SQUEEZE PLAY ON SUPPLEMENTS PART 2

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SQUEEZE PLAY ON SUPPLEMENTS PART 2

Sun, 13 Feb 2005 02:34:01 -0000

Part I was sent out on 18/1/05. Jon's comments in Part II are very

pertinent.

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.nomorefakenews.com

 

 

SQUEEZE PLAY ON SUPPLEMENTS, PART 2

Jon Rappoport

 

 

JANUARY 18, 2004. Thirteen years ago, when I was becoming quite

active in the health freedom movement, I punched up several points

that I thought were absolutely necessary. Among them:

 

ATTACK THE FDA. Expose that fraud of an agency, every day in every

way, for its multiple crimes, including certifying many drugs as safe

when in fact those drugs were (and are) causing great damage and

death. Reveal that the FDA was (and is) continuing its war against

all forms of alternative health, against free choice by the people of

America.

 

BEWARE OF CERTAIN PEOPLE FROM THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY POSING AS FRIENDS

OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE.

 

The recent coordinated effort (covered in part one) to subject alt.

med. and nutritional supplements to the same standards the FDA

applies to mainstream medical practice and medical drugs has such a

friend. It is called the National Center for Complementary and

Alternative Medicine, and it makes its home at the US National

Institutes of Health.

 

Back when I was working flat out in the health freedom movement, this

agency was just forming up, and lots of people thought it was a good

sign. Finally, the federal government was going to listen to

alternative voices.

 

I said no. I smelled a rotten fish. I had no faith in this new agency.

 

Other people told me to calm down. They said, " For the first time,

we'll get actual studies that confirm the results of alternative

methods. "

 

Well, we have gotten a few or some studies. We have gotten a great

deal of PR, too.

 

On the surface, it looks pretty good.

 

But the underlying theme is: natural medicine must subject itself to

same kind of scrutiny that is applied to conventional medicine.

 

Which means alt. med. and supplements will go down. And I mean down.

 

Because what this new agency and the FDA have in mind is what the

government and the drug companies have always had in mind. Making all

forms of alt. med., including supplements, into a sub-specialty of

conventional practice, regulated to the teeth by the government.

 

Many, many supplements will be regulated as drugs. Doctors will write

prescriptions. Prices will rise considerably. All but a few of the

largest supplement companies will go out of business, because they

don't have the money to run million-dollar studies on every

supplement they make, to prove that these substances are safe and

effective.

 

This is what the National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine is all about. Has always been all about. " Let's integrate

conventional and alt. medicine. "

 

Some of the best minds in the alt. field are, as we speak, figuring

out how to position themselves for the new era.

 

Don't worry about the most famous alternative MDs. They'll survive.

They'll do fine. They have their medical degrees, and if the

government decides that 70 percent of all supplements now on the

shelves of health-food stores have to go, these MDs will adapt. They

won't miss a stroke. They'll sail into the future without raising

their voices against the FDA.

 

There is one reason, and one reason only, why conventional medical

forces have taken an interest in alt. medicine. Their patients have

been demanding it. People all over the US and the world have been

deserting the ranks of drug users.

 

This is good---except, behind all this, there is the concerted effort

to co-opt alternatives and place them " in context. " Control them.

Weaken them. Outlaw many of them.

 

This is where the rubber meets the road: science versus freedom of

choice. The super-educated types keep pushing what they think is

science. That is their bent. It will always be their bent.

 

The rest of us have freedom. Freedom to choose, to experiment, to

explore, to investigate, to, yes, treat ourselves IN ANY DAMN WAY WE

WANT TO. And if that means learning and making mistakes, we have

that, too, and we're willing to deal with it.

 

We don't care about having a nanny looking over our shoulders with a

gun. We don't want that. We won't abide.

 

I urge you to, among other measures, organize, adopt group names and

challenge the supplement manufacturers who are sleeping in a state of

denial and making back-door deals. Challenge them to hire powerful PR

agencies who will splash all over the press the triumphs of

supplements and alt. medical cures. Who will splash all over the

press the crimes of the FDA and the drug companies. Day after day.

Who will make the FDA a pariah. An outcast. An agency back-pedaling

and defending itself against multiple streams of attacks.

 

Lives are on the line.

 

From time to time, I get emails from disgruntled readers who demand

solutions to the problems we face. As if I'm somehow responsible for

the truth they see. Well, here is a solution. Do what's necessary to

bring some high-powered PR firms into play, on the right side for

once. Monitor their activities carefully. They tend to be slimy

types. But they do have press connections.

 

Get the word out. THE FDA IS A CRIMINAL AGENCY. A RICO OPERATION IN

FULL BLOOM.

 

Get the word out. Supplements are overwhelmingly safe. As for

effective, that is the consumer's choice. We don't need people with

badges to come in and tell us what works and what doesn't. They don't

care about knowing what works. They only care about controlling and

destroying. They are partners with the drug companies.

 

The drug companies have thick skins. They can kill thousands of

people every month without losing a moment of sleep. They can hide

behind all sorts of garble they claim to be science.

 

Like vampires, they live off of sickness. With widespread health,

they would die in the light of day and blow away.

 

JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.com

 

 

 

 

SQUEEZE PLAY ON SUPPLEMENTS

 

JANUARY 14, 2004. A new report from a prestigious

government-connnected medical institute is calling for tighter

regulation of nutritional supplements.

 

This report is timed to coincide with the final Codex push to place

heavy restrictions on what supplements can be traded across national

borders.

 

I'm told that the FDA is working with and watching Codex with great

interest, as a possible prelude to trying to lower the boom on

supplements sold within the US.

 

Reading the AP article below, you'll see that several key issues are

being folded into the new report and the consequent follow-up from

" medical experts " : nutritional manufacturers need to step up their

quality control procedures (what's actually in the capsule and how

much of it is in there---this is a legitimate concern for

consumers---although the US regulatory system that could govern this

area will go about it in the wrong way); the inherent safety of

supplements needs to be investigated in full (this is mostly nonsense

because the overwhelming number of supplements are much, much safer

than any drugs and have caused very, very, very few, if any, deaths

around the world over the last few centuries); the efficacy of

supplements in maintaining or restoring health must be tested in the

same way that drugs are tested (this is complete crap---efficacy

should not be the purview of the government at all, and the cost of

studies that could be mandated will drive most supplement companies

into bankruptcy); and health claims made by supplement manufacturers

should be governed and controlled by the FDA (although some

manufacturers make ridiculous health claims, we should err on the

side of allowing such claims, since the supplements are inherently

safe, and the consumer should be the judge of these claims).

 

There are already laws on the books that handle problems. If a

manufacturer places poison in a pill, he is a felon. Drug companies

take note. If a manufacturer can't or won't attain standard quality

control, he is guilty of false advertising. No regulatory

superstructure necessary in either case.

 

What is most alarming about the new report and the follow-up from it

in the press---all these issues I listed above are being melded

together, as if possible concern about one implies deep concern about

all. That's the strategy. Cast a wide inclusive net. Confuse one

issue with another.

 

As usual, the medical and government honchos are occupying the high

ground, as if they and not the people set the standards and the laws.

As if the medical naturally and normally trumps the nutritional.

 

It should, in fact, be the other way around. However, supplement

manufacturers and their trade associations have long cowered in fear

and abdicated any sense of mission in this struggle. They should be

out front exposing the horrendous effects of pharmaceuticals and the

sold-out criminal FDA. They should be playing OFFENSE and rocking the

drug boys back on their heels every day. They should be paying big PR

firms to take the truth to the people through the press. They are

not. They are stupid and often corrupt and venal and greedy. They

dream that all will be well. They have betrayed their customers

through their inaction. They should be hung by their thumbs. De

facto, these companies are opening doors and inviting the FDA in to

make supplements into drugs, with all the accoutrements attached.

 

Panel wants rules for diet supplements

 

Friday, January 14, 2005 Posted: 11:49 AM EST (1649 GMT)

 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/01/14/alternative.medicine.ap/index.html

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With nearly one-fifth of Americans taking dietary

supplements, the Institute of Medicine has called for tougher

regulations to make sure the products are safe and do what they claim.

 

The institute expressed concern about the quality of dietary

supplements, saying " there is little product reliability. "

 

This makes it difficult for health professionals to guide patients

in use of supplements, the report said. The panel urged that Congress

take steps to require improved quality control of supplements and to

provide incentives to study the efficacy of the products.

 

" Reliable and standardized products are needed, " Dr. Stuart

Bondurant, chairman of the committee that prepared the report, said

at a briefing Wednesday.

 

In a 327-page report, the institute also urged that complimentary

and alternative medical procedures, such as herbal remedies and

acupuncture, be required to meet the same standards of effectiveness

as conventional medical treatments.

 

Dr. Stephen E. Straus, director of the government's National Center

for Complimentary [sic] and Alternative Medicine, said requiring the

same research standards " will further the scientific investigation of

this new field, increase its legitimacy as a research area and

ultimately improve public health. "

 

Unlike drugs, which must be proven safe before they can be sold, the

Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act allows sale of

supplements unless the Food and Drug Administration can prove them

harmful. The law also does not require manufacturers to report

adverse reactions, as drug companies must.

 

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who has pressed for more FDA attention to

supplements, believes that manufacturers should be required to report

adverse events and continues to urge action against false or

misleading claims, according to spokeswoman Allison Dobson.

 

The Institute of Medicine report said 18.9 percent of Americans

reported in 2004 that they had taken a dietary supplement in the past

year. The industry was responsible for $18.7 billion in sales in 2002.

 

A study by researchers at Harvard Medical School, also being

released Wednesday, found that about 35 percent of Americans have

used some form of alternative medicine

 

Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of that report, said such widespread

use shows the necessity of studying the safety, efficacy and

cost-effectiveness of these approaches.

 

The biggest change was an increase in use of herbal supplements over

the five years, the study said. The practice of yoga also increased.

 

The Harvard report, published in the journal Alternative Therapies

in Health and Medicine, said use of therapies such as acupuncture,

biofeedback, energy healing and hypnosis remained essentially

unchanged between 1997 and 2002, while the use of homeopathy,

high-dose vitamins, chiropractic and massage therapy declined

slightly.

 

Both the Harvard and IOM reports cited a failure of a majority of

consumers using supplements to tell their doctors.

 

" This is especially critical as more becomes known about the adverse

effects associated with individual dietary supplements as well as

their interactions with prescription drugs, " said Harvard's Tindle.

 

The Federal Trade Commission has reported a flurry of unfounded or

exaggerated claims for supplements, the IOM report notes. It calls on

Congress and federal agencies to set standards for manufacturing

quality.

 

The Institute of Medicine is a part of the National Academy of

Science, an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise

the government on scientific matters. The National Center for

Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, which requested the IOM

study, is part of the National Institutes of Health.

 

end of AP article

 

JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.com