McCain's "Dietary Supplement Safety Act" Squashed!

Be proud, Americans! Thank you for taking time from your busy day to write/email congress regarding S.3002, John McCain's Dietary Supplement Safety Act. Senator McCain has rescinded his support of the DSSA.

Americans love their freedoms, including the freedom to purchase dietary supplements. McCain's bill would have turned the dietary supplement business over to the FDA, and eventually, Big Pharma. This bill was a very thinly veiled cousin to Europe's Codex Alimentarius, which currently restricts the sale of dietary supplements. McCain's bill would have given carte blanche to launch Codex here in the US, making you a criminal if you chose to continue to enjoy your dietary supplements to improve your health and vitality, and give drug companies and the government the right to destroy what health freedoms DSHEA has accomplished.

The fact that American consumers love their dietary supplements and want less, not more regulation is proven by the hard data demonstrating that in one of the worst economies in decades dietary supplement sales increased significantly in 2009. During America's recent financial crisis, the dietary supplement industry was one of our nation's only industries that had economic growth. The passing of any bill that would jeopardize the dietary supplement industry is counter to the health, best interest and desire of American citizens. Furthermore, the passing of any bill so highly detrimental to our economic growth and well being and is outright anti-American!

Why congress doesn't focus on cleaning up the problems they already have with OTC drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, and the FDA cleaning their house of AERS and VAERS reports is beyond me. Our government has enough problems their plate -- there's no need to create more!

OC

Follow Up: My Letter to John McCain

After yesterday's post, I thought it fit to write John McCain. So here it is:

March 4, 2010

Dear Senator McCain,

I am a Naturopath and founder of a natural health practice in Southern California. That said, I am not anti-pharm. There are good drugs available that have saved lives. There are also drugs that are on the market that have taken lives. There are many drugs that are currently over-prescribed.

It's no secret that we have a pharmaceutical problem in the US. It's also no secret that the dietary supplement business has exploded to $32 Billion. That's a huge chunk of change that everyone would want to get their hands on. But at what cost to the people? And to what end?

I was a supporter of yours in this last election for many reasons. I was surprised to learn the you wrote the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, which would impede the health freedoms we currently enjoy today in the US.

Giving the FDA control over supplements doesn't make sense, as they are obviously overloaded with what they have on their plate. Thousands of reports have been made to AERS and VAERS, indicating injury or death related to pharmaceutical products, with no action taken toward the manufacturers. Recently, a supplement company was called on the carpet for one incident, and wasn't allowed any recourse. The product was pulled from the shelves.

That's just unfair.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, Senator McCain. However, I am dismayed by this bill, and am surprised you wrote it!

I know you are a freedom-loving man. You are a national hero. You fought to protect our freedom in Vietnam, as did my brother. I don't want to see you add to the recent erosion of integrity and founding principles of our country.

Our citizens deserve to make their own choices, and our decisions will only be as good as our information. Providing disease prevention and self-treat education would provide a substantial savings to our current broken health care system.

Diabetes, obesity and many coronary diseases are completely preventable. I'd like to see you write a bill making food manufacturers responsible for providing REAL sources of high quality nutrition, rather than dead, preservative and food additive-laden excuses which lead to and promote unnecessary disease. Then, go after fast food chains. Prepared food manufacturers have a great responsibility to provide wholesome, highly nutritious food sources, and they've failed, as evidenced by our rapidly escalating disease rate.

That said, people should be accountable and responsible for their behavior (or lack thereof). Since this problem has been created with government assistance, I'm expecting government be part of a viable solution to include maintaining our health freedoms.

I know I speak for many when I urge you to reconsider the DSSA bill. I believe that self-treat and disease prevention education should be the cornerstone of ANY health care reform plan, and it can be managed so that it is not a threat to insurance and pharmaceutical companies. I am part of a national network of health professionals who are committed to providing health education.

Respectfully,

Kristin Mills, ND, CNHP

Take Action!

John McCain has written a bill called the Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA), which, if voted in, would repeal key sections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). The DSHEA protects supplementst if they are food products that have been in the food supply and not chemically altered or were sold as supplements prior to 1994 (the year DSHEA was passed). If a supplement fits one of these categories, the FDA cannot arbitrarily ban it or reclassify it as a drug.

McCain's bill would give carte blanche to the FDA to ban or turn over any supplement to FDA-favored drug companies. (And it's no secret that the FDA is friendly to drug companies and hostile to supplement companies.) This will give the FDA more control, but is already misusing the Adverse Reporting System (AERS) and VAERS for vaccine reporting. Drugs and vaccines already have thousands of adverse reports, without any action. Yet the FDA recently pulled a supplement from the market based on a couple of alleged adverse reports without allowing the company to provide any counter evidence or argument.

Drug companies are threatened by supplement companies because supplements are effective, safer, and less expensive. The FDA doesn't like supplement companies because the do not come through the FDA approval process and therefore do not support the FDA budget.

The FDA is supposed to guard and protect our health, and yet is hostile to natural medicine based on diet, exercise and supplements. Natural medicine is the real future of health care...and there's nothing in it financially for the FDA or drug companies.

Protect your access to supplements and rights to health freedom by contacting your senators today by asking them NOT to co-sponsor Senator McCain's Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA), rather OPPOSE it.

For more information, click here:

http://www.suzannesomers.com/Blog/post/Senator-McCain-and-your-Supplements.aspx

OC