In this message I completely explain the staggering beauty of the newly introduced "Consumer Health Free Speech Act" HR 2868, which will allow us to make therapeutic claims on dietary supplements. This bill has just been introduced by Congressman Ron Paul, who is the only libertarian Congressman, and one of the few honest members of Congress. I've also responded to a critic who alleges that the bill would pose a serious threat to consumers by removing power from the FDA.
Is he correct? Please judge for yourself! This bill COUNTERS the pathetic efforts of those harlot companies which currently seek to expand the OTC Drug category to include herbs, which plays right into the hands of the pharmaceutical industry. Any vitamin or herb company that doesn't back this bill should be boycotted as anti-consumer, because the big herb companies are trying to grab market share by pushing for the OTC drug category to be expanded, and by raising the hurdles, they threaten to drive a lot of smaller supplement companies out of business. Don't let them! JUST SAY NO TO CODEX! Consumers benefit from healthy competition within the supplement industry. FOODS are NOT DRUGS! HERBS ARE NOT DRUGS! The time to stand on PRINCIPLES has arrived!
Please assist IAHF in getting CO-SPONSORS on this important legislation! You can do this very easily while Congress is currently recessed! It is very important that you look in your phone book and call your Congressman's local district office to make an appointment to see him or her when they visit their home districts between now and the end of January while Congress is out of session. Your Congressman is in office to serve your needs! When Congress is out of session, you have the best possible chance of getting a face to face meeting, but you must act NOW to get an appointment! Please get yourself a copy of the US Congress Handbook by calling 800-229-3572.
Order one now, even if the new ones aren't yet available, as it is an indispensable lobbying tool, containing all pertinent contact information to assist us in getting co-sponsors on this crucial legislation! Remember, any Congressman or Senator can be called TOLL FREE in Washington at 800-972-3524, the US Capital Switchboard. If you don't know the name of your congressman, just give the switchboard your zipcode and they will connect you! They can tell you the phone number of your Congressman's local number in your state if you can't find it in the phonebook.
At 03:15 PM 11/11/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Aris2chat wrote:
>>
>> Can someone put this into plain english. My fibro fog
brain just sees
>> this as gibberish and double talk but I'm sur it is important.
>>
>> (\ ~ /) Liz "Dutchess"
>> ( \O/ ) http://members.aol.com/Aris2chat/index.html
>> /, ,\ Aris2chat's Home Page
>> / \ "Angels take themselves lightly,
>> ~~~~~ that's why they have wings"
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> The deepest joy is felt by those
>> Who know what pain is, too~
>> And I belong in this large group
>> And so do most of you
>> _"Cheerful Cherub"
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>What the gentleman appears to be saying is that the proposed
>legislatioin will allow makers of supplements to make claims
on
>products' labels that the products treat or cure particular
diseases,
>illnesses or symptoms, even though the FDA has not ruled that
the
>ingredients in the product have been demonstrated to help
cure or treat
>those diseases, illnesses or symptoms. This will effectively
eliminate
>the current requirement that claims on such products be supported
by a
>general scientific consensus that the claims are supported
by
>confirmable evidence before being disseminated to the public.
>
>I believe this is an irresponsible and frightening proposal,
because
>many of us who are sick and desperate will try anything to
get well. If
>this legislation passes, we will see many supplement manufacturers
>becoming richer and richer, as people waste more and more
of their money
>on useless products. Also, I believe many people might get
sick from
>consuming products which may prove dangerous for them.
Dear jibloom:
I suspect you made this statement out of the belief that I would never see it, but someone forwarded it to me, so I thought it might be educational for you, and the other people on this list to see my response.
For those who may not be following this thread, to recap, I previously discussed a new bill which has just been introduced by Congressman Ron Paul, HR 2868, The Consumer Health Free Speech Act a very simple, one page bill which would allow us to make therapeutic claims on dietary supplements (foods) which ARE NOT "DRUGS"!
Section 201(g)(1) of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321 (g)(1) is amended in clause B (by HR 2868) by inserting (other than food) after "articles":
Section 402 (f)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342(f)(1) is amended in subparagraphs (A) and (B) by striking "significant or unreasonable" and inserting "significant and unreasonable"
Now, how would this be advantageous to consumers? Well, the present definition of the term "DRUG" in the food, drug and cosmetic act is so overly-broad that it includes foods, herbs, and dietary supplements. The present flawed definition reads: "The term 'drug' means articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in man...." Paul's bill would add three words "other than food" immediately following the word "articles" so it would read:
"The term 'drug' means articles OTHER THAN FOOD, intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in man..."
Adding these 3 words would exempt all foods, (which includes herbs and other dietary supplements) from being regulated as drugs by the FDA.
Excellent scientific research in nutrition has been exploding in recent years which shows that herbs and other dietary supplements are safe and incredibly effective in preventing and mitigating many diseases. However the flawed definition of the term "drug" makes it a federal crime for the dietary supplement industry to give this true information to consumers as part of the label or labeling of herbs or dietary supplements.
Sec. 403 of the FD&C Act protects consumers against false or misleading health claims for foods. It says:
"SEC. 403: A food shall be deemed to be misbranded if false or misleading in any particular..." This gives the FDA tremendous authority over false or misleading labeling.
Second: By changing the "or" to an "and" it will set a much higher and more standard that FDA must meet before it can limit or ban the sale of dietary supplements by claiming that they present an unreasonable "risk". The Paul amendment will require FDA to prove the risk is both significant AND unreasonable.
Present law says "A food shall be deemed to be adulterated if it is a dietary supplement or contains a dietary ingredient that presents a significant OR unreasonable RISK of illness or injury under conditions of use recommended or suggested in labeling or...under ordinary conditions of use."
Significant AND unreasonable is a far higher standard of proof for FDA to meet than "significant OR unreasonable"
It is well known that the FDA has a long history of hostility against true health claims by the herb and dietary supplement industry.
Under present law, FDA can easily charge that a targeted food, herb, or dietary supplement has a risk because there is admittedly a risk to some sensitive or allergic person from virtually EVERY food, herb, or dietary supplement.
For example, there are some people who will go into anaphylactic shock from eating PEANUT BUTTER, or SHELLFISH, and there are some people who really can't eat CORN. So, should the FDA now require warning labels on these foods... Would you advocate this?
You know, it is well documented that if you drink 7 litres of water, or eat a kilo of salt, you will DIE!!! Did you know that? Is it your belief that FDA should then post billboards on the interstate WARNING US ALL? ;->
You see, the FDA is killing people, and it must stop! Lets take folic acid for a second, the US Public Health Service approved the claim that folic acid prevents neural tube defects (which cause babies to be born with horrible, crippling birth defects such as spina bifida, which can cause partial to complete permanent paralysis and which destroys lives) fully TWO YEARS before the FDA finally approved the claim. During those two years that the FDA dragged its feet, some 7,500 children were born in America with spina bifida, and it is estimated that fully HALF of these cases could have been PREVENTED if these kids mothers had had access to this life saving information, at the point of sale, on labels and labeling. Now, the FDA claimed that they didn't have "Significant Scientific Agreement" but this was false. The US Public Health Service had reviewed the evidence, which came pouring in from researchers all over the world, and they approved the claim two years before FDA did, but manufacturers could not alert the public.
Is it your belief that the FDA knows better than the US Public Health Service? Is it your belief that the FDA is the sole repository of TRUTH?
If so, you are far sicker than just having fibro-myalgia. You appear to suffer from incurable myopia of a sort so severe, that not even the strongest, coke bottle bottom glasses will enable you to see the truth, and that's sad. That's VERY sad. I rest my case. If you wish to reply, you may email me directly at jham@concentric.net If you should FAIL to reply, I will consider you to be devoid of any sort of legitimate argument, and will massively publicise this fact. I'll show your email, and this reply to members of Congress, and their staff. One thing that you clearly fail to grasp is that vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements, hormones and herbs are gifts to us from our Creator, and no government has any justification to EVER try to tell us what we can, or cannot, ingest into our bodies. The statists have about as much RIGHT to tell me this, as they do to try to tell me not to BREATH or drink WATER.
I predict that a very large number of people reading this will immediately go to their telephone and dial the US Capital Switchboard at 800-972-3524 in order to ask their Congressman to cosponsor HR 2868, the Consumer Health Free Speech Act, because its the right thing for every American to do right now!
Yes, I predict that when Congress reconvenes at the end of January, they will find MAILBAGS of mail asking them to cosponsor this bill!!!
I will be doing radio shows ASKING people to send these letters in, and they will, they will because we deserve to be UNSHACKLED from the evil tyranny of the mindless bureaucrats, the mindless bureaucrats who KILL, who KILL on a DAILY BASIS due to their strings being pulled by the multitrillion dollar DRUG CARTEL, the MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, the worlds second largest industry following the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. With their allopathic model they have declared war on the body, but I am hereby putting the politicians on OFFICIAL NOTICE, that I have only just BEGUN to right these terrible wrongs.
Please help me, everyone. Please help me to get the cash flow to be able to hire a helper. Please send your most GENEROUS donation to: IAHF 2411 Monroe St. Hollywood, FL 33020. With one helper, I'll be able to do MORE radio shows, and make MORE public presentations, I'll be able to make MORE visits to Washington, and to other places world wide in defense of health freedom. IAHF is the only consulting firm in the world striving to unite grass roots health freedom fighters all over the world, and we're doing it, with your help we can't lose!
For Truth,
John C. Hammell, legislative advocate,founder
International Advocates for Health Freedom
2411 Monroe St.
Hollywood, FL 33030 USA
800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, fax 954-929-0507
fax on demand 954-927-8795, www.iahf.com
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