Distribution and dosage of dietary supplements

World Domination – Part II

“Harmonize.”

That’s the word I keep coming across in official documents describing the efforts of the European Union to curb the distribution and dosage of dietary supplements.

They want to “harmonize” regulations. And who doesn’t want harmony? Harmony is wonderful – unless it’s used as double-speak to describe unnecessarily harsh restrictions on the availability of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements.

“Out of tune” would be a far better way to describe this troubling situation that health-conscious Europeans find themselves in. But brace yourself. The future of the EU Directive reaches far beyond Europe.

“Protection” no one needs

In yesterday’s e-Alert I gave you some background on the “European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements.” Among the 15 European Union (EU) nations, this Directive reclassifies vitamin supplements as “medical drugs” (available only by prescription), mandates low dosage levels, and outlaws many supplement ingredients that are currently widely available. Created to “protect” consumers, the Directive will do exactly the opposite.

The United Kingdom, Holland and Sweden will be particularly hard hit by the Directive because these three countries currently have few restrictions on supplements. When the Directive takes effect, however, thousands of health stores will go out of business as vitamins and herbal supplements will be available only in pharmacies and with a doctor’s prescription.

So, for instance, a middle-aged woman in Liverpool, England, who has a dangerously elevated homocysteine level will no longer have the option of reducing her risk of heart disease with a vitamin B dosage of her own choosing. If she’s currently taking 5 mg of folic acid daily, under the new Directive she will be legally restricted to a prescription of 1 mg per day. If she’s taking a 100 mg dose of B6, she’ll be restricted to 10 mg. And her pantothenic acid (B5) intake of 500 mg will drop to 200 mg. These maximum dosage levels have been chosen to “protect” her (so we’re told), when in fact the protection she needs the most will be unavailable.

A gathering storm

In addition to these essential B vitamins, low maximum dosage levels have also been set for vitamin C, niacin, and vitamin E. But at least they made it on the list of allowed nutrients. Approximately 350 supplement ingredients are missing from the list. If they are not added to the list by June 2005, they will be deemed illegal throughout the European Union. Supplement manufacturers may submit “technical dossiers” to support applications for the inclusion of individual elements or formulations on the so-called “positive list.” But the EU has made this process so expensive and time consuming that many manufacturers simply can’t afford the costs involved. As a result, many safe formulas and nutrients that have been on the market for decades will soon be banned.

So the outlook for the future of dietary supplements in Europe is decidedly gloomy. But if you’re a U.S. citizen and you’re thinking that it can’t happen here – think again.

The U.S. is one of the 165 member countries of the Codex Alimentarius Commission – an international food standards program created by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations. The purpose of this commission is to protect the health of consumers and to ensure fair trade practices – two of the stated goals of the EU Directive. In fact, as I said above, one of the sources I came across described Codex as a vehicle for “harmonizing” international food trade. Just the sort of “harmony” that we don’t need.

Consider these factors in the association of the U.S. and the Codex Alimentarius Commission:

The WHO regards all dietary and herbal supplements to be “drugs.”
The Codex Alimentarius Commission has made it very clear that it wants to limit over-the-counter sales of some dietary supplements while reclassifying others as pharmaceuticals, available only through a pharmacist.
The U.S. has one vote on the Codex Commission. The European Union represents 27 votes on the commission: the 15 votes of its member countries and 12 votes of the 12 EU candidate countries.
Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Codex decisions override national and local decisions.
Member countries (including the U.S.) that refuse to “harmonize” with WTO directives may be subject to restrictive trade sanctions, designed to persuade agreements by using severe economic pressure.
The European Union is the United States’ largest trade and investment partner, with a yearly two-way trade in goods and services that is estimated to be close to $600 billion.

“Harmony” never sounded so awful.

Use your voice

The remarkably harsh restrictions of the EU Directive on Dietary Supplements have met with an enormous worldwide protest from people who correctly see this process as an infringement on their right to make their own health choices. More than 600 million people added their names to an online petition against the Directive when it was passed last March.

You can find more information about the Directive and read the petition against it at vitamins-for-all.org. This web site was created by Dr. Matthias Rath, a leading researcher in the field of natural treatments for cancer, and one of the most prominent campaigners against the EU Directive.

But we shouldn’t stop there. This directive will impact our borders before we know it. Now is the time to write to your representatives, to your senators, to the president, and demand continued free access to natural therapies. A web site called Congress.org provides a complete listing of all the government e-mail addresses you’ll need to let U.S. leaders know just how vitally important this issue is.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute