Supplement Safety Statistics

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Comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Hi Health Activists & Consumers,

I have just examined the American Association of Poison Control

Centers Annual Report for 2001. The last year available on their

website.

It reports the total number of cases reported for different

substances. The figures show that the number of deaths from ALL

vitamins including the fat soluble Vtamin A and D that can build up

to a toxic level was 0, ZERO.They group vitamins separately.

The number of deaths from ALL minerals was 7, Seven and all other

dietary supplements including Amino Acids,botanicals-

Herbs,Homeopathic Remedies,Hormonal Products(Androgen

Precursors,melatonin,etc) was 12, Twelve.

By the way the individual breakdown was Amino Acids 0,

ZERO;Botanicals-herbs 7,Seven consisting of Kava Kava 1,Ma Huang-

Ephedra-single ingredient 3 and Ma Huang in botanical combinations

3 . Homeopathics had 2; Other supplements not specified. therefore

there was a grand total of 19 deaths from all dietary supplements

together. This is what concerns the FDA that is charged with

regulating prescription that result in 106,000 deaths a year from

drugs taken " as directed " not overdoses or the wrong drug by mistake

according to the Journal of the American Medical association April

15,1998. In other words there are 5,579 times as many DEATHS from

prescription drugs as from the supplements FDA is spending its time

and considerable resources to regulate with a miniscule benefit in

safety produced.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, " Adverse Drug

Events in Ambulatory Care, April 17,2003 surveyed outpatients in

Boston from 2 hospital clinics and 2 community based centers. Of 661

patients they found 13% had serious adverse reactions. If this

percentage is typical of all patients taking prescription drugs, the

number of serious adverse reactions is quite high. There are about

3.34 billion prescriptions filled per year. If 1.34 billion are

written for the same person then 260 million people have serious

adverse reactions and FDA wants to investigate tne 19 who died and

353 who had major reactions from all supplements including vitamins

and minerals. In an environment in which so many other health and

envronmental regulations are subjected to strict cost benefit

analysis to justify them, it is interesting for someone to explain

why these proposed FDA regulations are not subject to similar

scrutiny. Could it be the influence of the pharmaceutical industry

that wants to eliminate the competition from dietary supplements.

 

Still no word from Clinton & Schumer in New York, Please keep

calling asking them to meet with Consumers Health Freedom Coalition

& Arnold Gore on the Supplement Safety Bill.

Sen. Clinton - NYC# 212-688-6262

Sen. Schumer NYC# 212-486-4430

for those in other parts of NY State see my other post for local

offices of the Senators near you.