It just takes a minute to follow this link to Alert and send email messages to your Senators AND Representative. This is to block the bill that will ban vitamins!!! It's really really important. We all should be taking supplements (like natural VITALZYMES, etc. etc.) thanks for your help.
Lloyd
I did ..... Only took 2 mins
****** CLICK LINK BELOW ******
http://capwiz.com/nnfa/
S 722 to overturn US vitamin freedom
Legislation
Pharma
The Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act - DSHEA, passed in 1993 and signed into law in 1994 by Clinton, was hailed as a milestone in securing freedom of choice with regard to supplements containing nutrients, herbs and other non-drug substances. Ever since its passage, the FDA has been chewing on its bit, impatient to get their teeth into supplements once again. It appears that they now may have that chance, if Senate Bill 722, sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin, makes it through the US legislature.
This legislative action comes at a time of concerted attack on non drug alternatives to the pharmaceutical industry's business with disease, which already has seen over 1500 supplements removed from shelves in Australia, a needlessly restrictive European Directive on food supplements, and an attack on Canadian health freedom including the latest raid by Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police against supplements for the mentally ill.
It is time the sleeping giant (YES, THAT'S YOU - YOU'RE PART OF IT) awake and take action before we become Big Pharma's feed, to be consumed at pleasure.
Source: Health Sciences Institute
July 22, 2003
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Dear Reader,
"This bill will save lives and restore America's confidence in the use of dietary supplements."
Those were the words of Senator Dick Durbin last March when he introduced Senate Bill 722 (S. 722) titled the "Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003."
What Senator Durbin didn't mention is that S. 722 will broadly expand the FDA's authority to control the dietary supplement market.
Simply put: these regulations will seriously inhibit your current freedom to make your own health decisions. But there is something you can do to help prevent this from happening.
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Lives left behind
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First let's talk about saving lives.
There are many hundreds of deaths each year associated with aspirin and acetaminophen. (By some estimates, aspirin-related deaths alone number more than 1,000 per year.) These pain killers are manufactured by many companies, but the major players are Bayer (the maker of Bayer Aspirin, of course), and Johnson & Johnson (the maker of Tylenol) - two of the largest drug companies in the world. They both have deep pockets to fuel very aggressive lobbying efforts in Washington.
So don't expect to hear any senators calling for a ban of aspirin or acetaminophen. (Deaths? What deaths?)
Ephedra, on the other hand, is a sitting duck.
S. 722 doesn't mention any specific supplements, but Senator Durbin's press release uses the recent controversy surrounding ephedra to promote the fear of supplements. Senator Durbin states that 117 deaths have been attributed to ephedra. (That's 117 deaths TOTAL - not 117 per year.) What he doesn't mention is that almost all of these deaths involved a synthetic form of ephedra - a drug, in other words - called ephedrine, in which the active agent of ephedra is boosted to levels that can be dangerous if not taken as directed.
When used properly, ephedrine is a strong weapon in the battle to control your weight. And, more important, the actual herb ephedra is an effective treatment for asthma. If ephedra is banned, the main winners will be pharmaceutical companies that make asthma drugs.
So when you hear lawmakers talking about "saving lives," and "protecting the public," be aware that their targets are very selective when it comes to the products they want to see banned.
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Get out your handkerchiefs
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Senator Durbin wants you to think that the poor folks over at the FDA are working with their hands tied behind their backs. His press release states, "The burden is currently placed on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to prove that they are unsafe before the agency can take any action against dangerous dietary supplements." And according to Durbin, "this places an unreasonably high hurdle in the path of effective agency action."
Senator Durbin knows better. The FDA currently has the power to pull any product off the market that it deems to be unsafe.
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The inquisition
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Under S. 722, the FDA will have the power to remove an entire class of supplements from the market if there is even a single serious adverse reaction complaint filed. This will be the case even if the complaint is filed by someone who has used the supplement in contradiction to the instructions and warnings of the manufacturer.
In such an instance, the manufacturer will be required to demonstrate the safety of the supplement. This process is
expected to put a heavy financial burden on accused manufacturers - heavy enough to drive some out of business. For those supplements that do reach the evaluation stage, the FDA will set the standards for the evaluations and then determine if the standards are met. In effect, the FDA will act as prosecutor, judge, and jury, while accused manufacturers foot the bill against a stacked deck.
That's like asking a death row inmate to pay an electric bill in advance for his electrocution.
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Chipping away at freedom
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Will S. 722 save lives? I seriously doubt it. Behind this bill there's a naive idea that a law to strengthen regulations can make everything all right. And yet the current regulations that promise safety for prescription drug users somehow let many thousands of lives slip through the cracks every year. Increased regulations can't guarantee safety, but they do guarantee greater power for regulators.
And when that power is increased, what then? Here's a comment from a recent e-mail I received from HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D.: "I'm convinced the Dietary Supplement Safety Act is merely a stepping stone to complete control. The FDA has been very upset about the passage of DSHEA (the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 - specifically designed to help protect the supplement industry from unnecessary constraints). I think the FDA will piecemeal DSHEA away as fast as possible, if possible (and I believe it is)."
S. 722 may come before the Senate for a vote before the end of this month. And although it has good support, its passage is not a foregone conclusion. I strongly urge you to take a moment to send a brief letter or e-mail to your state Senators. (You can easily find Congressional addresses and e-mail addresses at congress.org just by entering your zip code.)
Tell your Senators that you oppose S. 722 (the "Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003"), which will limit your freedom to make your own health care choices with the responsible use of dietary supplements. Tell them that S. 722 unnecessarily expands the authority of the Food and Drug Administration, while offering no more protection for consumers than is already granted under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.
Think of S. 722 as a staging area from which the FDA will prepare to slowly but surely dismantle the dietary supplement freedom that we've enjoyed for almost a decade under DSHEA. The first line of defense is to convince our senators that this act is unnecessary and will do more harm than good.
Please share this alert with a friend and help get the word out about S. 722.
You can find the original at Health Sciences Institute
Here is a great article (April 2004) with more information and links:
A WAKE UP CALL! Proposed Legislation to Weaken DSHEA, and Codex Alimentarius Looms
and a link to a site that asks you to become involved:
Save Our Supplements Campaign
Here's an update on S. 722: (Courtesy Andrew Saul of doctoryourself.com
"Latest Major Action: 3/26/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions."
And there it has rightly stayed.
I say, we have been in large part successful. A big "thank you!" to all my activist readers.
(Updated information about this bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:s.00722: )
Related articles
Regulating Vitamins Insight Magazine
Positive Effects of Vitamins
Death Sentence for Dietary Supplements.
Think Prescription Drugs are Safer and More Scientifically Proven Than Supplements? Think Again.
Lawmakers Want Stronger Law on Diet Supplements
Subcommittee hearing: "10 Years After the Implementation of DSHEA
Posted at July 23, 2003 10:56 AM | TrackBack
Readers' Comments
I think its a bad idea. This means that every thing that we need for a headache, will have to be boughten from doctors. This will make it more expensive for the economy. We don't need to pass this bill, just because some people chose to over-dose on it.
Posted by: James Conrad on August 15, 2003 05:25 AM
The personal freedoms that we, as Americans, claim to revere are at risk with Senate Bill 722. Sadly, the vast majority of the populace is ignorant of the enormous power and control the pharmaceutical companies have over our health care system. World-wide studies done in the accepted standard of double-blind placebo testing have proven unequivically that common sense has been scientifically supported. The common sense? That if you feed the body with the nutrients at the levels it needs to properly function, the body will function effectively and disease-free. Any guesses as to who would like you to think otherwise? I am alarmed, and you should be as well, that an uninformed individual, placed in a position of trust and honor, could be so damned foolish to think that he is serving the public with this socialist bill S722. Furthermore, the co-sponsors show their total lack of concern for the American public and are naive beyond their years to endorse such tripe. I am sympathetic to the wife and family
of the fallen Baltimore Orioles pitcher, but not to the point that I agree with their gazillion dollar law suit for wrongful death. Whatever happened to personal accountability? Read the label! The unlucky chap OD'd! Where is the furor over the 100,000+ deaths each year in the US alone for properly prescribed drugs? Do your homework...read the bill. Read the reviews of the bill. Decide for yourself whether the FDA should have these kinds of controls over what options you will have acess to when it comes to your health. As a concerned citizen, I appeal to all citizens to exercise your constitutional right by contacting each of your Senators and let them know how you feel. DAMMIT, get involved...BEFORE it's too late!
Posted by: John Goodman on August 22, 2003 02:56 PM
Thank you, John,
for your comment on my post about S 722. Could not agree more. Everyone who's serious about taking care of their own health got to get involved, we really outnumber the bad guys by a large margin, it's only a question of how many of us realize they should be doing something about the erosion of their rights and their health by pharmaceutically inspired legislation and consequent "enforcement" action.
It's really just a few minutes before twelve...
Posted by: Josef on August 22, 2003 06:57 PM
I really think it would be horrible if we didn't have the freedom to buy herbs and vitamins as we choose. This is supposed to be a free country. Vitamins and herbs are good for you and have helped a lot of people and if FDA gets control, it will be bad. It will make supplements more expensive and difficult to get. Having this freedom to get supplements has been more beneficial than a harm. America is free country lets keep it that way for supplements too!!!!
Posted by: Julia Sova on September 5, 2003 12:34 AM
Dear Anna,
thank you for your comment. You hit the nail on the head. Let's put attention where it belongs: with the untold suffering and the deaths caused by conventional medicine's love affair with pharmaceutical drugs and expensive, often useless, surgery and "treatments".
Posted by: Josef on September 5, 2003 01:14 AM
Comment received by e-mail, forwarded by Frans from Belgium:
H. LOYD WRITES
Hi All
It just takes a minute to follow this link to Alert and send email messages to your Senators AND Representative. This is to block the bill that will ban vitamins!!! It's really really important. We all should be taking supplements (like natural VITALZYMES, etc. etc.) thanks for your help.
Lloyd
I did ..... Only took 2 mins
****** CLICK LINK BELOW ******
http://capwiz.com/nnfa/
Posted by: Josef on September 9, 2003 04:19 PM
I oppose this bill, Because, I believe in taking natural supplements for any health problem I have, because they don't have any side effects...I don't like taking any drugs that are prescribed by the doctor, I feel They suppresses the problem and does not cure the problem from the bottom. If people choose to over dose them self with the supplements, than it is not anyone's fault.
I have been diagnosed with vasculitias three years back. After seeing about 10 Doctors, they told me that there is no medicine to cure except ?steroids?. Also, they said, to cure my vasculitias, I could have 10 other major problems with this prescription. I met this herb specialist, and she gave me some supplements, without any side effect, my vasculitias is gone.
Posted by: Kashma Ranadey on October 6, 2003 07:20 PM
Thank you for helping bring this issue to the public's attention. I first heard of S722 just earlier today, and have been reading about the bill on various websites trying understand both sides of the story. Your article has been one of the most enlightening so far.
Posted by: Samantha Harris on October 17, 2003 11:41 PM
If you are a freedom loving American who values your health, please send a note to your senators today against S 722. Considering there is a "revloving door" between the FDA and pharmaceutical companies, you will be handing over your supplement freedoms to the pharmaceutical companies. If you think for even a second that this is not true, take a look back in history. The FDA did damage then concerning herbs and will now.
Posted by: Jennifer Gunder on November 14, 2003 12:30 AM
Durbin's bill S 722 is not an attempt to make supplements unavailable to the public, but is an attempt to provide the public with the best consumer protection possible. It is a deliberately construed misconception that this bill will "ban vitamins". The main thrust of the bill, as outlined on the Senate website (
www.senate.gov) appears to be aimed at requiring supplement manufacturers to provide safety studies for their products as well as require them to record and report any adverse event complaints they receive so that complaints can be monitored to better determine if a particular product or content of a product poses a health threat. As it stands now, dietary supplement companies are not required to make any record of safety complaints received, nor report these possible adverse reactions to anyone at all. The FDA is overburdened due to DSHEA (the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act) which makes it so that the FDA has to work product by product if there is a question of safety. With the thousands of products falling into the "dietary supplement" category the FDA simply cannot keep up.
This bill is almost common sense when you look at it. What much of the general consuming public doesn't know is that there are no manufacturing standards set for dietary supplements, which can and has resulted in label vs. content discrepincies that are potentially dangerous. (See Dr. Bill Gurley's study of ephedra products; his results show products containing anywhere from 0% to 150% of ephedra stated on the label as well as the inclusion of substances not stated on the label that most likely result from poor screening practices of contents.) Also, many people are unaware that dietary supplement manufacturers do not have to show any proof of safety prior to making a product available to the public, nor are the manufacturers required to have even a basic knowledge pharmacology, medicine, toxicology, herbology, or anything even remotely relating to the product they sell. Which means that your used car salesman down the street can throw together a bunch of substances that fall into the supplement category and sell it, resulting in the general public being used as guinea pigs.
S 722 is not being pushed by the pharmacuetical industry but by American consumers who rightly expect better safety practices. Supporting this bill is in the best interest of the public.
Posted by: Nicole Michal on December 6, 2003 12:04 AM
There is something I don't quite understand. If bill S 722 is pushed by consumers, there should be a visible problem of consumers either not getting what they paid for (because manufacturers cheat on what they put in products) or consumers getting something that is damaging to their health.
None of these things seem to be true to any great extent. DSHEA and even the normal food adulteration provisions give (and have always given) the FDA the possibility of clamping down on anything that is misbranded, that is, where different ingredients are used from what is declared on labels, or where quantities do not fall within an agreed range from what is declared. Products damaging to health are certainly rare, and FDA has all the powers needed to take these off the market.
If the FDA really wants to do something useful, it should prohibit the sale of ASPARTAME, a known poison that was approved upon industry pressure over the resistance of even the FDA's own scientists. The substance is sold in industrial quantities and is put in several thousand different foods. It causes severe side effects in hundreds of thousands of cases. An absolute majority of all adverse event reports received by the FDA on foods are over aspartame side effects.
Why not start with the REAL problems that destroy people's health?
Anyone harping on supplements is overlooking that we face a serious situation of people being poisoned by the very industry that demands supplements to be "better regulated", really meaning to say "keep that nasty competition off our lines".
Posted by: Josef on December 6, 2003 01:36 PM
Wake up Americans! Say no to S722! If Dick Durbin doesn't listen, vote him out of office and all that don't want to here our voices.All of our freedoms are being trampled by a government out of controll.
I want to be able to buy vitamins and other supplements that I choose to purchase. My grandmother new enough about herbs and plants etc...to gather the plants and help her family. Next there will be a ban on growing plants or food that may prevent an illness and keep us healthy unless the government gives permission and gets a payment. Contact your senators and representatives to say no to S722. Marlene Saputelli
Posted by: Marlene Saputelli on January 31, 2004 06:34 AM
We need to take action, we must find out how to help defeat this bill before it goes to the legislature/congress etc. Will someone post this information and then start sending it e-mail. Start a petition or post information as to how to contact the people who carry the power to accomplish S722. Hoping someone who knows how will get going on this.
In support of fighting for our health & Wellness rights
Ted Lupino
Posted by: Ted Lupino on February 4, 2004 03:58 PM
Thank you for your comment, Ted,
see the following post by Chris Gupta: AAHF's Strategy to Defeat the Durbin Bill (S.722)
This article leads to the site of the American Association for Health Freedom, which provides help in making your views known to Senate and Congress. Look under Federal Affairs ---> Legislative Action.
Kind regards
Josef
Posted by: Josef on February 4, 2004 07:13 PM
Was S. 722 ever voted on? What was the verdict?
Posted by: Grace on February 27, 2004 01:08 AM
Was S722 ever voted on? What is the status of this bill? Also what is hr 3377? I want to protect our supplements and freedom of choice. I agree totally with this article.
Posted by: Judy Nilles on April 2, 2004 05:47 AM
according to this recent letter posted on the site of Sen Dianne Feinstein, it appears that S 722 has not yet been voted on. The letter is dated 28 March 2004.
If you want to contribute, check out some of the earlier comments, particularly one with a link to the American Association for Health Freedom. Follow the link, go to Federal Affairs and under that click "Legislative Action". There is more information on what to do and also on hr 3377.
Posted by: Josef on April 2, 2004 02:54 PM
I am an American living and selling dietetic supplements in Europe (Spain). I urge all Americans to use their rights to fight attempts by the FDA to control natural remedies if they do not want to end up like europe. Products are being banned left and right by health officials claiming to be interested in public safety yet they only pull off the market safe products. Supplements with the best medicinal properties are being pulled as well as most vitamins. Strangley innefective products are rarley even looked at. Health officials world wide are creating laws designed to slowly pull good safe products off the market and do not doubt it, the USA will be set up to harmonize to these rules unless you fight for your rights.
Stop this attack on your freedom. There is not much we can do here because congressman in most of Europe are named by elected parties not by voters making them immune to much of public opinion.
Good luck
Posted by: Alfonso Sainz Wilson on April 3, 2004 01:25 AM
I, too oppose D. Durbin's S.722, I feel as a nurse, and a Veteran, we all have the "right" to make our health choices & most of us are educated enough to know what we choose !
Posted by: Constance McVay on June 8, 2004 09:41 PM
I think that more of our citizens should be informed of our governments failure to support the nutrition industry more effective. It is sad how easy supplements are removed from the market. There is indication that all dietary supplements will soon be regulated and controled. We will then be forced to select a government certified diet specialist to purchase our supplements through. This will enable the government to profit. It will also be much more difficult to market or make these purchases. Most illness suffered is resultant of undernutrition. Pharmaceuticals are not as necessary when proper nutrients are received within our bodies. Doctors know this. Bill or no bill, it is very important that we add supplements to our diets now while we have the opportunity and the cost is not hightened by regulation and control. Supermarket diets are ineffective unless they are supplemented with vitamins and nutrients. Please contact me if you want more information concerning world health and undernutrition.
Posted by: Alvin Johnson on June 10, 2004 04:44 PM
thank you , great reporting of the dangerous truth. I will try to find a way to pass it/you on. JLH
Posted by: jesse hanley md on July 11, 2004 07:45 PM
I couldn't agree more. I as consumers we are not intelligent enough to determine what is safe and effective then who will?
