A call to more heavily regulate the supplement industry

RivenV

I will admit, I came in here like


After serious (and some silly) discussion, I am willing to admit that I changed my mind--slightly. The labeling could definitely be better, but there are rules in place already to address the issue of false claims.

ETA: We also had an interesting discussion about why some drugs shouldn't be illegal, including prescription and recreational drugs that don't necessarily have beneficial effects for everyone.

brower47

Well, this tread took a few detours to crazy town. After reading it all, and some other related material last night, my position is now this:

1. Regulate it.
2. Companies must verify the contents of that they're selling, labeling to be included on the bottle.
3. Companies must show evidence to support their health claims.
4. Companies cannot be held liable for the consumer misusing the product.
5. Companies are not responsible for the consumer's health if they fail to check drug interactions.

I hate the idea of adding mass to the federal government but I decided that his was an area I could stand to see, a necessary evil if you will. It goes along with a similar view I hold towards prostitution, but that would be state run regulation instead of national (a bit off topic I know except in the regulatory sense).

That's it for me. The rest of you continue to have fun.

Erica_theRedhead

I cannot comment on whether government should regulate the claims that herbal supplements make as I'm totally biased towards clinical trials and western medicine. However, I find it really interesting that there is an argument about the FDA (or some company) verifying/regulating the content of these supplements.

This is from a new study where 44 supplements from 12 different companies were tested....
BMC Med. 2013 Oct 11;11(1):222.
DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products.
Newmaster SG, Grguric M, Shanmughanandhan D, Ramalingam S, Ragupathy S.



"Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers."

Even if you don't like government regulation, how can one argue that these companies should continue to be left to their own devices and blatantly mislabel and mislead the public?

*edited to fix picture

QuietBloom

I cannot comment on whether government should regulate the claims that herbal supplements make as I'm totally biased towards clinical trials and western medicine. However, I find it really interesting that there is an argument about the FDA (or some company) verifying/regulating the content of these supplements.

This is from a new study where 44 supplements from 12 different companies were tested....
BMC Med. 2013 Oct 11;11(1):222.
DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products.
Newmaster SG, Grguric M, Shanmughanandhan D, Ramalingam S, Ragupathy S.



"Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers."

Even if you don't like government regulation, how can one argue that these companies should continue to be left to their own devices and blatantly mislabel and mislead the public?

*edited to fix picture

I this study.

jonnythan

I cannot comment on whether government should regulate the claims that herbal supplements make as I'm totally biased towards clinical trials and western medicine. However, I find it really interesting that there is an argument about the FDA (or some company) verifying/regulating the content of these supplements.

This is from a new study where 44 supplements from 12 different companies were tested....
BMC Med. 2013 Oct 11;11(1):222.
DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products.
Newmaster SG, Grguric M, Shanmughanandhan D, Ramalingam S, Ragupathy S.



"Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers."

Even if you don't like government regulation, how can one argue that these companies should continue to be left to their own devices and blatantly mislabel and mislead the public?

*edited to fix picture

The market will correct itself once consumers learn this!!!!

Of course, they won't. Consumers just assume that the stuff on the label is true. Companies get away with this crap, though, because there is no authority which can fine or otherwise punish them for it. Reputation be damned. You will notice there are no dozens of lawsuits against these companies either.

The market is not correcting itself.

diannethegeek

I cannot comment on whether government should regulate the claims that herbal supplements make as I'm totally biased towards clinical trials and western medicine. However, I find it really interesting that there is an argument about the FDA (or some company) verifying/regulating the content of these supplements.

This is from a new study where 44 supplements from 12 different companies were tested....
BMC Med. 2013 Oct 11;11(1):222.
DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products.
Newmaster SG, Grguric M, Shanmughanandhan D, Ramalingam S, Ragupathy S.



"Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers."

Even if you don't like government regulation, how can one argue that these companies should continue to be left to their own devices and blatantly mislabel and mislead the public?

*edited to fix picture

This is great information. Thanks!

rbcrawford1

Government is no more than organized crime, the difference is that the mafia has principles. Politicians are not held accountable, they get bounced out of office and into cushy lobbying posts. Government has more blood on it's hands than all private corporations combined could ever dream of, so why would you put your trust in nameless faceless bureaucrats?

Rigger

Well, I work for the federal government. You can put my face on it. Didn't know I was in the mafia, though. Guess I should be agitating for a bigger paycheck.

rbcrawford1

I love how the anti-regulation side ignored my question as to what due diligence would entail.

Well, first you'd need a lab. And probably an advanced degree in chemistry.

So....yeah.

diannethegeek

Government is no more than organized crime, the difference is that the mafia has principles. Politicians are not held accountable, they get bounced out of office and into cushy lobbying posts. Government has more blood on it's hands than all private corporations combined could ever dream of, so why would you put your trust in nameless faceless bureaucrats?

Rigger

Well, I work for the federal government. You can put my face on it. Didn't know I was in the mafia, though. Guess I should be agitating for a bigger paycheck.

The "cement shoes" clause in the contract didn't tip you off?

dbmata

I cannot comment on whether government should regulate the claims that herbal supplements make as I'm totally biased towards clinical trials and western medicine. However, I find it really interesting that there is an argument about the FDA (or some company) verifying/regulating the content of these supplements.

This is from a new study where 44 supplements from 12 different companies were tested....
BMC Med. 2013 Oct 11;11(1):222.
DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products.
Newmaster SG, Grguric M, Shanmughanandhan D, Ramalingam S, Ragupathy S.



"Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers."

Even if you don't like government regulation, how can one argue that these companies should continue to be left to their own devices and blatantly mislabel and mislead the public?

*edited to fix picture

The market will correct itself once consumers learn this!!!!

Of course, they won't. Consumers just assume that the stuff on the label is true. Companies get away with this crap, though, because there is no authority which can fine or otherwise punish them for it. Reputation be damned. You will notice there are no dozens of lawsuits against these companies either.

The market is not correcting itself.

and the FDA can be trusted to correct it for us?

They're completely above board, non-biased, and have never done anything shady, right?

I'm sure we can find a safer option... like Consumer Reports.

rbcrawford1

Government is no more than organized crime, the difference is that the mafia has principles. Politicians are not held accountable, they get bounced out of office and into cushy lobbying posts. Government has more blood on it's hands than all private corporations combined could ever dream of, so why would you put your trust in nameless faceless bureaucrats?

Rigger

Well, I work for the federal government. You can put my face on it. Didn't know I was in the mafia, though. Guess I should be agitating for a bigger paycheck.

The "cement shoes" clause in the contract didn't tip you off?

Man, I thought those were just to make it harder for me to leave the office. Doh.

jonnythan

and the FDA can be trusted to correct it for us?

They're completely above board, non-biased, and have never done anything shady, right?

I'm sure we can find a safer option... like Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports exists but doesn't seem to have done much so far.

Consumer Reports can't actually.... DO anything. The FDA can, and has in the past, taken things off the market, imposed heavy fines, etc.

dbmata

and the FDA can be trusted to correct it for us?

They're completely above board, non-biased, and have never done anything shady, right?

I'm sure we can find a safer option... like Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports exists but doesn't seem to have done much so far.

Consumer Reports can't actually.... DO anything. The FDA can, and has in the past, taken things off the market, imposed heavy fines, etc.

In a completely even handed and unbiased manner?

Consumer Reports doesn't take things off the market. Consumer Reports provides information to purchasers, to allow them to make informed decisions. Is an informed decision preferable to market adjustment and brand protectionism based on who is working at the FDA this year?

jonnythan

Don't need perfect for it to be much, much better.