**AUSTRALIAN SENATE: Please be aware that the eyes of the world are upon you as this mssg is being forwarded NOT ONLY TO AUSTRALIANS, BUT _WORLD WIDE_ to hundreds of thousands of consumers of dietary supplements and herbs who stand in solidarity with the concerns (expressed below) of Dianne and Tony Standley of the Womens Natural Health Association Inc. and of the Association of Australians For Natural Health Inc.

The current bill (discussed below in detail) is UNREASONABLE and SHOULD NOT BE PASSED because the proposed 'ADVERTISING CODE COUNCIL' is BIASED in favor of pharmaceutical interests and DOES NOT ALLOW FOR COMMUNITY INPUT. Australians deserve to learn of the healing properties of dietary supplements, but if the proposed bill is passed into law, they will be deprived of truthful health information which can help lower staggering healthcare costs. Consumers world wide want to know if the nation of Australia is properly responsive to its citizens, or are you all nothing but pawns of the multinational pharmaceutical industry??? (Please let ME know your position, and I will inform my list.)Please examine the information in the IAHF website to better understand the international threat to health freedom as pharmaceutical interests attempt to dominate the dietary supplement industry.

**IAHF DISTRIBUTION LIST, especially Australians, you have LESS THAN 2 WEEKS to ACT on this!! After reading this to familiarize yourself with the deplorable situation unfolding in Australia please forward this entire mssg to the Australian Senate.Consumers world wide are effected by what happens in other countries since the advent of GATT. We MUST stand together. It isn't enough to only be concerned with what is going on in our own countries anymore, as the TGA,FDA,MCC,MCA,etc are all under the umbrella of the UN's International Council of Drug Regulating Authorities (ICDRA). IAHF was created to network dietary supplements world wide in opposition to ICDRA. Details of horrible situation in Australia outlined below.

John Hammell

01 Mar 1998

Subject: Proposed Amendments Therapeutic Goods Regulations (Amendments) statutary rules no 400 Advertising Code of 1989

RE Government Gazette S510 9/12/97 and S519 10/12/97
Proposed Amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Regulations (amendments) statuary rules no. 400 Advertising Code of 1989

Further to our email dated Sunday 22nd February please find a list of questions to be asked concerning the above proposed amendments and the general attitude of the TGA towards legitimate requests for information.

Questions 1. Bearing in mind the urgency of getting a reply before the next session of Parliament why has there been no acknowlegement to faxes/letters sent to:

Dr Michael Wooldridge
Minister for Health and Family Planning
26/1/98

Trish Worth MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Family Services
26/1/98

John Cable
Director Conformity Assessment Branch
TGA (Tel 0262328700)
1/3/98

Is it the intention for these amendments to be rushed through without community debate ?

Is this the new policy of a government which used to pride itself on an 'open government platform' ?

2. Why does the TGA ,whose spokesperson is a John Cable, promote policies to restrict access and contact details of and to the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Council.

Surely a council who is making decisions on behalf of the health of the community should be open to the community for input,advice and active participation in new and established health regimes.

Why in particular has John Cable allowed observers to council,specifically vested industry interests:

the Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association

the Cosmetics Toiletries and Fragrances Association of Australia

the Medical Industries Association of Australia

TO HAVE VOTING RIGHTS ?????

Surely this must slant the council's views towards those of powerful industry lobby groups creating the suspicion that the TGA has an unhealthy biased relationship with industry lobby groups.

The council needs to be constructed and have obligations as set out in the following notes.

3. Specific questions need to be asked of the TGA again through John Cable why,for what reason and who proposed the following parts of the notations:

ADVERTISING THERAPEUTIC GOODS TO THE PUBLIC
Page 13
6. VITAMINS

6.1 An advertisement for vitamin supplements shall not:

6.11 suggest that the use of vitamin supplements can be justified by claims that soil depletion reduces nutritional values of food,that processed foods lack nutritional value;

6.13 contain claims of benefit for pre-menstrual symptoms
(except as provided in the clause of this Code relating to "Prohibition"),
sexual activity, nervousness, stress, or that vitamin supplements will stimulate appetite or growth;

6.14 contain claims that good looks, good health and long life can be necessarily attributed to the use of vitamin supplements;

BUT THE ABOVE AMENDMENTS ARE WRONG IN FACT AND IMPLICATION AND NEED TO BE EITHER DELETED OR SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIED TO REFLECT A BALANCE IN ATTITUDE AND FACT WHICH THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY CAN ACCEPT AS REASONABLE BASED ON AVAILABLE PUBLISHED/PROVEN INFORMATION

Again the questions need to be asked how the TGA could recommend amendments for consideration and who were the proposers of these amendments.

4. Finally, in our letter to John Cable 1/2/98 a notation was made;

Finally the group has received numerous requests querying the withdrawal of sale of a number of Progesterone based products.

Could you please provide details of the reason for the withdrawal and the estimated date these products will return to the marketplace.

Our group has been contacted by dozens of distressed women who want to know the reasons for the withdrawal of these products.

Could you please ask why was the product withdrawn and who were the proposers of the withdrawal.

Your assistance on the above is urgently required.

Dianne and Tony Standley
Womens Natural Health Association Inc.
Association of Australians For Natural Health Inc.

EMAIL ADDRESSES OF AUSTRALIAN SENATORS

(copy and paste onto your email message)

senator.abetz@aph.gov.au, senator.allison@aph.gov.au, richard.alston@dca.gov.au, senator.bartlett@aph.gov.au, senator.bishop@aph.gov.au, senator.bolkus@aph.gov.au, senator.boswell@aph.gov.au, senator.bourne@aph.gov.au, senator.brown@aph.gov.au, senator.calvert@aph.gov.au, senator.george.campbell@aph.gov.au, senator.campbell@aph.gov.au, senator.carr@aph.gov.au, senator.chapman@aph.gov.au, bob.collins@aph.gov.au, senator.jacinta.collins@aph.gov.au, senator.colston.aph.gov.au@concentric.net, senator.conroy@aph.gov.au, senator.cook@aph.gov.au, senator.coonan@aph.gov.au, senator.crowley@aph.gov.au, senator.denman@aph.gov.au, senator.eggleston@aph.gov.au, senator.evans@aph.gov.au, senator.faulkner@aph.gov.au, senator.furguson@aph.gov.au, senator.ferris@aph.gov.au, senator.forshaw@aph.gov.au, senator.gibbs@aph.gov.au, senator.gibson@aph.gov.au, senator.harradine@aph.gov.au, senator.heffernan@aph.gov.au, senator.herron@aph.gov.au, senator.hill@aph.gov.au, senator.rod.kemp@aph.gov.au, senator.knowles@aph.gov.au, senator.lightfoot@aph.gov.au, senator.lundy@aph.gov.au, senator.ian.mcdonald@aph.gov.au, senator.macgibbon@aph.gov.au, senator.margetts@aph.gov.au, senator.mcgauran@aph.gov.au, senator.mckiernan@aph.gov.au, senator.minchin@aph.gov.au, senator.murray@aph.gov.au, senator.neal@aph.gov.au, senator.newman@aph.gov.au, senator.obrien@aph.gov.au, william.ochee@aph.gov.au, senator.payne@aph.gov.au, senator.quirke@aph.gov.au, senator.ray@aph.gov.au, senator.reid@aph.gov.au, senator.reynolds@aph.gov.au, senator.schacht@aph.gov.au, senator.sherry@aph.gov.au, natasha@va.com.au, senator.synon@aph.gov.au, senator.tambling@aph.gov.au, senator.tierney@aph.gov.au, senator.troeth@aph.gov.au, senator.watson@aph.gov.au, senator.west@aph.gov.au, senator.woodley@aph.gov.au

Donations Needed- Need Help to Keep Helper On
International Advocates for Health Freedom
John C. Hammell, Legislative Advocate
2411 Monroe St.#2 Hollywood, FL 33020 USA
800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, FAX 954-929-0507,
FAX ON DEMAND 954-927-8795,jham@concentric.net
www.iahf.com
HERBS ARE _NOT_ DRUGS! HELP PASS HR 2868
THE CONSUMER HEALTH FREE SPEECH ACT!!!