Fw: USA Today Article Attacking DSHEA and My Response----- SERIOUS WAKE UP CALL

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Friday, October 29, 2004 12:26 AM

USA Today Article Attacking DSHEA and My Response----- SERIOUS WAKE

UP CALL

 

 

> IAHF Webmaster: Breaking News, Codex, EU FSD, HARM-onization, What to Do,

All Countries

>

> We're seeing a massive pincer movement against our access to dietary

supplements both domestically and internationally and if you don't BELIEVE

IT, check out the OUTRAGEOUS USA Today article below and my letter to the

editor

>

> This is a WAKE UP CALL--------------

>

> MASSIVELY forward my ALERT before's Monday's CODEX MEETING in BONN- or its

OUR FUNERAL-------- see THIS if you think I'm " crying wolf " :

>

>

> Re: " Lax Rules Let Supplements Lurk as Health Threats " 10/26/04

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041027/opcom27.art.htm

>

> Lax rules let supplements lurk as health threats

> By Suzanne Leigh

>

> " Drug therapies are replacing a lot of medicines as we used to know it, "

said George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential debates with

then-presidential hopeful Al Gore. Although it was one of what would become

many " Bushisms " to follow, the future president had a point: What exactly is

a drug?

>

> If a product is touted as safe and natural and " used for thousands of

years, " chances are it isn't a drug, despite the fact that it might

significantly affect the structure or functions of the body and might cause

serious side effects.

>

> Take Citrus aurantium, pitched as an " ephedra-free " botanical " ancient

Chinese medicine " and targeted at athletes and dieters. According to a

research review published last month in the journal Experimental Biology and

Medicine, Citrus aurantium potentially can cause many of the same

cardiovascular effects as ephedra, which was banned after it was linked to

cases of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and 155 deaths.

>

> But because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified Citrus

aurantium as a " dietary supplement " rather than as a drug (as it also did

ephedra), manufacturers did not have to test it for safety and effectiveness

before it was marketed. And no warning label was required.

>

> In contrast, products as benign as lip balm, lipstick and other makeup

containing sunscreen; dandruff shampoo; and antiperspirant are classified as

drugs. That's right: Lip balm needs to be tested for safety and, depending

on its ingredients, may require a warning.

>

> This anomaly exists because lip balm meets the FDA's drug definition while

supplement makers dodge this classification by carefully wording health

claims.

>

> According to a 2002 Harris Poll, 59% of respondents said they thought

supplements must be approved before they can be sold, 68% thought the

government required warning labels, and 55% thought safety claims could not

be made without solid scientific evidence. Wrong, wrong and wrong.

>

> In the wake of the ephedra ban, the FDA says it is interested in gathering

safety data on a number of questionable supplements, including Citrus

aurantium. But it took seven years for the agency to ban ephedra after it

first considered limits on its use. So there is little cause to suggest that

a ban of Citrus aurantium is imminent.

>

> The supplement industry has enjoyed a free ride since 1994, when Congress

passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. It shifted from

manufacturers to the FDA the responsibility to prove that products were not

safe.

>

> Mounting evidence showing the numerous side effects of popular supplements

and their potentially dangerous drug interactions makes it clear that now is

the time for manufacturers to let consumers take the driver's seat. Here's

what could be done to help consumers make more informed choices:

>

> .Reclassify supplements routinely recommended by physicians. These include

folic acid for pregnant women, calcium for those at risk for osteoporosis,

iron for those with anemia, and multivitamins for everyone. None should fall

under the dietary-supplement umbrella.

>

> .Mandate warnings on all products. Manufacturers are allowed to make

health claims that are unauthorized by the FDA if those claims are followed

by a disclaimer that says the product has not been evaluated by the FDA and

is " not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. " Better to

have a mandatory statement on all supplements that says the product has not

been evaluated by the FDA and may not be safe or effective.

>

> .Facilitate the reporting of side effects. An inspector general's report

estimated that fewer than 1% of all adverse reactions to supplements were

reported to the FDA. Although the agency operates a hot line and Web site

for reports of suspected reactions, adding the FDA's toll-free number to

labels would boost the volume of reports.

>

> Manufacturers favor voluntary cautionary labeling rather than tighter FDA

regulation. But since, for clear health reasons, many cosmetics must carry

mandatory warnings, so should supplements.

>

> With more and more supplements entering the market in the past decade,

products will continue to fall through the cracks. Without action, the

deaths linked to ephedra might be just the beginning.

>

>

> Suzanne Leigh is a medical writer who lives in San Francisco.

>

> IAHF RESPONSE- (SEE the LINK BELOW to MAKE YOUR OWN.....

>

> To the Editor:

>

> Who are you trying to kid? In 1994 the US Congress received more mail than

they've ever received on ANY issue in the HISTORY of Congress during the

Campaign to pass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994-

(even more mail than they received over the Vietnam War). This legislation

was passed in the direct face of an FDA rulemaking effort known as the

" Dykstra Report " in the aftermath of passage of the Nutrition Labeling and

Education Act because the FDA was attempting to do the equivalent of

swatting flies with a baseball bat and vitamin consumers voted with their

feet. Honest statistics prove that dietary supplements are far safer than

foods in common form. Whats next? Bans and massive warning labels on PEANUTS

just because some tiny percentage of people have extreme allergic reactions

and can go into anaphalactic shock from eating them? Get REAL! The FDA has

limited resources, and they must use them in a way that TRULY protects

consumers- by doing FAR more sa

> fety testing on pharmaceutical DRUGS, which in marked CONTRAST to dietary

supplements really ARE dangerous. To put things in perspective, read this

article DEATH BY MEDICINE

http://www.garynull.com/Article.aspx?Article=/documents/iatrogenic/deathbymedici\

ne/deathbymedicine1.htm

and see this table which illustrates the comparative risk of ingesting a

dietary supplement compared with other risk factors in our environment such

as injury from pharmaceutical drugs, injury from food in common form, being

hit by lightening,being stung by a bee, or walking across the street-

http://www.laleva.cc/petizione/english/ronlaw_eng.html

> This article of yours is obviously one small part of a well orchestrated

campaign that is about to be unleashed on the American people by

pharmaceutical interests who have a " business with disease " and are intent

on attempting to repeal DSHEA. Any such bills are DOA- Dead on Arrival.

>

> John C. Hammell, President

> International Advocates for Health Freedom

> 556 Boundary Bay Rd.

> Point Roberts, WA 98281 USA

> http://www.iahf.com

> 800-333-2553 N.America

> 360-945-0352 World

>

> http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/feedback/feedback-online.aspx?type=18 is

the link to send your OWN letter to the Editor of USA Today, and we must

BURY THEM with email....

> For Health Freedom,

> John C. Hammell, President

> International Advocates for Health Freedom

> 556 Boundary Bay Road

> Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702 USA

> http://www.iahf.com

> jham

> 800-333-2553 N.America

> 360-945-0352 World

>

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