October 2012: Ear Candling Ban

Though the sale and import of ear candles has been banned in Canada since 2006, you will still find themin many health foods stores and being offered as a treatment in certain clinics across the country. It is currently illegal to import and sell ear candles in Canada for medical purposes. It’s clear that laws are not being enforced and in some ways being side stepped. You may be curious why ear candling has been banned in the first place, it’s pretty harmless, or is it? Reports, albeit relatively small numbers, of serious injury such as burns, blocked ear canals and punctured ear drum from use of this device have been documented. It is this in combination with the fact that there is zero evidence supporting its use in conditions it being marketed to treat such as ear infections, swimmers ear, wax build up, vertigo, tinnitus etc that prompted Health Canada to place a ban. There are plenty of safe and effective alternative options to these conditions, those with research supporting their effective use.