Action Needed:Stop FDA from Restricting Your Access to Vitamins & Supplements

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- Arnoldgore

Action Needed:Stop FDA from Restricting Your Access to Vitamins & Supplements

The increasing availability and distribution of true and factual information about vitamins and other dietary supplements as a result of our passage of the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act(DSHEA)of 1994 is under attack. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois has introduced a bill S.722 to require supplement manufacturers to report on adverse events from the use of their products and to shift the burden of proof for the alleged danger of supplements from the FDA to the manufacturer. There is ONE Senate Co-S[onsor::Senator Charles Schumer of NEW YORK!He must be contacted immediately. There are still many people who think the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is out to protect the health of the public. The agency has a huge Public Consumer Relations Ddepartment to polish this image and cover up the enormous conficts of interests protecting the Pharmaceutical Industry and restricting the rights of patients and consumers. By way of Background, FDA always opposed and carried on a campaign of misinformation about DSHEA. They repeatedly IGNORED Federal Court Orders to comply with the laws rquirement to find a way to ALLOW claims to be made for the efficacy of dietary supplements. But if this were allowed, FDA was afraid it would interfere with the marketing monopoly given to prescription drugs. Therefor they fought and ignored orders all the way up to the Washington DC circuit court of appeals--right below the Supreme Court-without appealing. New CommissionerMark McClellan has announced he WILL comply and allow claims.Mc Clellan an economist and physician has been trying to find ways of introducing market forces to reduce prices of prescription drugs.This is one way. But the drug industry and their numerous and generous campaign contributors are trying to find a way to insure the prescription drug monopoly, one way is to discredit the cheaper, usually mor effective dietary supplements. At least frighten consumers away from trying them. That's why you are seeing articles in a lot of the major newspapers and stories on TV stations.It is urgent that you contact your Senators and Congressmembers.You can find out who your US Senators are and how you can contact them. Go to www.senate.goveach state has 2 senators. Find their local state office and Wahington,DC phone nymber and call during working hours Monday to Friday.9am to 5pm.Also find out your House Congressmember by going to www.house.gov and putting in the zip code to find your congressmember. Contact the Congressmember also and warn the Congressmember to be ready to oppose a companion bill in the house.Since Commissioner McClellan has come out in favor of allowing greater claimsto be made for Supplements it is also a good idea to wtite him also stating that he should oppose the "Dietary Supplement Safety Act" S.722 because it interferes with his policy to comply with the law and allow truthful claims for dietary supplements even without the discredited and illegal "significant scientific agreement" standard thrown out by the courts. This will allow more market forces to help determine drug prices and increase consumer-patient health choices. : Commissiner Mark McClellan,MD,PhD USFDA 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville,MD 20857-0001 tel# Toll Free 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332) www.fda.gov/comments.html arnold