WHOLE WORLD OF HERBS
The Whole World Botanicals' Newsletter, From Viana Muller, Ph.D.         #8 / Fall 2003

STOP THE SUPPLEMENTAL SAFETY ACT-SENATE BILL S.722!

A Bill has been introduced in the US Senate to deal with the supposed problem of Safety in Dietary Supplements. The bill gives the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) the right to remove a supplement from the market "… if 1(one) or more serious adverse events indicate that a dietary supplement "presents a risk of illness. Sec. 416(d) (1).

Under this bill's loose definitions, it will be possible for FDA to find one instance where a person is seriously injured who happened to be taking Vitamin C or St. Johns Wort as millions of people do and remove it until the manufacturer proves it is not responsible and safe. Since Vitamin C competes with a huge market for cold remedies and St.Johns Wort competes with expensive anti-depressant drugs, there is an incentive for the drug manufacturers to get their friends at FDA to remove the supplement. Since supplement manufacturers do not usually have an exclusive patent on their products and prices and profits are lower, it may not pay for any one manufacturer to pay the high cost of proving the supplement innocent and safe. Current law gives FDA authority to remove genuinely dangerous supplements.
FDA would also be able to require approval before a stimulant is sold. This could include Dong Quai which both stimulates and inhibits uterine muscles, Bee Pollen that enhances endurance and speed, Ephedra which is widely used for weight loss and asthma , Gingko Biloba used for mild memory loss, vascular disease and asthma because it stimulates blood flow and Maca Root which promotes hormone balance. These may have to be proven safe or removed.

FACTS- American Poison Control Center data from 2001 show deaths from all vitamins were 0, ZERO, deaths from all minerals were 7, all herbs were 7, deaths from all homeopathics were 2 and all other supplements not specified were 3. From all supplements the total was 19 deaths. For 2002 the numbers were vitamins 2, minerals 5, herbs 3 and others 1 for a total of 11 deaths. This must be compared to the dangerous record of FDA approved prescription drugs. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association April 15, 1998, there were 106,000 deaths a year from prescription drugs taken correctly "as directed" not overdoses or the wrong drug for the patient. This made it the 4th leading cause of death behind heart disease, cancer and stroke.

The Supplement Safety Act was introduced by Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois. It is co sponsored by Senators Charles Schumer (NY), Hillary Clinton (NY) and Diane Feinstein (CA). Join our campaign to call the NY Senators and ask them to meet with Consumers Health Freedom Coalition to discuss the dangers of the Supplement Safety Act and Support The DSHEA Full implementation Act S.1538 sponsored by Senators Harkin and Hatch. So far the NY senators have not given us a date to meet.
Sen. Charles Schumer 212-486-4430
Sen. Hillary Clinton 212-688-6262
If you live in another state you can reach your senators-each state has two, by calling the capitol switchboard 202-224-3121 or at www.senate.gov
For further information call Arnold Gore, Consumers Health Freedom Coalition 212-795-6460 or e-mail him at: Arnoldgore@aol.com

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS ARE UNDER REGULATORY ATTACK AGAIN? ACT NOW OR FACE A FUTURE -a near future- WHERE HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS WILL BE ILLEGAL. NO KIDDING!

In 1994, in the United States, consumers like you, of Nutritional Supplements, (vitamins, minerals and herbs) produced the largest outpouring of constituent mail and phone contact with legislators since the height of the Watergate Scandal in 1973! As a result, DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health Education Act) was passed, which allowed manufacturers of these supplements to make health claims such as "helps support the heart" (with no reference to preventing or curing disease,) if there is scientific evidence available to back up such a claim. It also permitted the sale of these supplements unless the FDA could prove that the supplement was harmful. Rather than forcing the companies to run clinical trials like those required (to introduce a new pharmaceutical drug.)

The pharmaceutical industry and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began to
look for ways to get around a direct vote on restricting the availability of herbal supplements and decided to get the World Health Organization (whose major source of funding since 1998 has been the pharmaceutical industry) to propose 'harmonizing' legislation for all "medicine" -- including herbs with a long history of therapeutic usage. This proposed legislation would then be voted on by the WTO (World Trade Organization).This adoption of international standards and regulations for Traditional Medicines that have been used for centuries by rural native healers would prevent the sale of these herbs unless they passed expensive clinical trials and were proven to be safe and effective, at which point then sale would be permitted as licensed pharmaceutical drugs!!! This is not a mere proposal--it is backed up by millions of dollars and a very concrete plan. (Go to Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy on the website of the World Health Organization.)

Inside each nation, WHO, providing “technical assistance and advisors,” is spearheading restrictive legislation to limit or ban the sale of most herbal supplements. In Europe they have already succeeded and all herbs which do not have a 15 year history of usage in the European Union will be outlawed as of January, 2004! This leaves out virtually all South American Herbs, African herbs, South East Asian herbs, many Chinese herbs, to name but a few powerful herbal traditions.

This is the same pattern that some U.S. Senators, backed by the pharmaceutical industry and the AMA, are trying to impose on American consumers through the introduction of S. 722. All of these crocodile tears concerning the lack of safety of herbal supplements are utter and blatant hypocrisy, as proven by the very small numbers of adverse reactions to supplements reported by the American Association of Poison Control.

Fortunately, you now have A BILL TO FIGHT AGAINST by calling your Senators and another SPLENDID BILL TO SUPPORT (S.1538)-which would provide adequate funding to the FDA to implement 1994 DSHEA Act (Dietary Supplement Health Education Act), which has never been given any teeth.

"A Whole World of Herbs" is copyright 2003, Viana Muller.

Whole World Botanicals, Inc.
PO Box 322074 Ft. Wash. Station
New York NY 10032
Toll-free phone 877-885-5517
Phone 212-781-6026    Fax 212-781-0440