Protecting the consumer

This past Monday and Tuesday I sent you two e-Alerts (“World Domination – Parts I & II”) about the “European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements,” and how these harsh restrictions on supplements may be headed for the United States. The e-mail response to those e-Alerts has been enormous, and apparently quite a few HSI members have been writing to their Congressmen as well.

I want to take a moment to address a dissenting opinion that also makes a good point. This e-mail comes from a member named Tamara:

“I am frustrated by your coverage of this issue. You are polarizing against a particular position but not offering any analysis or counter solution for the reason that this initiative of regulating supplements arose. Many bottles of supposed supplements do not contain what they say they contain. The market is flooded with unethical business people. How do you propose to protect alternative health consumers from ruthless ‘health’ entrepreneurs?”

Personally, I believe that the polarizing effect of this situation comes directly from the institutions that are attempting to impose harsh restrictions on each individual’s freedom to make his own health choices. They regard pharmaceuticals produced by international drug conglomerates as safe, while dismissing dietary supplements as unsafe, even though many studies have decisively shown that the exact opposite is usually true. They have established a clear mandate to regulate dietary supplements in the same manner that prescription drugs are regulated, a step that will enormously enhance the profits of the drug industry, with which many of the European Union commissioners have direct ties.

Are EU commissioners concerned about unethical practices in the dietary supplement field? If they are, I believe they are only concerned insomuch as it will further their efforts to bring dietary supplements under the control of pharmaceutical companies.

The manufacture of dietary supplements, like every business, has unethical elements. And there have always been unscrupulous people ready to sell sugar water to the unwary as a miracle cure. Today, however, everyone has enormous resources of information on their side. If someone offers you a miracle cure that seems suspicious, there are many ways to question the claim for that cure before you make your purchase. Meanwhile, regulations would restrict only the number of choices that people have. Regulations would have little or no effect on the charlatans.

So to answer Tamara’s question: the Health Sciences Institute proposes to help protect alternative health consumers from ruthless entrepreneurs in this way: we’ll provide information. We’ll continue to issue this daily e-Alert with news about advances in alternative health care; we’ll tell you about companies we find that have quality products available; and we’ll maintain a forum where everyone can freely exchange their ideas, opinions and personal experiences.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute