posted 05-26-2003 06:50 PM            

A new bill called the "Dietary Supplement Safety" Act (S.722) has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. Despite its title, it would allow no more consumer protection than current law – the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) – provides. It would, however, significantly undermine many of the freedoms that American consumers of dietary supplements hold dear.

Oppose this Legislation!

The Food and Drug Administration must not be granted new and unprecedented authority to subject safe and beneficial products to additional and unnecessary scrutiny.

This bill would subject nearly all vitamins, minerals, herbal products and other supplements to a level of scrutiny that is both unwarranted and unnecessary. Products that have been used safely for hundreds – and in some cases, thousands – of years would be subject to clinical evaluation using standards that are at the complete discretion of the FDA.

The government must not be allowed to limit the freedom of choice of American consumers when it comes to their health.

By questioning the safety of any dietary supplement that receives even one complaint, hundreds of products that have been safely and beneficially used could be removed from the marketplace. Under this new legislation, the FDA has complete discretion to make this determination, regardless of whether the product was used under conditions cautioned against by the manufacturer on the label.

The government must not be allowed to single-out dietary supplements.

By almost every measure, and by a wide margin, dietary supplements can be used more safely than conventional foods and OTC drugs. Yet this legislation exempts foods in these product categories from being classified as stimulants. Specifically, the bill unfairly excludes the most common "stimulant" ingredient in foods – caffeine.

posted 05-27-2003 02:43 AM            

And while I don't think everything in these categories should be FDA controlled, some of it for sure should.