Most supplements to bebanned in Europe by Aug 2005

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Most supplements to bebanned in Europe by Aug 2005

FOR YOUR INFO THOUGH YOU NEED TO KNOW

 

THIS IS FOR YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF WHAT IS

OCCURRING GLOBALLY

 

DO WHAT YOU CAN

 

" Two years ago, I told you about the passage of the European Union

(EU) Directive on Dietary Supplements. This directive, which is part

of a larger form of legislation called Codex Alimentarius, severely

restricts access to natural health products in Europe. At the time, it

probably seemed a long way off: After all, the law wasn't to go into

effect for several years following the initial passage.

 

Unfortunately, that several years is up, and the EU Directive is on

track to take full effect in August 2005-less than a year from

now--and by 2007, the scene described above will certainly be a

reality for many, many people. Obviously, this is devastating news for

Europe. But thanks to some pre-existing international agreements made

by the U.S., the EU Directive will be just as devastating for the

natural health community here. The main difference is that while the

Directive has been big news in Europe for some time, it's been

virtually ignored by U.S. media, which means that the severe

restrictions it calls for will sneak up on most people and rob us all

of our freedom to choose natural alternatives before we even know

what's happening. That's why I and many of my colleagues in the health

publishing world have done our best to keep you informed of the

Directive's developments-and their consequences for the U.S.-over the

years. And why we've decided to make a big push in our September

newsletters by covering it in-depth.

 

Simply put, we're down to the wire, and if we don't act immediately,

we will be facing the same fate as Europeans. There are steps you can

take to get the word out and, hopefully, to diffuse this ticking time

bomb. But first, let's take a few minutes and recount some of the

specifics included in the Directive so that you know exactly what it

is we're fighting against.

 

5,000 products set to disappear

 

The EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as

" medical drugs " rather than dietary supplements, which means that

they're subject to government regulation in terms of dosage and

availability. It gets worse: There are many nutrients known to be

vital to optimal health that are not on the government's RDA nutrient

list including chromium picolinate, lysine, and selenium. Under the

Directive, these types of supplements are banned from over-the-counter

sale. Put simply, it will be illegal to buy them without a prescription.

 

The supplements that will be available will be restricted to

multi-vitamins containing no more than 100 percent of the established

RDA amounts, which are usually useless, trivial quantities--and

they'll be far more expensive than what we have now.

 

This Directive, for all intents and purposes, makes it illegal for

people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing with essential

nutrients.

 

Plus, the Directive only allows supplements to be made from a list of

15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out at least 40 minerals

important in human metabolism and forbids the use of the most

bio-available forms of vitamin complexes. In essence, it means that

all nutritional supplements will be virtually the same-the specific

combinations might vary, but the types and amounts of nutrients will

be identical-no matter what product they're formulated into.

 

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.

 

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, around 5,000 safe formulas and nutrients that

have been on the market for decades will soon be banned.

 

Saving us from ourselves

 

Of course, these regulations were all passed under the guise of

" protecting the public. " According to the World Health Organization,

popular alternative medicines are often " misused " and may " harm

patients. " They point out that the " incorrect use " of alternative

therapies has caused deaths in wealthy countries where more and more

patients rely on them.

 

You could also argue that the incorrect use of kitchen knives, water

skis, and even plastic bags have all caused deaths! Not to mention the

use of AMA-sanctioned medical procedures and FDA-approved drugs. The

key phrase here is " incorrect use. "

 

The WHO could do everyone a service by first addressing the incorrect

use of accepted mainstream therapies that have caused far more

widespread death and adverse reactions than natural medicine therapies

ever have or ever will.

 

Although they are few and far between, there are mistakes and

fatalities associated with alternate therapies, supplements, and

herbal remedies. It's always important to keep in mind that many of

the compounds and herbs used in natural medicine treatments are very

powerful. They have risks and potential side effects, which is why I

always recommend that you work closely with skilled natural medicine

practitioners whenever you use these therapies. But even with their

cautions, natural remedies are far, far safer than prescription drugs,

and one reason might be the users themselves. An article published in

the journal Psychologist noted that people who seek out natural and

alternative treatments are generally more health conscious than

non-users, and believe that by making sound lifestyle choices they can

influence their own health. But not if the EU has anything to say

about it.

 

Where's the " fight for freedom " when you need it?

 

You'd think that such blatant abuse of power to restrict people's

personal liberty would have our own self-proclaimed freedom-loving

government up in arms (literally). But there's an even darker side to

all this, and it has little--if anything-- to do with health or

looking out for people's best interests.

 

Even if the American government didn't want to go along with the

regulations imposed by the EU Directive, we really wouldn't have a

choice. In fact, the United States never has acknowledged or stated

any form of acceptance for the EU Directive. But hard as it is to

believe, this " Directive " can actually over-ride United States law if

it isn't stopped in Europe.

 

As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. will be

bound by any finalized standards put forth in the Directive.

 

If we choose to ignore the regulations our WTO-affiliation binds us

to, we would face severe trade sanctions with other WTO countries,

which could potentially cripple part of our economy. And there's no

way that our already anti-natural-medicine government is going to let

that happen over access to vitamins and minerals. So the best way to

ensure it doesn't get to that point is to do everything we can to stop

it now--before it happens.

 

Protect your rights with these 3 steps

 

There are three actions to take. The most urgent is to support a case

brought by the British Alliance for Natural Health to overturn the

European Food Supplements Directive. In January 2004, the Alliance's

attorneys (a firm which has successfully had another European

Directive overturned) won the first round in the High Court of Justice

in London; the appeal was referred to the European Court of Justice.

Please visit the Alliance's website, www.alliance-natural-health.org,

read about their case, and most importantly, make a donation to

support their efforts to protect everyone's supplements, including

yours. Even a few dollars will help; a few dollars from each of us

will add up. If we can help them overturn this food supplement

dictatorship in Europe, it won't ever come here.

 

The second action I urge you to take is to write, call, and e-mail

your state's Senators and Congressmen. Tell your Senators to oppose

S.722, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, and tell your Congressmen to

oppose H.R. 3377, the Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act.

These two bills put the wheels in motion for restrictions similar to

those outlined in the EU Directive to become U.S. law, which would be

even more threatening to us than just an inter- national code of

standards. These extremely dangerous and misnamed proposals would

allow the FDA to " roll back " most of the small amount of health care

freedom you and I re-gained with the 1994 " DSHEA " law we all fought so

hard for. Even if we're successful in helping the Alliance for Natural

Health defeat the European Food Supplements Directive, if these bills

are passed into law, our supplement choices will shrink dramatically

anyway.

 

The final step to take is to tell your U.S. Senators and Congressmen

to support U.S. Representative Ron Paul's H.R. 1146, the American

Sovereignty Restoration Act. This accurately named (for once)

legislation would make the Constitution of the United States the

supreme law of the land again, and restore law-making and judging

power to our elected representatives and American courts,

respectively. Please don't leave this off your list; in the long run,

it's the most important action of the three.

 

Please make a donation-of any size-to the Alliance for Natural Health

as soon as you can. Then, please write, call, fax, and e-mail your

U.S. Senators and Representative as often as you can, telling them to

oppose S. 722 and H.R. 3377, and to support American freedom by voting

for H.R. 1146.

 

For further information on the European Union Directive on Dietary

Supplements and on the Codex Alimentarius legislation, contact the

American Holistic Health Association (www.ahha.org), the Alliance for

Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org), or the International

Advocates for Health Freedom (www.iahf.com).