if this goes through, kiss your supplements goodbye

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:18 pm

we already know what DME equipment costs due to FDA regulation, just wait until this goes through:

http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=7095

what it says:

FDA Is Strongarming The Vitamin Industry
Jimmy Moore
April 30, 2007

The following is a reprint from the blog "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb":

If you are like me and enjoy taking supplements as part of your low-carb lifestyle, then you will definitely want to read this World Net Daily story about something the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is currently proposing that could directly impact your life. This may sound like a very sick joke, but it is DEAD SERIOUS!

According to FDA Docket No. 2006D-0480, aka the "Draft Guidance for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration," the government agency would take over regulation of all vitamins, supplements, and any other natural health remedies. What would this mean? Well, any natural remedy items, even bottled water, would then be considered "drugs" coming under the strongarm authority of the FDA.

In fact, pretty much anything and everything that can be used to treat disease would fall under FDA control. Here's the language they use in this draft proposal:

Biologically based products include, but not limited to botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics, whole diets and “functional foods.” A botanical product intended for use in treating a disease would be generally regulated as a drug. “Functional foods” may be subject to FDA regulation as foods dietary supplements, or drugs under the Act.

If the manipulative and body-based practices involve the use of equipment (such as massage devices) or the application of a product (such as lotion, cream, or oil) to the skin or other parts of the body, those products may be subject to regulation under the ACT.

Does all this sound preposterous? Think again. Imagine this:

Do you own a home gym for medical purposes? It would need FDA approval for use or commerce. How about heading down to your local drugstore to find your favorite vitamins? Good luck because the FDA would need to give their go-ahead. In fact, any store caught selling vitamins without the FDA's magic stamp could be prosecuted for "practicing medicine." Yikes!

FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach has put this draft guidance on the fast-track for implementation, but they are soliciting feedback from concerned citizens through May 29, 2007. The original date was set for Monday, April 30, 2007, but they decided to extend it for an additional month since there has been such an outcry from the public. You can send your concerned comments and reaction to the FDA about this by using their feedback form.

With one out of every three Americans using nondrug treatments for their health at an estimated cost of $5 billion annually, it appears the FDA is watching out for their buddies in the pharmaceutical industry. The medical establishment doesn't like the fact that people are getting healthy without the use of their overpriced medications. Sure, there are SOME drugs that do some fantastic work, but a lot of people find equally effective relief from all-natural homeopathic remedies.

Ever since I've been taking supplements like so many do on a daily basis as part of my low-carb lifestyle, I have not had to see the doctor because I haven't been sick. That's a fact that apparently doesn't sit too well with the medical profession. It's not all of them, but the people in powerful positions are none too happy that they're losing out on "business" from people who are supposed to be sick. Twisted, ain't it?

We've already seen severe restrictions to vitamins in our neighboring countries Mexico and Canada as well as in Europe where you even need a prescription from a doctor to have access to them. EEEEK! Don't you know the FDA would love to bring this policy to the good ole United States of America. They've been working on it for a while now.

I've previously blogged about the concerted effort to outlaw vitamins in this country before, but the FDA has stepped it up. What makes this bad is the outright corruption that already exists in that government entity and it's well-documented. Can you say Vioxx? Or their approval of the wheat gluten imported from China that was responsible for the pet food contamination that killed thousands of beloved pets? Shall I continue?

From allowing spray-on viruses for luncheon meats to their controversial approval of a risky over-the-counter weight loss drug, the FDA is no friend of the natural health community. Why else would they describe livin' la vida low-carb as "sheer nonsense?" Oh yeah, that's right, eating this healthy is a threat to the drug companies, too!

If you care about this issue as much as I do, then leave your feedback for the FDA TODAY! You have until May 29, 2007 to voice your concerns about this important issue. Let Commissioner von Eschenbach hear from us all!

You can go to the above link to leave your feedback.

RosemaryB · Post by **RosemaryB** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:27 pm

Thank you for the information, Snoredog. I've submitted my comments to them. I rely greatly on supplements.

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:34 am

Just curious where the info on 'severe restrictions' came from regarding Canada. I'm certainly not aware of any new ones at all up here in the recent past, and would be very interested to know what they were talking about.

CollegeGirl · Post by **CollegeGirl** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:46 am

If this is true, THANK GOODNESS. My stepfather is supplement/vitamin obsessed - he takes more than 15 different kinds every day. Despite his doctor warning him that vitamins out of mail order catalogs can actually be deceptive (at the best, he's throwing away his money - at worst, he could be receiving a supplement with an unlisted ingredient that could interfere with his medications and cause severe medical complications), he continues to order whatever miracle supplement he sees advertised. Unfortunately, there are lots of Americans out there that just assume all these things are safe, and/or don't bother to check contraindications with drugs they're already on. Yep, it's another instance of a few bad (or, in this case, shall we say "underinformed") apples spoiling things for the whole bushel. But, at least, with the new FDA oversight of such products, HOPEFULLY people like him will be somewhat safer.

To be clearer, it's the fact that these supplements can currently contain unspecified (or well-disguised) ingredients, and don't have to list mainstream drugs they interact with that I disagree with. Someone needs to keep the companies that make them honest, and I don't know what other federal agency would do that if not the FDA.

tomjax · Post by **tomjax** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:42 am

When the government starts regulating it rarely knows or cares when to stop.
I do not favor irrational regulation of any kind since I lean towards libertarianism.
Many responsible studies point to the fact that vitamins are greatly overused and in many cases are harmful.
Recent claims are that the antioxidants may in fact be related to a HIGHER mortality for those taking them than those who do not.

There are many very beneficial herbs and alternative agents that will never be studied and documented simply because there is no way for a company to market them exclusively.

Many of these supplements that can be marketed because they fall into the category of a food supplement and escape FDA regulation.

If a person wants to use these, then by all means they should be able to.The problem is that many adhenents are very poorly informed and tend to be easily emotionally convinced of their efficacy. They become rabid and irrational proponents and have the ability to influence other like-minded people.
Ther is no law against being stupid.
If a person wants to spend their money on the hucksters, then they should be allowed to.
My opinion-
tomjax

oceanpearl · Post by **oceanpearl** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:39 am

I have gotten basically the same email from 3 companies that I have bought vitamins from.

BadThad · Post by **BadThad** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:02 am

First, let me qualify myself, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years. I label myself as a conservative in favor of lesser government and laws. I rarely make an exception to my principals.....but....

This is actually good legislation. The vitamins and "natural" supplements industry is plain dangerous with respect to the health of our citizens. Anybody can grow anything in their backyard, put it in capsules and sell it. It's just like cooking up meth IMO, you never really know what you're getting because there's no regulations. Yet people will walk into a "health food store" and load up on these things....blindly popping pills they think will help them. Arrrgggg....to me it's plain scary!

The FDA should absolutely be given the authority to watch over this industry because it's out of control and dangerous.

CheezWiz · Post by **CheezWiz** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:35 am

People keep sending me the end-o-the-world scenarios about this legislation. No more OJ! No mor V8... No more BS I say. This legislation is good and it will not cause prices to skyrocket. I have read many reports on how many companies sell sub quality products and make a fortune on the ill informed. This regulation would require them to meet standards of quality. That is good, because the only quality they adhere to now is advertising and packaging..

BadThad · Post by **BadThad** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:06 am

Oh dear God.....this WorldNetDaily is a rag of rags! This article is FULL of falsehoods and misleading garbage. It must be a front for the National Enquirer because the article is written that poorly.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55370

It must have been written by somebody making a lot of money from selling "supplements". V8 is going to be regulated as a drug? ROFL Well, it's a food product and it's already regulated idiots. What a bunch of alarmist BS! I've worked with the FDA many, many times and they have more common sense then people give them credit for.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:19 am

Ah, yes. We live in an age when we all need to be protected from ourselves. Who better to protect us than our own government?

What I'm wondering is . . ., if supplements do anywhere as much damage as some claim, then where are all the lawsuits. The supplements industry has some big bucks behind it, so why aren't people suing the supplements makers for injury and wrongful death, etc?

It should be a slam-dunk case, right? Prestigious study shows supplement injures 10% of people taking it. You take supplement maker to court, and win big bucks for your injury. You don't even have to prove that your injury was caused by the supplement; you only need to convince a sympathetic jury that there might be a connection.

Incidentally, the FDA already has authority to ban supplements which have been proven to be harmful.

Hmm . . ., other than some diet supplements, I don't recall hearing that the FDA has used that authority.

Regards,
Bill ( . . . more than a little skeptical of the FDA's motivations)

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:55 am

BadThad wrote:First, let me qualify myself, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years. I label myself as a conservative in favor of lesser government and laws. I rarely make an exception to my principals.....but....

This is actually good legislation. The vitamins and "natural" supplements industry is plain dangerous with respect to the health of our citizens. Anybody can grow anything in their backyard, put it in capsules and sell it. It's just like cooking up meth IMO, you never really know what you're getting because there's no regulations. Yet people will walk into a "health food store" and load up on these things....blindly popping pills they think will help them. Arrrgggg....to me it's plain scary!

The FDA should absolutely be given the authority to watch over this industry because it's out of control and dangerous.

Hmm, I wonder how many die every day from your precious pharmacuticals compared to vitamin supplements? The great almighty pharmacutical companies have had the supplement industry in their sights for years. They want to medicate everyone, not cure, just medicate. People need to educate themselves as to what brands of supplements are the best bang for the buck. I know they are not all the same. I know for a fact they work, through my own experience.

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Tue May 01, 2007 10:14 am

Nitro Dan wrote:
BadThad wrote:First, let me qualify myself, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years. I label myself as a conservative in favor of lesser government and laws. I rarely make an exception to my principals.....but....

This is actually good legislation. The vitamins and "natural" supplements industry is plain dangerous with respect to the health of our citizens. Anybody can grow anything in their backyard, put it in capsules and sell it. It's just like cooking up meth IMO, you never really know what you're getting because there's no regulations. Yet people will walk into a "health food store" and load up on these things....blindly popping pills they think will help them. Arrrgggg....to me it's plain scary!

The FDA should absolutely be given the authority to watch over this industry because it's out of control and dangerous.
Hmm, I wonder how many die every day from your precious pharmacuticals compared to vitamin supplements? The great almighty pharmacutical companies have had the supplement industry in their sights for years. They want to medicate everyone, not cure, just medicate. People need to educate themselves as to what brands of supplements are the best bang for the buck. I know they are not all the same. I know for a fact they work, through my own experience.

Yep! Ditto ... about 60 times more people die every year from asprin than from vitamins ... and asprin is FDA regulated.

This is indeed legislation written by big pharma for big pharma and of big pharma!

If you are scared someone or something is going to get 'ya ... you should be well covered by the Patriot Act.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue May 01, 2007 10:35 am

DreamStalker wrote:Yep! Ditto ... about 60 times more people die every year from asprin than from vitamins ... and asprin is FDA regulated.

This is indeed legislation written by big pharma for big pharma and of big pharma!

If you are scared someone or something is going to get 'ya ... you should be well covered by the Patriot Act.

Gee......I feel SO much safer now......

Some years ago (don't remember where) I read that something like 90+% of all "drugs" have their origins in plants and herbs....."traditional remedies".

Den

Rosemary B · Post by **Rosemary B** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:19 am

I take many, many supplements. I do research first and work with my doctor on this. I had to search hard to find one who knew about supplements as well as conventional meds. I've never once had a bad reaction to supplements. The only negative reactions to supplements I've read/heard about appear to be few and far between with people who have taken them unwisely or with ingredient problems. There are many worse problems with OTC medications.

I've taken various prescription drugs over the years, many fewer than the supplements. The majority of these have caused bad reactions. I'm not exaggerating. I had one life threatening reaction and several others that could have become so. I'm not anti-prescription drugs and am extremely grateful for the ones I take.

However, I don't trust big pharma. They know of dangers that they don't allow to be made known. They suppress research. There are currently superior treatments for alzheimers that are not available in the U.S. because of government regulation that favors the big pharmaceutical companies. I have a friend who is taking a very dangerous medication. There is a much safer one available in Canada, but restricted here. The hype is that it's too dangerous, but the top specialist that my friend goes to for his prescription says it's more effective and infinitely safer. In my own case, I have serious osteoporosis and there's a drug available in Europe that has decent research behind it (strontium ranelate). It's safer than the drugs available here (which I cannot tolerate) but will not be available, according to the top specialist I see. Why, because the companies here are afraid it will cut into their profit margin and patent wrangles.

Currently we cannot stop Canadian trash from crossing our borders (in Michigan) because of free trade agreements, but we cannot import less expensive prescription medications across the border due to government regulations. Why? For our own good, of course. It's claimed that these medications might not be safe. Just like the supplements.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:58 am

We really need to be thankful for the "bang-up job" our regulatory agencies are doing to protect us.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070501/hl_ ... ation_dc_3

Den