O’er the Ramparts We Watch
It may sound a little corny, but over the Independence Day holiday last week – amid the parades, barbeques, and fireworks – I got to thinking about our freedom of choice. Specifically, I was thinking about our freedom to choose from a wide variety of health care options, which in a larger sense is the subject of every day’s e- Alert.
Unfortunately, there are a few powerful people who believe we’d be better off with fewer options.
Double talk
In the e-Alert “WHO Let the Dogs Out” (7/6/04), I told you about a new set of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for developing information on the “proper use” and regulation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The introduction to those guidelines reads: “Since traditional, complementary and alternative medicines remain largely unregulated”
Largely unregulated? No one knows better than WHO officials that CAM is diligently regulated in scores of countries. In fact, a set of regulations will take effect in the European Union (EU) next year that will severely restrict access to CAM therapies. And once CAM becomes “largely regulated” in the EU, guess which country is the next prime target for stricter regulations and less choice?
Hint: It’s the home of the free and the land of the brave.
In previous e-Alerts I examined the “European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements.” With the new WHO guidelines calling for more regulations worldwide, I thought this would be a perfect time to quickly review the directive, catch up on some recent developments, and take a look at what’s in store for European and U.S. citizens who rely on daily supplements.
With protection like this, who needs enemies?
In August 2005, the following elements of the EU directive are expected to become law:
* Dietary supplements (vitamins, herbal formulas, and various nutrients) will be classified as medical drugs and will be available by prescription only
* Dosages will be limited to “safe” levels, which in most cases will be too low to provide any real therapeutic value
* Many supplement ingredients that are currently widely available will become illegal and removed from the market entirely
So, what’s the point in reducing access to these useful health tools? Why, it’s for consumer safety, of course!
The EU directive states: “In order to ensure a high level of protection for consumers and facilitate their choice, the products that will be put on the market must be safe and bear adequate and appropriate labeling.”
The first half of that statement is widely recognized as pure bureaucratic double-speak. Consumer choice will not be facilitated, it will be severely reduced. And consumer protection will not be ensured, it will be deliberately withheld.
Follow the money
Consumers currently enjoy a wide range of choices in their dietary supplements. And many consumers rely on these supplements to help them prevent health problems and to fight specific diseases. Under the directive, millions of European Union citizens will not be allowed to practice prevention as they wish, so any claim of facilitated choice and a high level of protection is a transparent deception.
You might wonder: Why would the European Union want its citizens to have less access to dietary supplements as a means to improve their health?
For the answer to that, just follow the money. Without access to prevention, the citizens of EU countries will inevitably be forced to rely on prescription drugs. That, of course, would create a boost in profits for international pharmaceutical companies, some of whom just happen to have direct links to several influential European Union commissioners. For instance: one prominent EU commissioner is also a member of the supervisory board of the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world – Merck, Sharp and Dohme.
The logic and economic motivation behind the EU commissioners’ “high level” of “facilitated” double-speak is all too clear.
Sorry, we’re closed
Needless to say, the economic effects of the EU directive will have a huge impact on many thousands of Europeans involved in complementary and alternative medicine. In the UK, for instance, it’s a forgone conclusion that when the drastically reduced list of allowed dietary supplements is enforced, many supplement manufacturers will cease production, and an estimated 2,000 or more health supplement stores will be unable to stay in business.
This is the EU’s idea of “protection for consumers.” And there are plans afoot to import this debilitating protection to the U.S.
There are other important issues to address on this vital topic. In tomorrow’s e-Alert I’ll tell you how the EU directive may impact in very negative ways on the future of supplement availability in the U.S., give you specifics about the status of certain supplements within the directive, and let you know what action you can take to lend your voice to the huge public outcry against this irresponsible action.
Sources:
“Directive 2001, EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Approximation of the Laws of the Member States Relating to Food Supplements” European Parliament Session Document C5-0640/2001, 12/10/01
