Guest guest Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Do you have a link for that? > Senator McCain Files New Bill That Attacks Your Access to Supplements and > Repeals Key Sections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act > > TAKE ACTION AND TELL YOUR SENATOR NOT TO CO-SPONSOR THIS BILL > Senator McCain's bill is called The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA). It > would repeal key sections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act > (DSHEA). DSHEA protects supplements if 1) they are food products that have been > in the food supply and not chemically altered or 2) if they were sold as > supplements prior to 1994, the year that DSHEA was passed. If a supplement fits > one of these two descriptions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot > arbitrarily ban it or reclassify it as a drug. > These protections are far from perfect. They discourage companies from > developing new forms of supplements. New supplements may be arbitrarily banned > by the FDA or adopted by drug companies in a way that precludes their further > sale as supplements. > McCain's bill would wipe out even the minimal protections contained in DSHEA. It > would give the FDA full discretion and power to compile a discreet list of > supplements allowed to remain on the market while banning all others. > Everyone knows that the FDA is friendly to drug companies (which pay its bills > and provide good revolving door jobs) and hostile to supplement companies. Under > this bill, this same Agency could quite arbitrarily ban any supplement it wished > or turn it over to drug companies to be developed as a drug and sold for > multiples of its price as a supplement. > The FDA will like this because it believes that it can more easily control a few > industry giants. But isn't it more likely that the industry giants will > eventually gain control over the FDA? > The FDA is already misusing the adverse event reporting process that exists. > Drugs rack up thousands of adverse event reports without any action. Just > recently, the FDA yanked from the market a supplement product based on just a > couple of alleged adverse event reports without even allowing the company (an > old and respected firm) to provide any counter-evidence or counter-argument. > The bill also allows the FDA to yank a product (at the company's expense) if > there is a " reasonable probability " that it is " adulterated " or " misbranded " . > Let's remember that " adulterated " could mean there is a minor record keeping > error on the producer's part and " misbranded " can mean that the producer simply > tells the truth about the product. An " adulterated " and " misbranded " supplement > in Orwellian FDA speak may actually be both completely safe and effective. > We must prevent this bill from gaining traction! Protect your access to > supplements by contacting your senators today and asking them NOT to co-sponsor > the Dietary Supplement Safety Act but rather to oppose it. > TAKE ACTION > McCain's Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) appears to be supported by the US > Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) which is funded by major league sports teams > including baseball, football and others. The recent suspensions of NFL and other > professional sports figures is much in the news, and the goal of the sports > industry appears to be to shift the spotlight from their players to the > supplements industry. In his comments, Senator McCain cited six NFL players > recently suspended for testing positive for banned substances and purportedly > exposed to these substances through dietary supplements. > The problem here of course is one of illegal sale and use of steroids. So why > dismantle the supplement industry in order to control already illegal > substances? > The FDA currently has complete and total authority to stop illegal steroids and, > more broadly, to regulate dietary supplements. If the agency were doing its job, > it could and would have prevented the sale of illegal steroids. The answer to > this problem is not to give FDA more power. The Agency simply needs to do it's > job. > TAKE ACTION > Why would a bill be offered to solve an illegal steroid problem that does not > really address the steroid problem but instead gives the FDA complete and > arbitrary control over all supplements? The answer is simple. > There are a lot of vested interests which are threatened by supplements. Drug > companies do not like them because they represent a low cost, safer, and often > more effective alternative to drugs. The FDA does not like them because > supplements do not come through the FDA approval process and therefore do not > support the FDA budget. > Why not simply require that supplements be brought through the FDA's drug > approval process? Wouldn't that create a level playing field? > That is probably the argument that Senator McCain has been sold. But it is a > completely false argument. The FDA drug approval process costs as much as a > billion dollars. It is not economically feasible to spend such vast sums on > substances that are not protected by patent, and natural substances cannot > legally be patented. > This is the great " Catch 22 " of American medicine. The FDA, which is supposed to > guard and promote our health, is hostile to the kind of natural medicine—based > on diet, supplements, and exercise—that represents the real future of > healthcare. The Agency has either been captured by drug interests or is trapped > in a catastrophically expensive, toxic, and ineffective patented-drug model. > Senator McCain has no doubt offered this bill in good faith. But he has been > sold a bill of goods by special interests. And he has been naïve enough not to > know that he is being used. > TAKE ACTION > This exceptionally bad bill also requires the reporting of all minor adverse > events related to supplements. This is in addition to the already existing > requirement to report adverse events. This will further stack the deck against > small supplement companies by creating new, unnecessary, even more cumbersome, > and of course very expensive administrative hurdles. The result: the > consolidation of the supplement industry into a few big companies.If passed, > this bill will likely result in the disappearance from store shelves of many > supplements currently on the market. In addition to fewer supplements, there > would likely be much lower doses available. Unbridled authority would be handed > to the FDA, an agency that needs a top to bottom overhaul, not ever more power > over our lives. > If McCain's bill passes, we can look to Europe for a snapshot of what we may be > in for: EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, has sharply reduced the list > of available supplements and is in process of reducing potencies to ridiculous > levels, such as less beta carotene than can be found in half of a large carrot. > Europeans already look to the US to obtain their dietary supplements. If this > bill passes, where will we obtain ours? > Please take action immediately. Tell your senators NOT to co- sponsor this > legislation and to do everything in their power to defeat it. Then forward this > to your friends and family and ask then to do the same! > Gretchen DuBeau > Legal Director, ANH Int. > Executive Director, ANH-USA > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 No, I got the text in an email forwarded from a friend. > > > Senator McCain Files New Bill That Attacks Your Access to Supplements and > > Repeals Key Sections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act > > > > TAKE ACTION AND TELL YOUR SENATOR NOT TO CO-SPONSOR THIS BILL > > Senator McCain's bill is called The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA). It > > would repeal key sections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act > > (DSHEA). DSHEA protects supplements if 1) they are food products that have been > > in the food supply and not chemically altered or 2) if they were sold as > > supplements prior to 1994, the year that DSHEA was passed. If a supplement fits > > one of these two descriptions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot > > arbitrarily ban it or reclassify it as a drug. > > These protections are far from perfect. They discourage companies from > > developing new forms of supplements. New supplements may be arbitrarily banned > > by the FDA or adopted by drug companies in a way that precludes their further > > sale as supplements. > > McCain's bill would wipe out even the minimal protections contained in DSHEA. It > > would give the FDA full discretion and power to compile a discreet list of > > supplements allowed to remain on the market while banning all others. > > Everyone knows that the FDA is friendly to drug companies (which pay its bills > > and provide good revolving door jobs) and hostile to supplement companies. Under > > this bill, this same Agency could quite arbitrarily ban any supplement it wished > > or turn it over to drug companies to be developed as a drug and sold for > > multiples of its price as a supplement. > > The FDA will like this because it believes that it can more easily control a few > > industry giants. But isn't it more likely that the industry giants will > > eventually gain control over the FDA? > > The FDA is already misusing the adverse event reporting process that exists. > > Drugs rack up thousands of adverse event reports without any action. Just > > recently, the FDA yanked from the market a supplement product based on just a > > couple of alleged adverse event reports without even allowing the company (an > > old and respected firm) to provide any counter-evidence or counter-argument. > > The bill also allows the FDA to yank a product (at the company's expense) if > > there is a " reasonable probability " that it is " adulterated " or " misbranded " . > > Let's remember that " adulterated " could mean there is a minor record keeping > > error on the producer's part and " misbranded " can mean that the producer simply > > tells the truth about the product. An " adulterated " and " misbranded " supplement > > in Orwellian FDA speak may actually be both completely safe and effective. > > We must prevent this bill from gaining traction! Protect your access to > > supplements by contacting your senators today and asking them NOT to co-sponsor > > the Dietary Supplement Safety Act but rather to oppose it. > > TAKE ACTION > > McCain's Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) appears to be supported by the US > > Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) which is funded by major league sports teams > > including baseball, football and others. The recent suspensions of NFL and other > > professional sports figures is much in the news, and the goal of the sports > > industry appears to be to shift the spotlight from their players to the > > supplements industry. In his comments, Senator McCain cited six NFL players > > recently suspended for testing positive for banned substances and purportedly > > exposed to these substances through dietary supplements. > > The problem here of course is one of illegal sale and use of steroids. So why > > dismantle the supplement industry in order to control already illegal > > substances? > > The FDA currently has complete and total authority to stop illegal steroids and, > > more broadly, to regulate dietary supplements. If the agency were doing its job, > > it could and would have prevented the sale of illegal steroids. The answer to > > this problem is not to give FDA more power. The Agency simply needs to do it's > > job. > > TAKE ACTION > > Why would a bill be offered to solve an illegal steroid problem that does not > > really address the steroid problem but instead gives the FDA complete and > > arbitrary control over all supplements? The answer is simple. > > There are a lot of vested interests which are threatened by supplements. Drug > > companies do not like them because they represent a low cost, safer, and often > > more effective alternative to drugs. The FDA does not like them because > > supplements do not come through the FDA approval process and therefore do not > > support the FDA budget. > > Why not simply require that supplements be brought through the FDA's drug > > approval process? Wouldn't that create a level playing field? > > That is probably the argument that Senator McCain has been sold. But it is a > > completely false argument. The FDA drug approval process costs as much as a > > billion dollars. It is not economically feasible to spend such vast sums on > > substances that are not protected by patent, and natural substances cannot > > legally be patented. > > This is the great " Catch 22 " of American medicine. The FDA, which is supposed to > > guard and promote our health, is hostile to the kind of natural medicine—based > > on diet, supplements, and exercise—that represents the real future of > > healthcare. The Agency has either been captured by drug interests or is trapped > > in a catastrophically expensive, toxic, and ineffective patented-drug model. > > Senator McCain has no doubt offered this bill in good faith. But he has been > > sold a bill of goods by special interests. And he has been naïve enough not to > > know that he is being used. > > TAKE ACTION > > This exceptionally bad bill also requires the reporting of all minor adverse > > events related to supplements. This is in addition to the already existing > > requirement to report adverse events. This will further stack the deck against > > small supplement companies by creating new, unnecessary, even more cumbersome, > > and of course very expensive administrative hurdles. The result: the > > consolidation of the supplement industry into a few big companies.If passed, > > this bill will likely result in the disappearance from store shelves of many > > supplements currently on the market. In addition to fewer supplements, there > > would likely be much lower doses available. Unbridled authority would be handed > > to the FDA, an agency that needs a top to bottom overhaul, not ever more power > > over our lives. > > If McCain's bill passes, we can look to Europe for a snapshot of what we may be > > in for: EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, has sharply reduced the list > > of available supplements and is in process of reducing potencies to ridiculous > > levels, such as less beta carotene than can be found in half of a large carrot. > > Europeans already look to the US to obtain their dietary supplements. If this > > bill passes, where will we obtain ours? > > Please take action immediately. Tell your senators NOT to co- sponsor this > > legislation and to do everything in their power to defeat it. Then forward this > > to your friends and family and ask then to do the same! > > Gretchen DuBeau > > Legal Director, ANH Int. > > Executive Director, ANH-USA > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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