Fwd: VERY IMPORTANT--April 30th Bill to OUTLAW ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE in most cases

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Fwd: VERY IMPORTANT--April 30th Bill to OUTLAW ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE

in most cases

 

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On April 30—this Monday—Senate Bill 1082

will put an end to the practice

of just about every form of alternative health care

that is not supervised by a doctor.

 

· Senate bill S.1082, the FDA Revitalization Act of 2007, would

implement the FDA’s plans to reclassify vitamins, supplements, herbs and even

vegetable juices as FDA-regulated drugs.

· Massage oils and massage rocks will be classified as " medical

devices " and require FDA approval.

· So will " Manipulative and Body-Based Practices " including

" chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, massage therapy, Tui Na,

Reflexology, rolfing, Brown technique, Trager bodywork, Alexander technique,

Feldenkrais method, and a host of others. "

· See the FDA’s guidance document, published on the FDA's web site

at http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/altmed.htm

 

S.1082 is scheduled to go to the Senate floor for a vote on Monday, April 30,

and is expected to be rushed to the Floor of the House shortly thereafter.

 

Aromatherapy, auricular therapy, biofeedback, color therapy, homeopathy,

hypnotism, naturopathy, neurotherapy, nutritional consulting, reflexology, sound

therapy and wellness consulting are among the alternative health modalities

being redefined as " Alternative Medicine.†This subtle change of vocabulary

from " alternative health care " to " alternative medicine " makes all of these

industries subject to control by the FDA as medicine. Only medical doctors would

be allowed to provide, prescribe and supervise the delivery of these services.

Anybody else who provided any of these services would be practicing medicine

without a license and subject to incarceration and fines.

 

THIS IS THE ONLY PERIOD OF TIME WHEN THE PUBLIC CAN MAKE AN IMPACT because it

has already gone so far! They really tried to sneak this quietly past the

public, and nearly succeeded. Once it passes in the Senate, it will go to the

House, so be sure to contact both your senators and your representative. [Note:

The CSTA/NA is not taking a stand on this legislation, but providing you, as

members of the association who will be affected by this bill, information on

it.]

 

 

If you really want to make a difference, writing a physical letter in your own

words is by far more effective than sending emails, but you could do both. You

could also phone them.

Capital Switchboard 202-225-3121 or

800-828-0498, 800-459-1887, 800-614-2803 to ask for your senators’ and

representative’s offices in D.C.

If you wish to oppose this dangerous bill with just one Mouse Click, allowing

you to INSTANTLY send a form letter to your Senators and Congressmen, go to

either of these sites

http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

www.lef.org/featured-articles/consumer_alert_042707.htm

If you want to save your health, your jobs, your businesses and your ethical

principles, you MUST ACT NOW. The time on this issue has run out. We cannot

emphasize enough that if you oppose this legislation, you must write and call

your Congressmen and Senators now, before S.1082 gets to the Senate for a vote,

and before it can be taken even further.

This bill was launched last week by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) with major

support from Michael Enzi (R-WY). On April 18, 2007, S.1082 was approved by the

HELP Committee (which Kennedy and Enzi control) and now moves to the floor of

the Senate.

 

Senator Grassley (R-IA) is the one Senator who has expressed grave reservations

about this bill.

 

This move by the FDA is designed to once-and-for-all destroy the 1994 Dietary

Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) that the American population was

able to put into law to make supplements legal.

There is MUCH MORE skullduggery connected to bill S.1082 than appears on the

surface. It is part and parcel of the Trilateral Cooperation Charter with

Canada/Mexico, that was illegally created between our 3 countries without

Congressional knowledge or sanction, in an FDA attempt to bring in international

standards set by CODEX* (which wants health matters under the auspices of Big

Pharma and itself) by first harmonizing our food-based dietary supplement

regulations with Canada's and Mexico's far harsher regulatory regimes. (For more

info, see http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/index.php?page_id=157 )

 

This insidious proposal is designed to redefine every complementary and

alternative health care modality and product as " medicine. " This has direct

implications on the services and products provided by every alternative health

care professional. There is no facet of complementary and alternative health

care that is not affected.

 

Essential oils, herbs, herbal remedies, homeopathic remedies, minerals,

nutritional supplements, plant enzymes and vitamins are redefined in this

proposal as " medicine. " Very simply, medicine is under the jurisdiction of the

FDA and, by law, only licensed medical doctors may prescribe " medicines. "

Anybody else who advises, advocates, counsels, distributes, markets, recommends

or suggests anybody use " medicine " is practicing medicine without a license.

This is a felony in the USA punishable by fines and incarceration.

 

Aromatherapy, auricular therapy, biofeedback, color therapy, homeopathy,

hypnotism, naturopathy, neurotherapy, nutritional consulting, reflexology, sound

therapy and wellness consulting are among the alternative health modalities

being redefined as " Alternative Medicine.†This subtle change of vocabulary

from " alternative health care " to " alternative medicine " makes all of these

industries subject to control by the FDA as medicine. Only medical doctors would

be allowed to provide, prescribe and supervise the delivery of these services.

Anybody else who provided any of these services would be practicing medicine

without a license and subject to incarceration and fines.

[The above text is compiled from emails sent out by the International

Myomassethics Foundation and the Natural Therapies Certification Board]

 

 

BELOW ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE FDA GUIDANCE FOR INDUSTRY, published at

http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/altmed.htm

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and their Regulation by the

Food and Drug Administration

NCCAM classifies CAM therapies into four categories or " domains. " These are:

 

Biologically-based practices;

Energy therapies;

Manipulative and body-based methods; and

Mind-body medicine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Is " Energy Medicine? "

 

NCCAM considers energy medicine to involve energy fields of two types:

§

Veritable energy fields, which can be measured and use either mechanical

vibrations (such as sound) or electromagnetic forces, including visible light,

magnetism, monochromatic radiation (such as laser light), and other light rays;

and

 

Putative energy fields (or biofields) that have defied measurement to

date by reproducible methods. According to NCCAM, therapies involving putative

energy fields " are based on the concept that human beings are infused with a

subtle form of energy " and therapists " claim that they work with this subtle

energy, see it with their own eyes, and use it to effect changes in the physical

body and influence health. " 9

 

 

In a sense, " conventional " medicine already uses various forms of " energy "

medicine. For example, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device uses

electromagnetic waves to create images of internal body organs and tissues. As

another example, an ultrasound machine uses sound waves to create images of body

organs, tissues, and fetuses. Given their intended uses, we regulate these

products as medical devices under the Act.

CAM products that use veritable energy fields in the diagnosis of disease or

other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease

in man or animals or to affect the structure or any function of the body of man

or animals may be medical devices under the Act.10 Additionally, if the product

is electronic and emits radiation, it may be subject to additional requirements

to ensure that there is no unnecessary exposure of people to radiation.

CAM products that use putative energy fields in the diagnosis of disease or

other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of

disease in man or animals may be medical devices under the Act. For example, we

regulate acupuncture needles as " class II " medical devices.11

 

What Are " Manipulative and Body-Based Practices? "

 

According to NCCAM:

Under the umbrella of manipulative and body-based practices is a heterogeneous

group of CAM interventions and therapies. These include chiropractic and

osteopathic manipulation, massage therapy, Tui Na, reflexology, rolfing, Brown

technique, Trager bodywork, Alexander technique, Feldenkrais method, and a host

of others..

Manipulative and body-based practices focus primarily on the structures and

systems of the body, including the bones and joints, the soft tissues, and the

circulatory and lymphatic systems..12

To the extent that manipulative and body-based practices involve practitioners

physically manipulating a patient's body, without using tools or machines, we do

not believe that such practices are subject to regulation under the Act or the

PHS Act. If, however, the manipulative and body-based practices involve the use

of equipment (such as massage devices) or the application of a product (such as

a lotion, cream, or oil) to the skin or other parts of the body, those products

may be subject to regulation under the Act, depending on the nature of the

product and its intended use..

 

What Is " Mind-Body Medicine? "

 

NCCAM describes mind-body medicine as focusing on " the interactions among the

brain, mind, body, and behavior, and the powerful ways in which emotional,

mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly affect health. " 13

It states that mind-body medicine " typically focuses on intervention strategies

that are thought to promote health, such as relaxation, hypnosis, visual

imagery, meditation, yoga, biofeedback, tai chi, qi gong, cognitive-behavioral

therapies, group support, autogenic training, and spirituality. " 14

In general, CAM practices in this domain would not be subject to our

jurisdiction under the Act or the PHS Act. As with the manipulative and

body-based practices domain, however, any equipment or other products used as

part of the practice of mind-body medicine may be subject to FDA regulation,

depending on the nature of the product and its intended use. For example,

biofeedback machines intended to help a patient learn to affect body functions,

such as muscle activity, are regulated as class II devices.15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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