Fwd: Reason Why we have to fight FDA regulation of Dietary Supplements

[Guest guest]

interesting post on another group.

 

 

xxxx

Fri, 9 May 2003 06:58:57 EDT

Reason Why we have to fight FDA regulation of Dietary Supplements

 

 

Below is a reply I wrote to a member of the xxxxxx " list.

He felt he did not want to be used to help the vitamin supplement industry

insure their profitability by fighting the FDA's restrictions on supplement

approval and marketing as proposed by Senator Durbin (D-IL) in the " Dietary

Supplement Safety Act " requiring reorting of adverse reactons and shifting the

burden of proof of safety to the manufacturer.

 

Dear Bob and list,

I see the unfairness of your objection to being used to defend the rights of the

supplement industry. But in this overall battle for health freedom to have

access to and use the unconventional health products we want, it becomes

necessary to take some kijnd of political action to force the government

regulators to allow the product to be marketed and sold. It is an unfair burden

to have to place upon cancer patients, but unfortunately it is the only way to

gain access to the treatment cancer patients(and others) want. This bill

involves dietary supplements, some of which have a high mark-up. Others such as

vitamin C are relatively cheap due to competition from many suppliers. The

patent protected products are something else. Still compared to the actual costs

of chemotherapy and radiation they are cheap.

The supplement manufacturers are not quite in the same league as GE and Merck

etc.The stance you have taken falls into the tender waiting arms of the FDA

which has done everything in its considerable power to DENY desperate cancer

patients, such as the young Thomas Navarro, who fought to gain access to

Dr.Burzynski's antineoplaston therapy that had shown in FDA approved clinical

trials to be easily the most effective treatment for his brain

cancer(medullablastoma). There are billions of dollars at stake in this battle

and supplement manufacturers total REVENUE is insignificant compared to the

protected market for " prescription drugs " which is the bottom line for the FDA

and the drug companies that offer a lucrative " revolving door " to FDA

administrators when they leave the agency to redeem the benefits they " worked

for at the public expense " . At least some of the supplement manufacturers(those

not bought out by drug companies) will help to finance the fight and use their

distribution channel of stores to get the word out. It will take an inconvenient

fight, but the interests of consumers in THIS battle for access is with the

supplement manufacturers.

As to prices, if consumers try to search for suppliers looking for the SOURCES

of these constituent nutrents some money can be saved, but it involves a lot of

work.

The underlying principle is that most of these vitamins, minerals and herbs are

merely high technology extracts of usually highly processed food sources that

have often lost their bioavailability and nutritive value and if the basic if

the basic whole food source is sought out it will be BOTH cheaper AND more

effective. The downside is that it not as CONVENIENT. The downfall of our food

supply to begin with.

Hopefully we will eventually prevail, but it will be a difficult battle

and there is too much money at stake for the drug companies to let us win

easily.

XXXXXX

 

 

 

 

 

 

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