Act Now: Senate Bill Threatens Your Access to Nutritional Supplements

July 29, 2011

Do you value the pursuit of health through the use of natural supplements and vitamins? Do you feel it is important that we have access to natural health care? Are you a proponent of free enterprise and innovation? If you feel strongly about any of these liberties, the news that I’m about to pass on to you is of the utmost importance. For those of us who refuse to abide by the standard disease model of health care and instead choose wellness, our right to choose natural health options such as vitamins and minerals over expensive, side-effect laden pharmaceutical drugs is at risk.
 
Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan have introduced a bill deceivingly entitled the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 that if passed, will not only restrict your access to natural supplements, but will also result in further crippling innovation in the field of natural health. This bill would repeal the provisions made in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which protects supplements that have either been grandfathered in, due to years of safe use, or those that have already been approved safe to be in the food supply. The media coverage surrounding this bill may leave the public thinking that supplements are completely unregulated and that the companies are not held accountable in any way which is simply not true.
 
Senator McCain’s bill will give the FDA even greater control over the production and availability of supplements. You may be wondering: Well, what’s the big deal with a little bit of accountability? That’s the same thought that led Senator McCain to blindly propose the bill. I’m certain he has good intentions, but those who are advising him on this issue do not.
 
The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) is being backed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which is funded by sport organizations such as Major League Baseball, the NFL, etc. McCain, an avid sports fan, has turned a sympathetic ear to the plight of the athlete and uses examples of recent professional players who have been suspended from play due to testing positive for prohibited substances. These professional athletes claim that they were unknowingly exposed to these substances through dietary supplements. Whether they were aware that they were taking banned substances is beyond the point. With all of the recent negative publicity surrounding professional sports, organizations such as MLB and the NFL are all too happy to have the spotlight shifted to the supplement manufacturers. And the FDA couldn’t be happier.
 
Senator McCain states that the bill is simply asking for a list of ingredients. Is it really as uncomplicated as that? Let’s look at the issue a little further. First of all, it is already required that supplement companies provide ingredients and proof of quality under current Good Manufacturing regulations. In truth, the FDA already has the power to remove dangerous supplements manufactured by unethical companies from the market. Does it make sense to give them more power when they failed to do their job in the first place? Because of the FDA’s inability to effectively use the authority they have already been given, supplement companies, which are ethically manufacturing nutritional supplements, will be punished.
 , The Dietary Supplement Safety Act will further bloat the FDA’s power over the supplement manufacturers to include giving the FDA the ability to arbitrarily remove lawful nutritional supplements from the market, file complaints against these same companies at their discretion, and impose drug testing standards on each supplement. This may not seem like a big deal at first blink, but it will effectively put most supplement manufacturers out of business. To test each supplement in order to meet the FDA’s drug standards, would cost these small companies hundreds of millions of dollars.
 , As supplements are a safe, low cost, and more effective alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, this bill has the pharmaceutical industry licking its chops as their competition will be effectively eliminated. Drug companies have been working against supplement companies for years through political factions. If you think this political power doesn’t impact the FDA, you would be strongly dismayed. The FDA has a long-time reputation of being unfriendly toward nutritional supplements, as well as natural therapies. If this is news to you, you may be surprised to learn that because nutritional supplements are not required to come through the FDA approval process, they do not fatten the FDA’s budget. Interesting, no?
 , By inflating the FDA’s power, Senator McCain is putting his good faith in the FDA. But really, should we? Look at their track record. Do you remember Vioxx? What is the FDA doing to stop the bleeding caused by aspirin intake, which results in an estimated 10,000 deaths in the US each year? Where was the FDA’s fine tooth comb for these pharmaceutical drugs? Should we give an agency further power when they cannot seem to effectively use what they have already been given?

 
YOU MUST TAKE ACTION
 , If this bill is passed, your access to nutritional supplements will be effectively limited in the future, resulting in the disappearance of many supplements over time or lowering the available dosages thus their effective potency. If you oppose power being given to an agency that is already in need of complete reform, you must take action today. If you value your liberty to choose natural health options along with nutritional supplements, you must act now by contacting your senator today.
 
Visit today to send a letter to your senator immediately. Please forward this to your friends and family. Liberty requires action!

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