Fwd: [rawfoodie] URGENT: EU CODEX Threatens Health Freedom in US

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In a message dated 10/19/2004 11:23:34 AM Eastern Standard Time,

rross writes:

On 10/18/04 10:28 PM, " Chris Gupta " <chrisgupta wrote:

This is one of the best summaries on the European Health Directive commonly

known as CODEX and on how it will impact us here in North America and elsewhere.

Please seriously read and take action as outlined in Dr. Wright's action plan.

Canadians Can also rally in this effort through donating to and becoming

members of the Friends of Freedom grassroots organization

<http://www.friendsoffreedom.org/> and repeatedly writing to their MPs.

 

 

 

A Nightmare Come True by Jonathan Wright, MD

 

The FDA's wildest dream -- and our worst nightmare -- is about to come true.

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 United States, 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 United States -- over the years.

 

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 to the

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

<http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/06/03/orthomolecular_solutions_to_he\

art_disease.htm> , 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.

 

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

override U.S. 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 Three 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 Web site

<http://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 international

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 regained 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. Rep. 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

Representatives 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 <http://www.ahha.org/> ), the Alliance for

Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org

<http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/> ), or the International Advocates for

Health Freedom (www.iahf.com

<http://www.iahf.com/> ).

 

Don't wake up next August to find your supplements gone for good. Join me in

taking action now, and recruit everyone you can to join the battle. While our

troops are fighting for your freedom and mine overseas, you and I can

literally fight for American freedom right here at home. Dr. Jonathan Wright is

the

Medical Director and founder of the Tahoma Clinic in Renton, Wash., where he

also practices medicine. A Harvard University (A.B. 1965) and University of

Michigan graduate (M.D. 1969), Dr. Wright has taught natural biochemical medical

treatments since 1983 to thousands of physicians in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

In 1973, Dr. Wright founded the Tahoma Clinic

<http://www.tahoma-clinic.com/index.shtml> , which focuses on disease prevention

and treatment by natural

biochemical and bioenergetic means.

 

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris List information is at:

http://tinyurl.com/2xohw

 

 

 

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