FDA and Big Pharma to basically outlaw NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS- in 7 days ?

[IChing]

I just got this e-mail from a friend.

What Does This Mean To You?
If you ever want to have the freedom to purchase Vitamin C for your immune system’s health, or perhaps Cherry Extract for your joint health…or literally if you take any supplement at all, even vegetable juice, click on the link below. Let these ridiculous lawmakers hear your voice…

Click Here Now To Protect Your Rights! http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

Unless you want FDA “experts” to decide what’s a drug or medical device, click that link and let your voice be heard. Remember, these are the same “experts” who re-approved Vioxx, even after the crap killed over 50,000 people in the U.S. alone. This is not hype. This is not histrionics. This is a real as it gets.

Only “doctors” would be able to “prescribe” most supplements deeded C.A.M. (Complimentary and Alternative Medicine). We’re talking multivitamins, herbal supplements, homeopathic modalities…even massage oils. No joke.

Don’t Believe Me? Take A Look…http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

This was lifted right from the FDA’s published PDF document on Docket No. 2006D-0480. You can read the entire PDF for yourself by clicking here. Below you will find hilights of the FDA’s proposed legislation. This includes the substances that will be legislated by the FDA and Big Pharma under the proposed guidelines. (Special thanks to Mike Adams and NewsTarget.com for providing these excerpts…)

“…a product used in a CAM therapy or practice may be subject to regulation as a biological product, cosmetic, drug, device, or food (including food additives and dietary supplements) under the act or the PHS Act. Second, neither the act nor the PHS Act exempts CAM products from regulation.”

Translation: Anything used in any system of medicine may now be regulated as a drug or medical device by the FDA. This includes a biofeedback machine, acupuncture needles, a cup of herbal tea, massage oil, a glass of vegetable juice or even a bottle of water.

“…if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health… if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the Act.”

Translation: Raw vegetable juice will be regulated as a drug and must be FDA approved as a drug if it has any health effect whatsoever. Handing a cup of raw vegetable juice to someone and telling them it’s good for the detoxification of their liver will get you arrested for practicing medicine without a license and promoting an “unapproved drug.”

…”biologically based practices” includes, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics: whole diets, and “functional foods”. …a botanical product intended for use in treating a disease would generally be regulated as a drug.” …”functional foods” may be subject to FDA regulation as foods, dietary supplements, or drugs under the Act.

Translation: All foods, supplements, superfoods and functional foods may be reclassified as drugs by the FDA, then regulated off the market.

“If… the manipulative and body-based practices involve the use of equipment (such as massage devices) or the application of a product (such as a lotion, cream, or oil) to the skin or other parts of the body, those products may be subject to regulation under the Act.”

Translation: Massage oils and creams will be regulated as “drugs” and acupuncture needles as “medical devices.” Taking this absurdity one step further, massage therapists who use their fingers to touch patients may have their fingers regulated as “medical devices” and be accused of practicing medicine for merely touching patients.>>>>
snip...........LINK: http://www.jonbenson.com/fda_threatens_your_freedom.php
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just got the e-mail and am concerned but this is the first time I have heard of this.
I looked at the article by the FDA and it does state these things.

Anyone else know about this? It is unbelievable if it is true

[NoPasaran]

1. This story has been going around almost as long

This story has been going around almost as long as the "Hillary killed Vince Foster" one.

[sharp_stick]

4. Hillary killed Vince Foster????

My God, that's hugh!11!! ;-)

[IChing]

This FDA document is from December 2006 which is hardly ancient.

Link: http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

It seems that there is a cutoff on input to the FDA is in 7 days.-----(FDA yeah they been on top of things lately)


http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/healthfreedomusa/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7185

[IChing]

6. dupe n/t delete

[StarryNite]

2. Holy crap!

I hope this is wrong. Have you noticed how everything having to do with the health of Americans is going down the toilet lately?

[kimmerspixelated]

23. Exactly.

BFEE = Big Pharma/FDA - they are all in kahootz, and guess what? They could care less about our health. All they care about is the health of their bank account!

[ljm2002]

3. I don't know...

...but I highly recommend checking in with snopes.com before posting this kind of thing -- if you find it there, they will give you a good idea of whether it's true or not.

[Speck Tater]

5. This urban myth email has been around for YEARS (n/t)

[IChing]

9. So this FDA document from 3 months ago is YEARS? n/t

[Ecumenist]

7. Why is it when I try to sign this petition it keeps telling me that...

My emails are invalid? Something's up here. Neither one of my VALID emails are being accepted. Anyone else have this problem?

[kimmerspixelated]

21. They have been under attack. That too was documented.

Try the Natural Solutions website. That's where I signed the petition.

[Dogmudgeon]

8. Not quite Stalin

It's a non-binding guidance document. It has no legal force, and in fact, it's not even an officially-issued guidance. In addition, it expired on April 1.

You have to read the first part of the document.

In fact, it doesn't even seem to be an the official FDA track -- the PDF is just a bunch of scans and does not follow the federal specs for an official document. I suspect it is one of several efforts to "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes it".

A number of such documents have been "leaked" in recent years, and they have all been paranoia fodder, driving a parasitic industry of fear-mongers and "quackbusters" alike. Bottom line: vitamins and Complementary/Alternative Medicine are not about to be outlawed.

We should all diligently protect our right to self-care, but Jon Benson got it wrong.

--p!

[IChing]

12. OK, I will research it more my friend who is a 5th grade teacher and not a

conspiracy nut, but does take a lot of supplements at 56 years old as do I.
Thanks for the heads up.

[LibertyUntoDeath]

10. Thank goodness...

... I stocked up on crack.

[Bridget Burke]

16. I picked a bad week to give up....

Airplane glue.

[Double T]

11. The FDA can't even manage or handle their current respondsibilities.........

while providing absolutely horrendous performance and now they are going to take on 'natural supplements'? This is more of bushco bearing gifts to his good buddies over at corporate big pharma and this will probably be the tipping point for an all out AmericanS Revolution against their government; count ME in 'cause 'WE' are not going to take this SHT anymore. These bastards can't even get beef, spinach and pet food right!! Time to go to the shed and get my pitchforks!!

[Speck Tater]

13. You have misinterpreted the document.

quote:
“…if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health… if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the Act.”

Translation: Raw vegetable juice will be regulated as a drug and must be FDA approved as a drug if it has any health effect whatsoever. Handing a cup of raw vegetable juice to someone and telling them it’s good for the detoxification of their liver will get you arrested for practicing medicine without a license and promoting an “unapproved drug.”

end quote

That is a radical and completely incorrect alarmist translation.

The correct translation, especially if your read the WHOLE document, and not just the sentence you quoted, was that if you sell raw juice as a food then it is regulated as a food, like any other food from apples to candy bars. BUT if you CLAIM that that same bottle of raw juice is a CURE or TREATMENT for some disease then your right to sell a claimed cure will be regulated the same way any medicinal claim is regulated. You can still sell a supplement as a supplement, but you just can't claim that a supplement is a medical CURE without being subject to more restrictive regulation.

Not that it matters anyway. With the honey bees dying and the ice caps melting and oil rapidly being depleted the whole human race will be extinct in another ten years anyway. But at least we will go exticnt with our right to buy vitamins still intact!

[gravity]

24. Exactly

The only thing this does is get rid of snake oil claims.

[uppityperson]

14. OMG! I won't be able to EAT or DRINK or even BREATHE!!!

big hoohaw blew through here a couple wks ago about this, check the Health forum. Basically there is talk of regulating all medicines. Snopes works too but check the Health forum.

[Bridget Burke]

15. Snopes debunked an earlier version of this ancient rumor.

www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/herbal.htm

Someone up the thread has read the Bill; apparently it doesn't mean what you say.

"unbelievable if it is true"? Even more unbelievable, since it's false.

[trotsky]

17. Please please tell me we should CALL CONGRESS RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!

I'm series!!!!1111!one!!!11

[kimmerspixelated]

18. I signed the petition a long time ago

and it IS serious! I have been really pissed off at the folx who have ridiculed me about posting about this. Big Pharmas and the FDA are only in the world to make as much money as possible, with whatever means. They see the ever expanding organic sections in the grocery stores and the growth of more and more health food stores and they are panicking, because they realize that the sheeple are finally figuring out their preservative laden foods and their toxic drugs are dangerous.

[StarryNite]

25. Exactly!

And isn't this same battle going on in England?

[kimmerspixelated]

27. I think so,

budd conversely, I thought that in England they actually use homeopathic meds in general. Forgot where I read that.

[BlooInBloo]

19. Once again - DUers don't let the truth stand in their way.

[kimmerspixelated]

22. With all due respect,

This is one of those things that might come up to bite you in the ass later on.What if you really needed alternative therapy and couldn't get it!!! It cannot possibly hurt anyone to sign the petition, unless of course you work for Big Pharma/Fda and then it won't hurt you, but maybe your pension will be a coupla million dollars short!

[trotsky]

36. With further respect,

why shouldn't "alternative therapy" practitioners be required to back up their claims with data?

Love the "work for big pharma" throwaway line. Classic. People disagree with you, so automatically they're part of the big evil conspiracy. :eyes:

[kimmerspixelated]

20. It's not just a story!

This is serious. Perhaps if Big Pharma/FDA wins in a few days the laws might take awhile to be in effect, however, there are thankfully a lot of fighters, like myself that can keep these evil laws at bay. I'm not sure about the juicing part, and it would be hard to believe they could go after every single naturalist, however, most of ya'll don't want to have to pay an even higher price for your Vit. C, do you? SIGN IT NOW!

[Cha]

26. The fda won't regulate meat

but because of big pharma and whatever they'll stick their unwanted noses in the vitamin and herbal industry up the yin yang. We have this info in our co-op so our customers can contact the fda if they want.

It's suppose to be better if you write them a snail letter to get their attention that you don't want them regulating your natural healing therapies.

[kimmerspixelated]

28. Yes, but snail mail

won't help us out within the next few days.

[Cha]

29. That's true..this was when it

was still viable.

Also, the fda wouldn't regulate pet food and look what's happened..but, oh, they want to regulate something that's taking money away from the drug people.

[kimmerspixelated]

31. Touche'

[StarryNite]

30. Hillary Clinton and Orrin Hatch

This is not the first time big pharma has tried to get this done. I think it was around 1994 when Hillary and Orrin went to bat for the people and kept it from going through at that time.

[kimmerspixelated]

32. I would like to see more discussion on Hilary's

involvement in this. I thought she was fighting on the side of the drug companies, which is one reason I definitely don't want her to win, but if I'm wrong, I will be glad to look over any documentation supporting this.

[Cha]

33. I wouldn't be surprised..

if she were but I don't know.

I can't see The People sitting still for this one. We have so many people who come into our co-op who are fed up with the side effects of drugs that are dispensed..and people who just want to start eating better for their health.

[gravity]

34. Translation: You are making stuff up

These claims are taken out of context.

“…if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health that product is a food subject to the requirements for foods in the Act and FDA regulations, including the hazard analysis and critical control point(HACCP) system requirements for juices in 21 CFR part 120. if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the Act.”

The claims omitted the text in bold, which changes the whole meaning of the statement. You can say that this juice is healthy, but you can't say it cures cancer with this new law. There is a big difference here. Supplements are not going to be outlawed.

If you want to make a claim that this juice cures or treats a disease, then you have to have the proper scientific research to back it up, like other drugs designed to cure and treat diseases.

[IChing]

35. So THE FDA WON'T DO THIS? But Chocolate is on the table?

Edited on Tue Apr-24-07 01:08 PM by rodeodance
I want REAL chocolate!



http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-may19apr19,0,...


From the Los Angeles Times

Hands off my chocolate, FDA!
The FDA may allow Big Chocolate to pass off a waxy substitute as the real thing.
By Cybele May
CYBELE MAY is a writer who reviews candy on her blog, candyblog.net.

April 19, 2007

THE AVERAGE American eats 12 pounds of chocolate a year. That's about a chocolate bar every other day. (I am above average, judging by the fact that I eat enough chocolate to deduct it as a line item on my tax return.)

To sum up so far: Americans eat a lot of chocolate.

That's cool, because we also make a lot of it. We make everything from the inexpensive milk chocolate bars that you buy at the supermarket checkout counter to the decadent, limited-edition chocolate bars made from "handpicked beans from a single hillside in Venezuela," for which there's a waiting list.
................
But as long as they're asking, the FDA does have a way for other citizens to voice their expectations. It's buried deep in its website. Until April 25, the agency is accepting comments — by fax, mail or online — on a docket with the benign-sounding name of "2007P-0085: Adopt Regulations of General Applicability to All Food Standards that Would Permit, Within Stated Boundaries, Deviations from the Requirements of the Individual Food Standards of Identity."

I'm telling them to keep it real.

http://dontmesswithourchocolate.guittard.com/howtohelp....


You guys still think the FDA is trustworthy anymore?