UK Vitamin B-6 BAN Opposed By US Senators Hatch, Harkin
By John Hammell
January 30, 1998

I just received the following letter today from Senator
Orrin Hatch's office. Hatch and Harkin have put the UK government on notice
that if they ban vitamin B-6 above 10 mg, they will be erecting an illegal
trade barrier under GATT. It would be illegal because there is no
scientific basis for banning B-6 above 10mg. Graeme Millar, Editor of the
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in London, UK told me
yesterday that the statutory instrument, the source document for a new law
that would restrict the free sale of vitamin B-6 has just been returned
from the government's lawyers to Jeff Rooker, Minister of Food Safety, for
his final approval.

Before placing the statutory instrument before parliament, Rooker must
first allow a 3 month period for the European Commission to comment on the
proposed new law, and he must also consult during this period with
interested parties in the UK.

Thus far, Rooker has arrogantly ignored all evidence put before him
attesting to the safety of B-6, including evidence provided by Alan Gaby,
MD, of Seattle, Washington, USA, an international authority on B-6. Millar
reports that "in a radio interview in late December Rooker finally
overplayed a very tired hand. Having no scientific evidence to justify his
decision, and unwilling to admit that he had got it all wrong, he tried to
implant in the public's mind that the free sale of vitamin B-6 equalled the
dangers of BSE, thalidomide and asbestos.

Please read the following letter from Senators Hatch and Harkin to the UK
government, and regardless of what country you are in, please forward this
email to more people world wide to warn them that we are facing GENOCIDE.
To learn more, please visit www.tetrahedron.org Also, please visit the UK
section of my website, download the form letter to Rooker re B-6, and fax
it to him along with this mssg. Consumers of dietary supplements world wide
must cover each others backs. We are all fighting the same dark forces. We
must all stick together. If you live in the UK, I strongly urge you to hold
a massive demonstration in front of Rookers office building, and get some
press coverage to demonstrate the depth of your outrage.If someone in the
UK could please get me Rookers email address, please do. His fax number is
in the UK section my website, unless it has been disconnected or changed.
 

UNITED STATES SENATE

       December 12, 1997

Rt Hon Margaret Beckett, MP
President of the Board of Trade
Department of Trade and Industry
1 Victoria St.
London, UK SW1H0ET
 

Dear Mrs.Beckett:
 

 Your consideration of our views on the following matter would be greatly
appreciated. We are deeply concerned to learn that the United Kingdom
Government may introduce a unilateral ban on the general sale of all
dietary supplements containing more than 10 milligrams of vitamin B-6.

 We are unaware of a proper public health justification for such a ban as
it is out understanding that most public health experts would not agree
with the need for this unprecedented step. In fact, we are told that
serious questions have been raised regarding the scientific basis for the
proposed ban.

 Vitamin B-6 has been considered an extremely safe nutrient since its
discovery more than 50 years ago. It is our understanding that the United
Kingdom Committee on Toxicity (COT) made its recent recommendation, upon
which the proposed ban is founded, on the basis essentially of only two
sets of data. These studies do not appear to reflect a consensus of
scientists. For example, Dr.John Hathcock, Director of Nutritional and
Regulatory Science for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, has commented
that the COT's use of one of these studies (Phillips et. al., 1978) is
flawed because of an "unusual and inappropriate use of an excessively large
safety composite factor [which] led to an erroneous and unacceptable
conclusion."

 In addition, this proposed ban will erect a major, and we believe
completely unecessary and unjustifiable trade barrier to United States
exporters that currently supply a considerable percentage of the United
Kingdom market in these products.

 Such a move is contrary to the spirit, and possibly the letter, of
international trade agreements, and could undoubtedly have major
implications for bilateral cooperation in removing trade barriers in these
and other areas in the future. It is our understanding that a number of
United States manufacturers and their trade bodies are considering mounting
a challenge to this ban on the basis that it contravenes existing free
trade agreements.

 We would hope that any change in regulation in this area would only be
taken after due consultation with appropriate governmental health and
international trade officials, public health experts and consumer
organizations, and manufacturers both in Great Britain and abroad.

 Thank you for your consideration of our views on this important matter.

     Sincerely,

Tom Harkin,        Orrin Hatch
United States Senator       United States Senator
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