Your Right to Buy Supplements is Threatened by Senate Bill S.3002

Right now sitting in the Senate is a bill sponsored by Senator John Mc Cain. The bill is called the Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) S. 3002. This bill, if passed, will seriously impair our right to buy supplements. Please read this article in full and go to the links at the bottom to check this out further. This bill needs to be stopped now before it is passed in Senate this month.

What Protects Our Rights To Buy Supplements Now?

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) passed in 1994 protect our right to buy supplements. DSHEA places herbs, vitamins, minerals, and supplements under the umbrella of food NOT drugs. All these supplements are labeled as a dietary supplement. This bill gives a company the ability to sell a vitamin without clinical trials that take years and billions of dollars. If it is a new dietary ingredient, it does have to be passed by the FDA to be sold. If it is 'new' the company must show proof that it is safe and why it is being included.

Adverse Effects with Supplements: There are already provisions in DSHEA for the FDA to recall a supplement off the market. Included in DSHEA is the requirement that manufacturers send the FDA reports of adverse effects caused by their products. The GMP law also requires this as well. The FDA has the power to remove a supplement for adverse effects, misleading or false claims, and for suspected adulteration. A case in point is Ephedra. It was being misused by many people and was removed from the shelves. I will note it was the abuse of the herb that mainly caused the adverse effects not proper use of the herb. I will also note that Aspirin, Mouthwash, and many drugs have far graver reports and have not been removed from shelves. Aspirin is responsible for almost 8,000 deaths per year and that is not even the reports of stomach bleeding. Ephedra did not even come close to that figure but was removed. There is a double standard here in the US. Why is Aspirin still over the counter with its adverse-side effects and death records?

The FDA reviews reported information and can then take a product off the market. The FDA already has these powers with laws that are in place now. All you need to do is call the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 to report adverse effects from herbs, supplements, or drugs. It is that simple.

Doesn't Europe Have Easy Access To Supplements As We Do? No

Europe regulates herbs as drugs. A majority of the supplements we commonly buy here are outlawed in Europe or you must get them via a doctor. Europe is run by CODEX which is now run by drug pharmaceutical companies. This excerpt from The National-Health-Information Center explains how CODEX has managed to entrench its power into Europe and now the USA, "Codex began simply enough when the U.N. authorized the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop a universal food code. Their purpose was to 'harmonize' regulations for dietary supplements worldwide and set international safety standards for the purposes of increased trade. Pharmaceutical interests stepped in and began exerting their influence. Instead of focusing on food safety, Codex is using its power to promote worldwide restrictions on vitamins and food supplements, severely limiting their availability and dosages."

Buying Supplements in Europe is Severely Restricted Now:

In Europe, there is a list of herbs and supplements that can be sold and in what amount. For instance Vitamin C is only available for purchase in low dosage supplements (100 mg). Feverfew is only available through a doctor. Anything not on their safe list cannot be sold- period. This makes supplements in Europe either very expensive or unavailable. The drug companies make more money off drugs than herbs. Imagine paying $20.00 for 10 caps of Feverfew plus having to pay for the doctor's visit too. Many of the supplements you are taking now are not available to consumers in Europe.

CODEX Is Working Its Way Into Your Rights:

Codex is also working to pressure the United States to regulate supplements as they do in Europe. This is with an iron hand where drugs are pushed on consumers, as is being done here already. There is movement right now by Codex to push their agenda on us. I have included links at the bottom of this article for your education on the danger of CODEX here in the United States. Codex already has its iron hand on the US through a treaty we signed with Europe two years ago. Under CODEX Alimentarius, anything not explicitly permitted is forbidden. The organization is chaired by a doctor named Dr. Rolf Grossklaus who declared in 1994 that nutrients were toxins in 1994. He believes nutrition has no role in health. This is the man who guides their nutritional policy. He also owns the RISK Assessment Company advising Codex or what nutrients are a negative risk. There is a serious, corrupted conflict of interest in CODEX. Europe is run by CODEX with a tyrannical iron hand.

Why Senator Mc Cains Bill is Dangerous to Your Right to Buy Supplements and Herbs:

Mc Cain's bill would repeal key provisions of DSHEA to more effectively regulate dietary supplements. This bill is modeled after Europe where a new list of, "accepted dietary ingredients" would be "prepared, published, and maintained by the Secretary". The secretary would have the power with this bill to reclassify herbs or vitamins as drugs. There is already a bill to try and classify Vitamin B6 as a drug. In Mc Cain's bill, any new dietary ingredient will be deemed adulterated under section 402(f) unless there is a history of use or evidence of safety. The discovery of new nutrients would take take years to get approved. The Secretary would have the right to recall and reclassify almost any supplement without oversight.

The FDA Now Has All The Power It Needs:

The FDA cannot even regulate drugs properly. There are countless drugs that are killing people and causing thousands of life threatening side effects. The FDA leaves them in the marketplace or recalls them only after hundreds of deaths or serious health problems reveal themselves. Most of these complaints involve life threatening heart and liver damage. The FDA seems to be in bed with the drug companies. They are certainly not protecting your health or mine. The FDA already has the right to recall a supplement and take it out of production. There is no need for Mc Cain's bill. The FDA has more than enough power as it is to regulate supplements. Along with the new GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices Law) being implemented as I write this, there are enough laws already in place.

Please review this bill, and after doing so, there is a petition to let your representatives know that you are against this bill. This bill is in the senate waiting for a vote. You need to be aware of all the bills that are being pressed to end various freedoms we now enjoy. Freedom exists only until we are asleep at the watch. Do your part as an individual to stand up for these rights.

References:

http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/codex-alimentarius.html

DSHEA explanation by FDA, http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm110417.htm

Explanation of Codex and its danger: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?page_id=157

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1911818/the_dangers_of_aspirin_pg2.html?cat=5

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/