FDA Defeated in Federal Court over Truthful Health Claims
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FDA Defeated in Federal Court over Truthful Health Claims
www.myhealthytown.com
(NaturalNews) Health freedom has just been handed a significant victory
by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which
ruled last week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
violated the First Amendment rights of a nutritional supplement company
when it censored truthful, scientifically-backed claims about how
selenium can help reduce the risk of cancer.
See the ANH announcement at:
http://www.anh-usa.org/court-finds-for-anh-usa-in-stunning-victory-over-fda-than\
k-you-jonathan-emord/
Essentially, the FDA applied its doctrine of censorship to these
selenium supplements in the same way it oppresses truthful and
scientifically-supported health claims across all dietary supplements.
The purpose of the FDA's censorship of truthful information about the
health benefits of dietary supplements, as NaturalNews readers already
know, is to keep the American people nutritionally illiterate and
protect the profits of the pharmaceutical industry.
In this court case, ALLIANCE FOR NATURAL HEALTH, et al. vs. KATHLEEN
SEBELIUS, et al., the judge ruled that the FDA violated the First
Amendment rights of the plaintiffs by restricting their free speech
about the anti-cancer benefits of their selenium supplements.
As explained by health freedom attorney Emord who argued the
case before the Court:
" The decision... reaffirms that FDA is subject to the strictures of the
First Amendment in its evaluation of health claims and it faults FDA for
failing to follow that standard, holding its suppression of the
selenium-cancer risk reduction claims unconstitutional. "
Emord goes onto explain:
" The Court concludes that the FDA... has not provided any empirical
evidence, such as 'studies' or 'anecdotal evidence,' that consumers
would be misled by... plaintiffs' claims were they accompanied by
qualifications. Moreover, the explanation the FDA offers to demonstrate
that plaintiffs' claims are misleading , that the claims leave out
pertinent information , is not support for banning the claims
entirely... "
Attorney Emord from Emord and Associates is widely regarded as
one of the most successful and influential attorneys battling the FDA
over free speech and health freedoms.
View my video interview with Emord here:
(The video quality is poor, but it's the best we could capture at the
Health Freedom Expo.)
Emord is also the author of a hugely important book that I strongly
recommend. It's called Global Censorship of Health Information, and you
can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Global-Censorship-Health-Information-/dp/098205953\
1
What it means for health freedom
The upshot of this decision is that the FDA has just been handed a
significant defeat that will set a precedent for other dietary
supplement companies to make their own truthful,
scientifically-supported health claims.
The FDA, of course, recognizes no law other than its own, so it will
likely continue to try to terrorize nutritional supplement companies
with its usual threats of imprisonment of company founders and seizure
of products unless companies voluntarily agree to comply with the FDA's
censorship schemes. However, this court decision may finally turn the
tide against the FDA's campaign of ignorance that has, for decades,
sought to keep the American people nutritionally illiterate while
suppressing the dietary supplements industry.
Btu achieving a lasting victory over the FDA will require nutritional
supplement companies to stop being intimidated by the FDA and start
making truthful, scientifically-supported claims -- and then stand
behind those claims with a commitment to sue the FDA if they are
threatened with censorship. Until now, most nutritional supplement and
vitamin companies have been so intimidated by the FDA that they dared
not challenge the FDA's authority -- even when they knew the FDA was
flat-out wrong!
The FDA, you see, can always threaten a company using " terrorism-style "
tactics such as sending threatening letters that promise to arrest the
owners, imprison them, destroy their business, seize their customer
records, confiscate their inventory, etc. These tactics have all been
used by the FDA to threaten health product companies operating in the
United States. See how the FDA runs its own criminal extortion racket
right here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/024567_health_the_FDA_websites.html
Read about how the FDA kidnaps people from other countries in order to
incarcerate them for their non-crimes in the USA:
http://www.naturalnews.com/027750_Greg_Caton_FDA.html
Or view more articles about the FDA here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/the_FDA.html
These Gestapo-style FDA tactics have been frighteningly effective, given
that most U.S. companies don't have the financial resources to engage in
a lengthy legal battle with the FDA in order to stand up for their First
Amendment rights. That's why this victory by the Alliance for Natural
Health is so important: It provides a legal wedge by which other
companies can now begin to stand up for their own First Amendment
rights, too.
This could be the beginning of the end of FDA censorship of truthful,
scientifically-supported health claims.
What we want: Free Speech, not fraudulent speech
As the editor of NaturalNews, I want to be perfectly clear what we stand
for here. I do not support a Wild West approach to free speech about
supplements where any company can claim anything they want whether it's
true or not. That can get entirely out of hand, and it would only
encourage the kind of marketing fraud we now see rampant in the
pharmaceutical industry.
What I support is truthful health claims that can be backed by a minimum
of three articles published in peer-reviewed science journals. This
threshold of scientifically credibility is high enough to avoid outright
fraudulent quack claims while still allowing truthful claims to be
reasonably met through scientific inquiry. If such a rule were adopted,
it would open the industry to making a wealth of truthful claims about
the beneficial effects of foods, herbs and supplements.
The FDA's current oppression of health claims about cherries and
walnuts, for example, would cease. Both the FDA and FTC have been
attempting to suppress the truth about cherries for many years,
intimidating cherry product companies with all sorts of threats to try
to force them to remove any links to scientific information about the
health benefits of cherries. To learn more, see:
http://www.naturalnews.com/019366.html
The federal government has also declared war on truthful speech about
the health benefits of walnuts. Read more here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/028879_censorship_healing_foods.html
Why Free Speech can save America from sick-care bankruptcy
Most U.S. consumers have no idea that the FDA is operating as a rogue
agency, attempting to destroy nutritional knowledge and intentionally
keep consumers in the dark about the health benefits of natural
products.
Given that our nation's sick-care system is driving us all into
bankruptcy, it would seem more important than ever to allow consumers to
learn how to prevent disease and improve their own health through safe,
natural and low-cost therapies involving healing foods and nutritional
supplements.
In fact, I would argue that any nation that expects to have a viable
economic future MUST protect free speech for its health products
companies. If Big Pharma and the disease industry is allowed to
monopolize all health knowledge while oppressing truthful health claims
on competing products, it will only drive that nation into medical
bankruptcy. Coincidentally, that is exactly where America is today:
Living under an oppressive, monopolized sick-care system that attempts
to criminalize truthful speech about the health benefits of natural
products. See my CounterThink Cartoon entitled, The New Mr. America:
http://www.counterthink.com/The_New_Mr_America.asp
And yet natural products are the solution to America's health care
problems! Read my special report: Nutrition Can Save America! right here
(it's free):
http://www.naturalnews.com/028879_censorship_healing_foods.html
There's no question about it: America will be happier, healthier,
stronger and more financially solvent if we end FDA censorship and take
steps to protect the First Amendment rights of nutritional supplement
companies.
NaturalNews will continue to work alongside the Alliance for Natural
Health to help make this dream a reality. You can learn more about the
ANH at http://www.anh-usa.org
The European branch of this organization is found at
http://www.anh-europe.org
Please consider supporting the ANH. It is, in my opinion, one of the
most important and effective health freedom organizations on the planet.
They are doing fantastic work and they need your financial support to
continue fighting (and winning!) these battles against FDA ignorance,
tyranny, censorship and oppression.
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