repost from a newsletter: codex to strike again

[Guest guest]

Dear Reader,

 

" Harmonize. "

 

That's the word I keep coming across in official documents

describing the efforts of the European Union to curb the

distribution and dosage of dietary supplements.

 

They want to " harmonize " regulations. And who doesn't want

harmony? Harmony is wonderful - unless it's used as double-

speak to describe unnecessarily harsh restrictions on the

availability of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements.

 

" Out of tune " would be a far better way to describe this

troubling situation that health-conscious Europeans find

themselves in. But brace yourself. The future of the EU

Directive reaches far beyond Europe.

 

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" Protection " no one needs

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In yesterday's e-Alert I gave you some background on

the " European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements. " Among

the 15 European Union (EU) nations, this Directive

reclassifies vitamin supplements as " medical drugs "

(available only by prescription), mandates low dosage levels,

and outlaws many supplement ingredients that are currently

widely available. Created to " protect " consumers, the

Directive will do exactly the opposite.

 

The United Kingdom, Holland and Sweden will be particularly

hard hit by the Directive because these three countries

currently have few restrictions on supplements. When the

Directive takes effect, however, thousands of health stores

will go out of business as vitamins and herbal supplements

will be available only in pharmacies and with a doctor's

prescription.

 

So, for instance, a middle-aged woman in Liverpool, England,

who has a dangerously elevated homocysteine level will no

longer have the option of reducing her risk of heart disease

with a vitamin B dosage of her own choosing. If she's

currently taking 5 mg of folic acid daily, under the new

Directive she will be legally restricted to a prescription of

1 mg per day. If she's taking a 100 mg dose of B6, she'll be

restricted to 10 mg. And her pantothenic acid (B5) intake of

500 mg will drop to 200 mg. These maximum dosage levels have

been chosen to " protect " her (so we're told), when in fact

the protection she needs the most will be unavailable.

 

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A gathering storm

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In addition to these essential B vitamins, low maximum dosage

levels have also been set for vitamin C, niacin, and vitamin

E. But at least they made it on the list of allowed

nutrients. Approximately 350 supplement ingredients are

missing from the list. If they are not added to the list by

June 2005, they will be deemed illegal throughout the

European Union. Supplement manufacturers may

submit " technical dossiers " to support applications for the

inclusion of individual elements or formulations on the so-

called " positive list. " But the EU has made this process so

expensive and time consuming that many manufacturers simply

can't afford the costs involved. As a result, many safe

formulas and nutrients that have been on the market for

decades will soon be banned.

 

So the outlook for the future of dietary supplements in

Europe is decidedly gloomy. But if you're a U.S. citizen and

you're thinking that it can't happen here - think again.

 

The U.S. is one of the 165 member countries of the Codex

Alimentarius Commission - an international food standards

program created by the Food and Agriculture Organization

(FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United

Nations. The purpose of this commission is to protect the

health of consumers and to ensure fair trade practices - two

of the stated goals of the EU Directive. In fact, as I said

above, one of the sources I came across described Codex as a

vehicle for " harmonizing " international food trade. Just the

sort of " harmony " that we don't need.

 

Consider these factors in the association of the U.S. and the

Codex Alimentarius Commission:

 

* The WHO regards all dietary and herbal supplements to

be " drugs. "

* The Codex Alimentarius Commission has made it very clear

that it wants to limit over-the-counter sales of some

dietary supplements while reclassifying others as

pharmaceuticals, available only through a pharmacist.

* The U.S. has one vote on the Codex Commission. The European

Union represents 27 votes on the commission: the 15 votes

of its member countries and 12 votes of the 12 EU candidate

countries.

* Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Codex decisions

override national and local decisions.

* Member countries (including the U.S.) that refuse

to " harmonize " with WTO directives may be subject to

restrictive trade sanctions, designed to persuade

agreements by using severe economic pressure.

* The European Union is the United States' largest trade and

investment partner, with a yearly two-way trade in goods

and services that is estimated to be close to $600 billion.

 

" Harmony " never sounded so awful.

 

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Use your voice

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The remarkably harsh restrictions of the EU Directive on

Dietary Supplements have met with an enormous worldwide

protest from people who correctly see this process as an

infringement on their right to make their own health choices.

More than 600 million people added their names to an online

petition against the Directive when it was passed last March.

 

You can find more information about the Directive and read

the petition against it at vitamins-for-all.org. This web

site was created by Dr. Matthias Rath, a leading researcher

in the field of natural treatments for cancer, and one of the

most prominent campaigners against the EU Directive.

 

But we shouldn't stop there. This directive will impact our

borders before we know it. Now is the time to write to your

representatives, to your senators, to the president, and

demand continued free access to natural therapies. A web site

called Congress.org provides a complete listing of all the

government e-mail addresses you'll need to let U.S. leaders

know just how vitally important this issue is.

 

 

 

Gettingwell- / Vitamins, Herbs, Aminos, etc.

 

To , e-mail to: Gettingwell-

Or, go to our group site: Gettingwell

 

 

 

 

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