(U.K.) Consumers attack Boots over lower doses in its supplements

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Consumers attack Boots over lower doses in its supplements

By Nicole Martin

(Filed: 05/02/2005)

 

Britain's largest chemist was accused yesterday of " watering down " its

vitamin and mineral supplements without clearly warning its customers.

 

The evidence is already on its shelves. Boots admitted last night that

it had lowered the dose of some of its most popular own brands and

removed or substituted some nutrients.

 

The changes come ahead of a European directive that will ban the sale

of more than 300 vitamins and minerals in Britain from August.

 

Health campaigners, including the actress Jenny Seagrove, attacked the

move as irresponsible. They are disappointed that the chemist supports

the directive, which, they claim, poses a threat to the 21 million

Britons who use supplements.

 

" I am very disappointed, " said Seagrove. " People buy vitamin and

mineral supplements in good faith without always examining the

labelling to check for changes. Boots had a duty to let them know they

were re-formulating the products.

 

" The whole thing is rather short-termist anyway. Once people realise

that the products aren't as efficient, they will stop buying them. "

 

Boots said it had altered the packaging of its supplements to alert

customers to the changes.

 

The directive, designed to harmonise the sale of vitamin and mineral

supplements across the European Union, contains a list of approved

nutrients that can be sold in Europe and excludes more than 300 items

currently available in Britain.

 

Examples of nutrients not on the list include boron, sulphur and

vanadium, commonly used in multi-vitamin supplements.

 

Manufacturers who submit a dossier by July proving the safety and

efficacy of the banned ingredients will be allowed to continue selling

their supplements.

 

Paul Suggett, the head of vitamin development at Boots, said the

chemist had acted " in a timely fashion " to ensure that its products

complied with the directive. " When we re-formulated products we also

changed the packaging and gave them a new look so customers could see

they had been changed, " he said.

 

" We took the view that, since not enough evidence was available to

support the necessity of either boron or vanadium supplementation, we

should no longer continue to include them in our multi-vitamin product. "

 

Boots has also changed the doses of certain vitamins to comply with

the part of the directive that sets upper limits and is expected to

come in next year.

 

For example, the chemist has changed levels of beta-carotene from 15mg

to 7mg, and altered the labelling on Vitamin C Effervescent 1000mg

from " take 1-2 daily " to " take 1 daily " .

 

Sue Croft, of Consumers for Health Choice, a European consumer lobby

group, said the directive would seriously undermine the right of

people to choose the way they protected their health. " It will force

many to resort to unregulated and sometimes suspect sources on the

internet to buy the supplements of their choice, " she said.

 

Dr Robert Verkerk, executive director of the Alliance for Natural

Health, which is campaigning against the legislation, said: " The

nutrients under threat by the ban are not only safe but beneficial in

promoting optimum health in many millions of people. This ban should

be overturned. "