As if the Tea Parties were not signal enough that we’re sick of big government, Senator John McCain, the splinter in the eye of conservatives, now wants the FDA to regulate supplements AKA vitamins, herbs, and minerals. This is another attack on the free market with the veil of government saving the American people from harm.
The McCain bill, the Dietary Supplement and Safety Act is an attack on individual liberty and the nanny state ruining another portion of the “free market” and the health and well-being of the rest of us. This will be a big power grab for Big Pharma to overtake the natural and less expensive medicines and remedies. Wonderful.
McCain has this obsession with being ESPN’s golden boy. I know he’s a sport’s fan and there have been multiple casualties of athletes who used organic or man-made supplements that has caused heart attacks. Just because of these isolated cases, McCain wants a complete overhaul in this market. Among the hundreds of millions of people in this country, only a few cases of failure and McCain wants to baby us with more FDA regulations. How irresponsible and dangerous of McCain to interfere in health of others.
John Stossel made the case of how the nanny state is actually taking away our liberties as consumers to make our own choice on what to take to cure our ailments in his appearance on the O’Reilly Factor last week:
However, can blame be solely placed on the supplements itself? As in any case, there are exterior influences and circumstances that may have heightened the person’s risk for serious health ailments or death such as heat, weakness, unhealthy lifestyle, combination of other drugs, etc. The responsibility should also be placed on the individual. Are people really that stupid? Responsible people will look up information about supplements and acquire information on the risks and benefits of taking these supplements from their doctors.
Only irresponsible people will ignore informing themselves. But why should the acts of a few impede on the majority? Vitamins, minerals, and herb, are actually beneficial for people who want to lead a natural and healthy lifestyle. Some people who are lactose intolerant, depend on calcium supplements to strengthen their bones. People with weak immune systems depend on Vitamin C supplements, etc.
But why does McCain want the same FDA that regulates drugs that have from what I’ve seen, adverse side effects that seem more harmful that the disease itself? Have you seen those drug commercials where some of the side effects include death?
What McCain wants to enact will be a bureaucratic nightmare. More lobbyists, more corruption, more red tape, more of our tax money being flushed down the drain, less businesses, less minerals and vitamins, and less jobs.
The businesses that manufacture these dietary supplements will now have to go through the same vigorous testing as pharmaceutical drugs and new ingredients will be prohibited, even if it is beneficial for the drug’s effect. You know what that means: vitamins, supplements, and mineral prices will skyrocket:
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT.
(a) In General- A dietary supplement which contains a new dietary ingredient shall be deemed adulterated under section 402(f) unless there is a history of use or other evidence of safety establishing that the dietary ingredient when used under the conditions recommended or suggested in the labeling of the dietary supplement will reasonably be expected to be safe and, at least 75 days before being introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce, the manufacturer or distributor of the dietary ingredient or dietary supplement provides the Secretary with information, including any citation to published articles, which is the basis on which the manufacturer or distributor has concluded that a dietary supplement containing such dietary ingredient will reasonably be expected to be safe. The Secretary shall keep confidential any information provided under this subsection for 90 days following its receipt. After the expiration of such 90 days, the Secretary shall place such information on public display, except matters in the information which are trade secrets or otherwise confidential, commercial information.’
I would recommend all of you to read the negatives and limitations of the FDA by John Stossel and watch Stossel’s special on the FDA on how the FDA is really dangerous to our health: