Don't Let Congress Restrict Vitamin, Mineral, Herbal & Other Supplements

[Guest guest]

It has already happened in Europe- Don't let it happen here.

I can not stress the importance and gravity of this issue enough-

please spread this information far and wide...

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

DON'T LET CONGRESS OVERTURN THE HARD-FOUGHT VICTORY OF THE DIETARY

SUPPLEMENT HEALTH AND EDUCATION ACT OF 1994.

 

A new bill called the " Dietary Supplement Safety " Act (S.722) has been

introduced in the U.S. Senate. This bill, introduced by IL Senator

Dick Durbin, would significantly undermine many of the freedoms that

American consumers of dietary supplements hold dear.

 

It would give the FDA broad sweeping regulatory power, require

adverse event reporting, and would authorize the FDA to prevent the

sale of any supplement for which an adverse event was reported.

Burden of proof of safety would be on the Dietary Supplement

industry, which would effectively overturn DSHEA.

 

Durbin is misinforming his colleagues in the Senate by claiming that

dietary supplements are dangerous and the FDA does not currently have

adequate regulatory authority. Both allegations are false!

 

Durbin has become our chief antagonist and was instrumental in getting

ephedra banned in Illinois. Senator Orrin Hatch has said that Durbin

is a slick political operative who may try to attach this legislation

to another bill to sneak it through passage in the Senate and the

House. So we could be at the greatest stage of regulatory crisis

since 1994 (pre-DSHEA ).

 

OPPOSE THIS LEGISLATION!

 

The Food and Drug Administration must not be granted new and

unprecedented authority to subject safe and beneficial products to

additional and unnecessary scrutiny. This bill would subject nearly

all vitamins, minerals, herbal products and other supplements to a

level of scrutiny that is both unwarranted and unnecessary. Products

that have been used safely for hundreds - and in some cases,

thousands - of years would be subject to clinical evaluation using

standards that are at the complete discretion of the FDA.

 

The government must not be allowed to limit the freedom of choice of

American consumers when it comes to their health. By questioning the

safety of any dietary supplement that receives even one complaint,

hundreds of products that have been safely and beneficially used

could be removed from the marketplace. Under this new legislation,

the FDA has complete discretion to make this determination,

regardless of whether the product was used under conditions cautioned

against by the manufacturer on the label.

 

The government must not be allowed to single-out dietary supplements.

By almost every measure, and by a wide margin, dietary supplements

can be used more safely than conventional foods and OTC drugs. Yet

this legislation exempts foods in these product categories from being

classified as stimulants. Specifically, the bill unfairly excludes

the most common " stimulant " ingredient in foods - caffeine.

 

TAKE ACTION NOW! THIS BILL COULD BE VOTED ON IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

 

This bill could be added to existing Senate legislation at any time.

We need you to take two vital steps to immediately let your Senators

know you oppose this bill.

 

CALL YOUR SENATORS

 

Call your Senators now. To reach your Senators' offices, call them

either through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or

directly at their Washington, D.C. or local offices. To find contact

information for your elected officials, simply :

http://capwiz.com/nnfa/dbq/officials

 

When you reach your Senator's office, ask to speak with the staff

member in charge of health-related issues and give them this simple

message:

 

As your constituent, I urge you to oppose any efforts by your fellow

Senators to pass S. 722, the so-called Dietary Supplement " Safety "

Act, recently introduced by Senator Richard Durbin. I am deeply

concerned that rather than passing this new act - which would

unnecessarily expand the authority of the Food and Drug

Administration - Congress should instead investigate and oversee ways

in which the Food and Drug Administration can make full use of its

current and more-than-adequate authority as granted by

the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.

 

E-MAIL YOUR SENATORS

 

E-mail your Senators now. Simply enter your ZIP code in the " Take

Action Now " button on this webpage:

 

http://capwiz.com/nnfa/issues/alert/?alertid=2103491

 

to locate your senators and representatives, make any changes you feel

necessary to the sample letter, and click " submit. " A copy of your

letter will be sent to the two U.S. Senators from your state. A copy

of the letter will also be sent to you confirming which Senators

received the letter.

 

Don't delay - this bill has the potential to radically amend one of

this country's most important and beneficial laws, the Dietary

Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.

 

To view S.722 in its entirety,

http://www.nnfa.org/services/government/pdf/s722.pdf