Vitamins, Herbs, and Supplements Under Congressional Fire

[Guest guest]

Hello Group,

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A while back, there was an issue raised to me regarding the right of americ=

ans to purchase vitamins and supplements currently on the market, and that s=

uch freedoms were coming under fire by congress and the pharmaceutical compa=

nies.

..

Well, I received this newsletter this morning and felt urged to share this =

with you, as it has the issue down to a senate bill number and name. It also=

has many links with which to review where this actually is at within our co=

ngress and what we can do, if desired, to act on this issue.

..

Love, Peace, and Light

..

Dianna

..

From: drsaul@... ( W. Saul) Date: Fri, Sep 26, 2003, 1=

2:06pm (PDT+3) dynews@... Subject: Doctor Yourself News E=

XTRA (Vol. 3, No 22-A) September 26, 2003

Doctor Yourself Newsletter **EXTRA** (Vol. 3, No 22-A) September 26, 2003

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Written by Saul, PhD, of http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free onli=

ne library of over 350 natural healing articles with nearly 4,000 scientific=

references.

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SUPPLEMENT RESTRICTION: AMERICA IS THE NEXT TARGET.

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Make no mistake about it: there is a movement afoot to take away your acces=

s to vitamin supplements in the USA, as in Europe. If passed, Senate bill S.=

722, the so-called " Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003 " will insure that=

this happens.

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For example, this proposed law contains the following words:

`SEC. 416. ADVERSE EXPERIENCES WITH DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS. (a) DEFINITIONS

" (1) ADVERSE DIETARY SUPPLEMENT EXPERIENCE- The term `adverse dietary suppl=

ement experience´ means an adverse event that is associated with the use of =

a dietary supplement in a human, without regard to whether the event is know=

n to be causally related to the dietary supplement. "

Think about that and re-read it. This is federal legislation based on hear-=

say. Do you think that is a good idea?

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How about this section:

`(d) SAFETY REVIEW FOR POSSIBLY DANGEROUS DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

`(1) IN GENERAL- If a clinical evaluation by the Secretary (of the FDA) of =

1 or more serious adverse events indicates that a dietary supplement or a di=

etary ingredient contained in a dietary supplement appears to present a sign=

ificant or unreasonable risk of illness, the Secretary may require the manuf=

acturers of the dietary supplement, or of a dietary ingredient contained in =

a dietary supplement, to submit to the Secretary data demonstrating that the=

dietary supplement containing the dietary ingredient is safe.

`(2) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF CONTINUED MARKETING- As soon as practicable=

after receiving data required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall revi=

ew the data and issue a determination that--

`(A)(i) the dietary supplement is safe; and

`(ii) the continued marketing of the dietary supplement is approved; or

`((i) the dietary supplement is not safe or has not been shown to be safe=

under ordinary or frequent conditions of use; and

`(ii) the continued marketing of the dietary supplement is disapproved.´.

THIS WORDING GIVES THE SECRETARY OF THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION A=

BSOLUTE POWER TO REGULATE EVERY SINGLE SUPPLEMENT.

Do you think that is right?

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Read the full text of this proposed law at http://thomas.loc.gov/ by typing=

in " S. 722. " 722 alone will not work. You have to type " S. 722. " ( " S " indic=

ates Senate.)

http://www.greatestherbsonearth.com/nsparticles/ama_dshea.htm contains a go=

od commentary article on S. 722, with a ready-to-print-and-use form letter p=

rovided at

http://www.greatestherbsonearth.com/nsparticles/s722_letter.htm so you can =

write to your senator immediately. (I have no financial connection with this=

website, and make no recommendation or endorsement of its products or other=

commercial content.)

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You can send your comments electronically, by email, for free, at

http://www.congress.org . I just cut-and-pasted the form letter into a plai=

n text format ( " Notepad " ) and then edited it a bit. You can, too, or if you =

prefer you can just use my letter, below, which I have already to both my .

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U.S. Senators.

Here it is:

Dear Senator:

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I respectfully urge you to do all in your power to kill S-722 (the " Dietary=

Supplement Safety Act of 2003, " introduced March 26th, 2003 by Senator Rich=

ard J. Durbin (D-IL). The bill's intent is to overturn the main provisions o=

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

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I think S-722 and its congressional backers will be very unpopular with the=

American people. I can say this because more citizen letters were sent to C=

ongress in 1992-1994 in support of DSHEA than over any other issue in Americ=

an history. If you have a hand in overturning the freedoms that DSHEA provid=

es, voters will strongly disapprove.

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DSHEA was enacted after years of debate in Congress. During the process, it=

became very clear that there was overwhelming public support for ensuring f=

ree access to dietary supplements.

S-722 would give the FDA the potential power to remove thousands of herbs a=

nd other dietary supplements from the marketplace, as it has tried to do man=

y times already, literally for decades. S-722 would give FDA complete discre=

tion to make such a determination. That is wrong. It was the will of the peo=

ple and of Congress, as stated in DSHEA, that supplement availability in Ame=

rica is not to be regulated or restricted.

S-722 would require premarket approval for caffeine in herbs and dietary su=

pplements but would specifically exempt manufacturers of drugs and foods lik=

e coffee, tea, and soft drinks from that requirement. Do you really think th=

at is right?

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You are almost certainly most concerned with the safety of your constituent=

s, but you may not be aware of this: There is not even one death per year fr=

om vitamins. S. 722 gives FDA power to control access to vitamins, and not j=

ust other, more questionable products. And as for unsafe products, you shoul=

d be fully aware that DSHEA already provides FDA with very ample authority t=

o remove any dangerous product at any time. FDA has always had this authorit=

y. They still have it. S. 722 is essentially a power grab that undermines DS=

HEA and the rights of your constituents.

Please oppose S. 722, and please write back to me on this subject.

Respectfully yours,

W. Saul

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My Senator's office tells me that we can check and see to what extent this =

bill is making progress at

http://thomas.loc.gov/

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There is more information, and important links, concerning attempts to rest=

rict access to vitamin supplements at

http://www.doctoryourself.com/news/v3n21.txt and

http://www.doctoryourself.com/supplement_limit.html .

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Abram Hoffer, M.D., offers this comment on Europe's recently approved, cont=

inent-wide ban on consumer access to vitamin supplements:

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" Your recent newsletter (http://www.doctoryourself.com/news/v3n21.txt) prov=

es very clearly that modern medicine is not scientific, that it is full of p=

rejudice, illogic and susceptible to advertising. Doctors are not taught to =

reason. They are programmed to believe in whatever their medical schools tea=

ch them and the leading doctors tell them. And over the past 20 years the dr=

ug companies with their enormous wealth have taken medicine over and now con=

trol its research, what is taught and the information released to the public=

.. Very important information in your newsletter. If the European Union has i=

ts way, all consumer access to nutrients throughout Europe will be prohibite=

d, while the massive drug companies will still be permitted to experiment al=

l they like with their dangerous potions. "

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Please write to your Senators today. And how about sending a letter to your=

local newspaper? My easy how-to hints to help you are at

http://www.doctoryourself.com/write_now.html

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" When I feel the heat, I see the light. " (Senator Everett Dirksen)

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Best wishes,

A. Saul

Contributing Editor

Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine

http://www.orthomed.org

My website: http://www.doctoryourself.com