Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-10-19, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, October 19, 2016 1111.1 J., 11 www.clintonnewsrecord.com NowsCl Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1 LO (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com rp] POSTMEDIA CURTIS ARMSTRONG Group Director of Media Sales 519-376-2250 ext. 514301 ar camistrong@posbnediacom L� J NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director NClifford@postmedia.com JUSTINE ALKEMA Journalist jalkema@postmedia.com DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative DJohnston@postmedia.com TERESA SMITH Front Office TSmith@postmedia.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GS1) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GS1) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 Clinton News Record is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For more information or to file a complaint go to www.mediacouncil.ca or call toll free 1-844-877-1163. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada Al ocna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association Ontario's opioid plan has its pluses - but does little to ease pain There is much to applaud in the Ontario government's new, "com- prehensive" opioid strategy. But it still puts too much emphasis on only one side of the problem. First, though, the pluses. The government has acknowledged that opioid -related overdoses and deaths are a serious prob- lem. In 2014, 700 Ontarians are reported to have died from opi- oid overdoses, making it the third-highest cause of accidental deaths in the province, ahead of traffic accidents. Ontario will also loosen its rules around the drug Suboxone, which can be used to treat opioid addic- tions and is more benign than Methadone, the current drug of choice. Both family doctors and nurse practitioners will soon be able to prescribe Suboxone; addicts won't have to go to special methadone clinics. Then there's Naloxone, an anti- dote administered in the case of — Letters to the editor overdose. Under the new plan, it will be available free. The province also plans to give Naloxone "kits" to inmates at high risk of addiction on release from jail. Finally, the government has rec- ognized there is a flip side to this problem, and that it needs addressing. What is proposed, however, falls short. The issue is what opioids are legitimately used for: pain con- trol. Ontarians in severe and chronic pain need powerful drugs to manage it, and we can expect, as the population ages, that the need will grow. At one point, doctors were prescribing oxycodone, but a crackdown on it led many to turn to fentanyl, the potent narcotic whose abuse spurred the current crisis. Cer- tainly, the evidence suggests doc- tors have been badly over -pre- scribing opioids (one researcher called them "mind-boggingly cavalier" in their attitudes toward prescribing fentanyl). Neverthe- less, the patients still need drugs. Yet the provincial plan proposes removing several high-strength opioid formulations from the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary at the end of the year - less than three months from now. That's not much time to come up with alternatives for Ontarians who struggle with debilitating suffering. Some experts fear the abrupt removal of such drug options will send more people to the black market. And that could accelerate the cycle of drug abuse and risk. Ontario does say it will pump cash into 17 chronic pain clinics across the province, and offer phy- sicians more training on pain management - which will help counter the tendency to over -pre- scribe. These are good initiatives, but won't be implemented quickly. Wait times to see pain specialists are already long. For people suffer- ing, each day is agony. FICARMAOLT COME PICK YOUR Pr 111112XONE KIT IAN MCINROY/POSTMEDIA NETWORK Naloxone, a medication that helps offset the effects of overdoses from opioids such as fentanyl, has been available from pharmacies in Ontario since June. Opioid overdoses are on the rise across the province and the provincial government announced earlier this week it will be taking measures to stem the tide. The province has made a good start in dealing with addiction overdoses; it needs to work equally hard on behalf of pain sufferers who need appropriate drugs. - Postmedia Network Response to last week's letter to the editor regarding TPP Dear Editor, Aletter from Jim Hollingsworth, MD, opposing the proposed Trans - Pacific Partnership (TPP) contained a number of critical errors. Firstly, there is no non -tariff reason to prevent milk or other dairyprod- ucts produced from cows treated with bovine growth hormone (rbST) from entering Canada now. Therefore, it is misleading for Hollingsworth to claim that TPP will allow something to hap- pen that is already quite-legallytaking place. In addition, itis misleading for Hol- lingsworth to claim that rbST is "banned" in Canada. It isn't banned, but rather, itis not allowed to be sold in Canada. There is nothing to prevent Canadian dairy farmers from import- ing it mportingit for their own use, and they don't have to tell anyone when they do. Fur- thermore, there is no way of detecting artificial rbST in milk if a farmer does use it, in part because the quantity of rbST contained in milk is the same whether or not the cows have been given rbST. Furthermore, itis misleading for Hollingsworth to claim that rbST poses a threat to human health. The Human Safety Division (HSD) of Health Canada initially recom- mended that rbST be registered, judg- ing that it did not constitute a risk to human health. However, notwith- standing this recommendation, rbST was not approved for sale in Canada because Health Canada determined that it had harmful effects on the health of animals to which it was given. Itis also misleading for Hollings- worth to claim thatTPP will cost 58,000 Canadian jobs because he ignored the jobs likely to be created by our export sector as well as the jobs to be createdbyre-directed consumer spending. Sincerely, Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON FROM THE ARCHIVES 15 years ago... • The Needlework Carpet, made by Queen Mary, was temporarily on display for three months at the Huron County Museum mark- ing the hundredth anniversary since its creation. • A site had been prepared by volunteers to install new play- ground equipment at the Clinton Public School (CPS). Because of new safety standards, the old playground had been taken down. • Three break and enters were reported in Bayfield in the span of three days, all included the smashing of windows to enter the residence. Multiple goods were stolen, including television sets and stereos. 25 years ago... • 31 year-old Goderich man Peter Thompson decided to take on a huge challenge. He participated in the Iron Man challenge in Montreal. This included swimming 3.8 kilometers, biking 180 kilometers, and running 44.2 kilometers to reach the end of the course. • Laughter soared when CBC Radio's Royal Canadian Air Farce swooped into Blyth for a two -show taping as part of the Blyth Festival's Catch the Spirit Capital Campaign. 35 years ago... • Five young girls from the Clinton Area participated in the Huron County Dairy Princess Competition at White Carnation Hall in Holmesville. The Dairy Princess acted as an ambassador for the milk producers. • Only two teams remained undefeated after the first full week of hockey games in the Central Jr. "C" division; the Clinton Mustangs and Kincardine Kinucks. Thoughts, observations or concerns about this community? Share them with Clinton and the surrounding area. Email your letters to the editor to Justine atjalkema@postmedia.com. Any opinions expressed in a letter to the editor reflect those of the writer and not those of the Clinton News Record. CLINTON NEWS RECORD - HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00-5:00 • TUESDAY: CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: 9:00-5:00 • THURSDAY: 9:00-5:00 • FRIDAY: 9:00-5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY 2:00 P.M. ADVERTISING BOOKING DEADLINE: FRIDAY 1:30 P.M. www.clintonnewsrecord.com