RE: The Fix Is In

[Guest guest]

To Frank,

 

 

We have a problem with S.722-- Agreed.

 

 

I followed up and called both my Senators and talking to their office

assistants said: I urge Senator " N " to vote against Senate Bill 722 because

I am a Senior Citizen and I use vitamins and supplements and I feel that

this bill will restrict my ability to choose. Also that I have a College

Degree and have read widely on this subject of supplements and I think this

is a bad bill. My calls were appreciated.

 

Now Frank so far so good!

 

 

However I need a letter that I can send as a follow up that is short and to

the point that supports the bad bill comment.

 

And that letter should point to the gory details of the problems with the

bill----------- This is where to find them if the Senator has time to look.

 

So that later I can ask the Senator if She/He did look into it.

 

 

I feel a void here;

 

 

Lorenzo

 

 

Frank [califpacific]

Wednesday, July 23, 2003 12:34 PM

alternative_medicine_forum

The Fix Is In

 

 

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ea2003/ea_030722_p.shtml

 

The Fix Is In

 

Contributing Editor: Health Sciences Institute, 7/22/2003 Members AlertThe

Fix Is In

 

" This bill will save lives and restore America's confidence in the use of

dietary supplements. "

 

Those were the words of Senator Dick Durbin last March when he introduced

Senate Bill 722 (S. 722) titled the " Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003. "

 

What Senator Durbin didn't mention is that S. 722 will broadly expand the

FDA's authority to control the dietary supplement market.

 

Simply put: these regulations will seriously inhibit your current freedom to

make your own health decisions. But there is something you can do to help

prevent this from happening.

 

Lives left behind

 

 

First let's talk about saving lives.

 

There are many hundreds of deaths each year associated with aspirin and

acetaminophen. (By some estimates, aspirin-related deaths alone number more

than 1,000 per year.) These pain killers are manufactured by many companies,

but the major players are Bayer (the maker of Bayer Aspirin, of course), and

Johnson & Johnson (the maker of Tylenol) - two of the largest drug companies

in the world. They both have deep pockets to fuel very aggressive lobbying

efforts in Washington.

 

So don't expect to hear any senators calling for a ban of aspirin or

acetaminophen. (Deaths? What deaths?)

 

Ephedra, on the other hand, is a sitting duck.

 

S. 722 doesn't mention any specific supplements, but Senator Durbin's press

release uses the recent controversy surrounding ephedra to promote the fear

of supplements. Senator Durbin states that 117 deaths have been attributed

to ephedra. (That's 117 deaths TOTAL - not 117 per year.) What he doesn't

mention is that almost all of these deaths involved a synthetic form of

ephedra - a drug, in other words - called ephedrine, in which the active

agent of ephedra is boosted to levels that can be dangerous if not taken as

directed.

 

When used properly, ephedrine is a strong weapon in the battle to control

your weight. And, more important, the actual herb ephedra is an effective

treatment for asthma. If ephedra is banned, the main winners will be

pharmaceutical companies that make asthma drugs.

 

So when you hear lawmakers talking about " saving lives, " and " protecting the

public, " be aware that their targets are very selective when it comes to the

products they want to see banned.

 

Get out your handkerchiefs

 

 

Senator Durbin wants you to think that the poor folks over at the FDA are

working with their hands tied behind their backs. His press release states,

" The burden is currently placed on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

to prove that they are unsafe before the agency can take any action against

dangerous dietary supplements. " And according to Durbin, " this places an

unreasonably high hurdle in the path of effective agency action. "

 

Senator Durbin knows better. The FDA currently has the power to pull any

product off the market that it deems to be unsafe.

 

The inquisition

 

 

Under S. 722, the FDA will have the power to remove an entire class of

supplements from the market if there is even a single serious adverse

reaction complaint filed. This will be the case even if the complaint is

filed by someone who has used the supplement in contradiction to the

instructions and warnings of the manufacturer.

 

In such an instance, the manufacturer will be required to demonstrate the

safety of the supplement. This process is expected to put a heavy financial

burden on accused manufacturers - heavy enough to drive some out of

business. For those supplements that do reach the evaluation stage, the FDA

will set the standards for the evaluations and then determine if the

standards are met. In effect, the FDA will act as prosecutor, judge, and

jury, while accused manufacturers foot the bill against a stacked deck.

 

That's like asking a death row inmate to pay an electric bill in advance for

his electrocution.

 

Chipping away at freedom

 

 

Will S. 722 save lives? I seriously doubt it. Behind this bill there's a

naive idea that a law to strengthen regulations can make everything all

right. And yet the current regulations that promise safety for prescription

drug users somehow let many thousands of lives slip through the cracks every

year. Increased regulations can't guarantee safety, but they do guarantee

greater power for regulators.

 

And when that power is increased, what then? Here's a comment from a recent

e-mail I received from HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D.: " I'm convinced the

Dietary Supplement Safety Act is merely a stepping stone to complete

control. The FDA has been very upset about the passage of DSHEA (the Dietary

Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 - specifically designed

to help protect the supplement industry from unnecessary constraints). I

think the FDA will piecemeal DSHEA away as fast as possible, if possible

(and I believe it is). "

 

S. 722 may come before the Senate for a vote before the end of this month.

And although it has good support, its passage is not a foregone conclusion.

I strongly urge you to take a moment to send a brief letter or e-mail to

your state Senators. (You can easily find Congressional addresses and e-mail

addresses at congress.org just by entering your zip code.)

 

Tell your Senators that you oppose S. 722 (the " Dietary Supplement Safety

Act of 2003 " ), which will limit your freedom to make your own health care

choices with the responsible use of dietary supplements. Tell them that S.

722 unnecessarily expands the authority of the Food and Drug Administration,

while offering no more protection for consumers than is already granted

under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.

 

Think of S. 722 is a staging area from which the FDA will prepare to slowly

but surely dismantle the dietary supplement freedom that we've enjoyed for

almost a decade under DSHEA. The first line of defense is to convince our

senators that this act is unnecessary and will do more harm than good.

 

Please share this e-Alert with a friend and help get the word out about S.

722.

 

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ea2003/ea_030722_p.shtml

 

....and another thing

 

 

W

 

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