Ready...Fire...Aim!

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - Ready...Fire...Aim!

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 07:00:00 -0400

 

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Ready...Fire...Aim!

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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September 01, 2005

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

Here's a good one. At the American Medical Association (AMA) annual

meeting last June, the House of Delegates adopted a resolution that

called for the AMA to " encourage the Food and Drug Administration to

require that all herbal supplements carry an ingredient list similar

to that required for foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals. "

 

This is a preposterous resolution. Why? Because the Food, Drug, and

Cosmetic Act already requires an ingredient list and a " Supplement

Facts " panel on the packaging of dietary supplements, including herbals.

 

D'oh!

 

Asked to comment on this overzealous gaff, Michael McGuffin (president

of the American Herbal Products Association) dryly noted to

NutraIngredients-USA that the resolution appeared to be, " an action

that was made in ignorance of the actual law. "

 

The key word here: " ignorance. "

 

But this embarrassing bit of overcooked officiousness was just part of

the unintentional comedy provided by the AMA House of Delegates.

 

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Bewitched, bothered, bewildered

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Apparently someone in the AMA's Tennessee Delegation is on the warpath

to lay some thick regulations on manufacturers of dietary supplements.

 

It was the Tennessee crew that called for the ingredient list, and the

Tennesseans again who called for the AMA to " strongly discourage " the

packaging and advertising of herbal supplements to resemble

prescription drug packaging and advertising. The Tennessee Delegation

singled out Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals for three offenses:

 

 

1) Making TV ads for herbal products that look like drug ads

2) Giving herbal products names that " sound like prescription

medications " 3) Packaging herbal products to resemble medication packages

 

Michael McGuffin accurately pointed out to NutraIngredients-USA that

the resolution doesn't give credit to the intelligence of the

consumer, " assuming that adults cannot tell the difference between a

vitamin or a herbal tincture and a drug. "

 

Well put. I wonder if the Tennessee Delegation also has a problem with

chewing gum sold in blister packs or Hallmark ads that look like drug

commercials. And that Rolodex on your desk? That brand name could

easily lead someone to believe they're purchasing a prescription

strength address file. Heaven forbid.

 

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Fever dreams

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The AMA's Tennessee Delegation seems to have come down with a bout of

regulation fever. Symptoms include attempts to establish regulations

where there already ARE regulations, attempts to impose absurd and

unnecessary style guidelines on brand names, etc.

 

But it appears that cooler heads at the AMA were able to treat this

feverish outbreak - at least partly. According to

NutraIngredients-USA, someone recognized that the FDA had already

addressed supplement labeling, so association executives backed off on

the resolution to implore FDA officials to do something they're

already doing.

 

The question about packaging was also put to rest with the recognition

that herbal packaging may resemble drug packaging because package

design is often dictated by safety concerns.

 

Maybe the Tennessee Delegation would be more comfortable with herbal

products sold in gunny sacks or advertised like monster truck shows.

Or maybe I'm missing the REAL point they're trying to make. Maybe what

they're really getting at is that they'd be more comfortable if herbal

products weren't sold at all.

 

 

 

 

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....and another thing

 

Vinegar, tea tree oil, corn meal paste, oregano oil - these were some

of the natural treatments for toenail fungus I told you about in the

e-Alert " Get Off on the Right Foot " (8/4/05).

 

But the list doesn't stop there.

 

A member named Robert wrote to say that he'd tried one of the leading

medications for toenail fungus with no success. And then... " My

dermatologist suggested Vicks VapoRub.... I tried it with 5 or 6

applications directly to the nail over 2 weeks and it worked!!!

Several of my friends have had success with Vicks also. "

 

Judging from comments posted in the HSI Healthier Talk community

forums, several HSI members have had good results using Vicks VapoRub,

which contains eucalyptus oil and thymol (derived from thyme oil).

These two ingredients are reputed to have anti-fungal properties.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

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Sources:

 

" Advertising for Herbal Supplements " Resolution: 504, American Medical

Association House of Delegates, Annual Meeting, June 18-22, 2005,

Introduced by: Tennessee Delegation, ama-assn.org

" Herbals Look Too Much Like Drugs, Says AMA " Jess Halliday,

NutraIngredients-USA, 6/28/05, nutraingredients-usa.com

 

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