[Shirly'sWellNews] FDA's Dream Come True, Our Greatest Nightmare

[Guest guest]

I think I have posted this article before, but it is well worth

repeating... Please, please, please take the time to call your

representatives and senators to show your outrage and demand that

our health freedom be maintained as we " fight for the freedom of

Iraq "

 

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

http://www.wrightnewsletter.com December 7, 2004

 

Written by Jonathan V. Wright

 

You've taken supplements for years. You're out of vitamins C and E.

You go to your natural food store, but you can't find the kind you

want on the shelf. You ask a clerk to find them for you. She says

you can't get your vitamin E as mixed tocopherols (the best natural

form) anymore, and asks if you like your vitamin C in the 100 or 200

milligram size. The 1,000 milligram size, you say.

 

" Where have you been? " she asks. " Asleep since 2004? It's 2007 now!

The types and sizes of vitamins you just asked for have been

declared illegal by the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade

Organization! "

 

" Wait! " you reply. " This is America! Our President says we're

fighting for American freedom--and you're telling me that the World

Trade Organization can dictate what size vitamin C I can take, and

forbid me from taking mixed tocopherols? "

 

The sales clerk sighs, and reaches for a piece of paper. " It's a

little complicated, " she says. " A few years back, the European

Commission passed the European Food Supplements Directive... "

 

You feel your blood pressure rising. " What does the European

Commission and its Directive have to do with me? If Europeans want

bureaucrats to tell them what to do, that's their business. I'm a

free citizen of these United States! "

 

" Now, now, dear, your blood pressure will go up, and you can't get

calcium citrate, magnesium aspartate, CoQ10 or L-arginine or

anything else natural to help regulate it anymore. "

 

" What? This goes beyond the FDA's wildest dreams! "

 

" That's not a tenth of it, dear. While you were distracted by the

war overseas for American freedom, here at home we lost our right to

buy any amino acids at all-no arginine, no carnitine, no tryptophan,

nothing. I can't sell you any essential fatty acids either-no DHA or

EPA. And no beta-carotene, no mixed carotenoids, no MSM, no

boron...The list goes on and on. "

 

" So what can I buy? " you ask.

 

" Let's see...those 100 and 200 milligram vitamin Cs. Vitamin B6

maximum 4.2 milligrams, vitamin B1, 2.4 milligrams. Oh, here's a

better one: You can get niacin at 32 milligrams. "

 

" Enough! I'm getting sick! How did this ever happen in these United

States? "

 

" As I was saying, the European Directive... "

 

" I heard you. But what about America's Congress, America's

President?

 

" Oh, they signed us up for this in the 1990s, when they made us

members of the World Trade Organization. According to the

Congressional Research Service: 'As a member of the World Trade

Organization, the United States does commit to act in accordance

with the rules of the multilateral body. The United States is

legally obligated to ensure national laws do not conflict with World

Trade Organization rules.' "

 

" Our President and Congress send troops overseas to fight for

freedom, but let the WTO tell us what to do with our vitamins? There

must be something we can do. "

 

" Actually, we did have a chance or two to reverse this in 2004, but

it's going to be incredibly difficult now. "

 

" But I really need my mixed tocopherol vitamin E. And my mother with

congestive heart failure depends on CoQ10. "

 

" I'm not unsympathetic, especially to your poor mother, dear. " She

looks all around, then lowers her voice. " I can give you some

sources downtown. " She whispers a few names.

 

" But those people deal dangerous drugs! Now they're selling

vitamins, too? "

 

" That's freedom in America in 2007, dear. "

 

Think it can't happen? Think again

 

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 U.S., 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 U.S.-

over the years. And why we've decided to make a big push in our

September newsletters by covering it in-depth.

 

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 in 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,

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.

 

Saving us from ourselves

 

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 over-ride United States 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 3 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 website, 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 inter-

national 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 re-gained 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. Representative 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 Representative 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), the Alliance

for Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org), or the

International Advocates for Health Freedom (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. JVW