| Death is Natural, Too |
17 March 2003
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FDA Must Regulate Supplements
The results of Steve Belcher's autopsy say that the Oriole pitcher's death was linked to the herb ephedra. The 1994
Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA) exempts "natural" supplement producers from having to prove that their products are safe or effective, or even pure, the way drug companies have to do. Instead, the FDA, with its scant resources, has the burden of proof to show the substances are bad. This needs to change in nanoseconds, but the new rules before Congress probably won't do it.
Roll Call, which covers Capitol Hill better than anybody, reports that the supplement makers are backing the new rules -- always a sign that they are not effective. A little digging shows that the new rules still don't require proof that the stuff works; instead, the FDA will force companies to put somewhere on the label what, precisely, is in the product.
It is disturbing in the extreme that products sold as beneficial to one's health are not subject to even this level of scrutiny now. However, while the country is about it, perhaps requiring sellers or roots, leaves and berry extracts to prove that their products work might be a good idea.
If one buys a pocket calculator, a car, or a bread knife in the US, and if the product doesn't work, the law requires some kind of accommodation from the producer. If one buys an "all-natural, herbal dietary supplement", and its use results in death, some kind of recourse is needed. Better still, though, if its use resulted in improved health.
Kensington found much of value for this in Dr. Robert Parks' e-newsletter "What's New." One can subscribe for free by sending a blank e-mail to join-whatsnew@lists.apsmsgs.org.