Alliance for Natural Health - Update

January 16, 2005

Please read as it is quite important

kaye

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Dear Kaye,

The USA is widely regarded as the research and development centre for the natural products industry worldwide. Dietary supplement sales in the US currently comprise around 8.5% the volume of pharmaceutical sales in the US, in contrast with only around 1.5% of total pharmaceutical sales in Europe.

The Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 has provided the environment to catapult the natural products industry in the US to its present state. But DSHEA, which was only won after a massive campaign targeting Congress, is now seriously under attack.

Two key reports from the Natural Acadamies of Science Institute of Medicine (IOM) provide the writing on the wall.

One is the CAM report, released 12 January 2005, the other is the proposed dietary supplement evaluation framework, released 1 April 2004.

See ANH news item for our take on the CAM report: http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news & ID=131

The proposed dietary supplement evaluation scheme switches the burden of proof and puts it squarely on industry - as for pharmaceutical products. The framework places considerable onus on industry to supply data on safety which will be prohibitively expensive for all but the largest manufacturers. It considers safety issues in isolation i.e. there is no concomitant consideration of safety and beneficial effects, the FDA arguing, like the European Commission, that this comparison is valid only for drugs. The IOM framework, as per the EU equivalent, comes into effect gradually, the ‘compliance period’ supposedly giving industry sufficient time to adjust - or expire?

These reports should be the ultimate wake up call for all Americans and other citizens of the world who value their freedom to choose natural products.

Perhaps it is now easier to see how global harmonisation works. The IOM proposals are very similar in effect to the EU Directives which provide such a major threat to the leading-edge of the natural health sector in Europe. It is just that the EU Directives are further down the track and the first of several directives, the Food Supplements Directive, is set to ban some 75% of vitamin and mineral forms as of 1 August 2005 - unless the ANH legal challenge in the European Court of Justice (Luxembourg) succeeds on 25 January.

Please help us by donating now - how much is your health worth?

Thank you.

Alliance for Natural Healthinfowww.alliance-natural-health.org