, plays an important role in our well-being and quality of life. So does positive mental health, which is why the Government of Canada supports programs and activities that focus on the factors that lead to positive mental health and that aim to reduce and address risk factors that can contribute to mental illness.

This year, I encourage all Canadians to join me in celebrating International Self-Care Day, and to learn more about the safe use of self-care products.

For more information on Health Canada's approach to regulating self-care products, visit Canada.ca/selfcare-products.

Related links:

Healthy living

Improving your mental health

Physical activity

The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health