lewrockwell.com — Now in committee, this law would virtually destroy the dietary supplement industry. The legislation is identified as the "Dietary Supplement Access & Awareness Act," but it does not address free access & only creates a negative awareness of these products. It would cost taxpayers millions & take away our freedom. Contact your Reps through link.....
Oct 20, 2006 View in Crawl 4
zoudenOct 21, 2006
Well said thunderstruck. People need to realise that the supplement industry is not being "held down by the drug companies" - it is a HUGE industry with a lot of power and very little accountability.
fat_piggyOct 21, 2006
F**K THE FDA THERE IN IT FOR THE PHARM COMPANIES
onwardknaveOct 21, 2006
I care. I like being able to get herbal remedies. They're not all snake oil. You just need to read medical journals, double-blind studies, and nutritional guides to know which are legitimate -- and then check the active ingredients and concentrations in the products.The pharmaceutical industry does some great work, but they're throwing money at congress, and congress is taking it like some kind of (if you'll pardon the irony) drug. America needs a Socialist Revolution. The true left is gone when the right can get away with labelling Hillary Clinton a crazy liberal.I worked for Pfizer doing drug development for a short time. The fact that they can't do more research on a drug after it's released to market for fear of lawsuits is insane. They're boxed into a distribution model which doesn't allow greater efficacy to be achieved if a marketable and profitable result can be achieved first. People need to take their medical health more seriously and ask their doctors for other options (including herbal!), and the consequences, rather than letting doctors' prescription filling habits be taken over by the pharmaceutical industry.
Closed AccountOct 21, 2006Submitter
Does anyone wonder how much $$$ the sponsoring members of Congress received from the Big Pharma lobbyists to introduce this legislation?
glmoryOct 21, 2006
This is well known as Linus Pauling's pet theory that didn't have evidence for it. While you can get sick from too little vitamin C, if you don't have scurvy you almost certainly get far more than you need.
luftOct 22, 2006
"herbal supplements" are drugs. Period. They do interact with other drugs, and they do have adverse side effects. This is not just vitamins, but a whole range of products. Some of them are beneficial, some of them have risks involved with taking them and a lot of them do diddly squat. What the bill is trying to do is make a way for these products to be policed. Why the "herbal supplement" companies are so up in arms about this is because A GOOD NUMBER OF THEIR PRODUCTS DON'T DO ANYTHING. They are snake oil. Then the products that do do something are have wildly varying concentrations of the active ingredients. The way these supplements are policed now is that they are regulated after they start hurting, and in some cases even killing people. This is NOT the way this should be done! Now come on people, don't be a bunch of sheep that jump on the bandwagon just because it is the popular thing to do! Do some research here!
rfidguyOct 22, 2006
Bremstrong says "How many emergency room visits are caused by nutritional supplements? Maybe 10. "He then goes on to give us a lesson on science. Since adverse effects from herbal remedies are not reported to the FDA we don't know. Hundreds of people have suffered ill effects from trading in Zoloft and other anti depressants for St. Johns Wart (Johns Hopkins Study reported in JMA June 2001) L-tryptophan (a naturally occuring amino acid) that was widely abused a few years ago and pulled from the shelves due to its direct cause of the syndrome Eosinophilia-myalgia, which resulted in several deaths. This came about because of no oversight of the Japanese manufacturer at the time because it does not fall under the watchfull eye of the FDA.If you are inclined to use Herbal remedies you should first do so careflully, realizing that dosages and purity vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Purchase it if possible through a compound chemist or pharmacist which can vouch for its strength. Share the information with your physician even if he/she does not agree with your approach and be mindful of changes in your well being. Don't forget that companies that sell herbal remedies are motivated by the same shade of green that motivates the pharmaceutical industry. They are not, as some may surmise, above the fray or motivated by some elevated sense of morality.
gottatufaOct 22, 2006
A lot of regulated drugs are derived from herbs in the first place. The pharm industry would just love to have control over the herbal market. You think the government and drug industry cares about you so much that they want to protect you from spending money on a so called useless product, (snake oil) or from harming yourself with "toxic" herbs? Well think again. It is all for control and money! You guys sound all brainwashed. Our decisions over our own bodies are being taken away. Most people who use herbs are intelligent people and do research. I can see them raiding your gardens now and throwing you in prison for a weed you never noticed. (damn that chickweed) Don't let them take away another freedom. You will lose your "Sleepy Time" tea, your Cold-Eze and any herbal teas. And what will be next? Fats and sugar? Wake up America!
wadetvOct 22, 2006
Dietary supplements should be regulated to ensure that their claims are accurate and any dangers are warned on the package. It's just common sense.