Supplement Regulation: Who's Behind It, and Why Should You Oppose It?
Health columnist Brian Vaszily just posted an excellent article on the major health site of Dr. Joseph Mercola: "Supplement Regulation: Who's Behind It, and Why Should You Oppose It?"
Vaszily explains in easy terms and with clear intention what the real agenda is behind the current drive to "regulate supplements" while often deadly pharmaceutical drugs go scott free. I added some comments - not to criticize but to confirm, from my own knowledge base, that Vaszily is speaking the gospel truth.
Read my comments to the article of Brian Vaszily.
Comments by Josef Hasslberger
Thank you for a good and clearly understandable article on the current situation regarding pharmaceutically dominated "medicine" and various alternatives that make it possible for us to live better and more healthy lives. It would seem preposterous (to some) to suggest that western medicine is not health - but profit - oriented. Yet I can confirm every word in your article.
I have personally been using supplements regularly for about three decades and have been able to stay out of health trouble with quite remarkable success. So I know that supplementation works, both for me and for others I know. No doubt it is preferable to eat biologically grown food and I try to do that as much as possible, but at times we need an extra boost of vital elements and that's where supplements are useful.
In the last six weeks, I have also run my personal blog site on this very issue of supplements, genetically modified foods, the pharmaceutical shenanigans and related issues. The site is called Health Supreme and can be found at http://www.newmediaexplorer/sepp
We are currently witnessing a desperate battle by the pharmaceutical interest groups, in close collaboration with their government and legislative connections, to whittle down the "threat" to health supposedly posed by supplements. Of course, as you correctly point out, the threat is not to our health but to the pocketbooks of the pharmaceutical disease industry.
Australia had over 1500 supplements removed from health food shelves recently, in a stealth attack by the Aussie authorities, which is documented on my site. New Zealand is fighting being "taken over" by the Australian Health Authorities in the name of harmonization, quite a funny term, unless harmony means bad health.
Canada, after "public consultations" and years of work of a special parliamentary committee, is clamping down on supplements. You can go to the site of my friend Chris who is Canadian, to read about this legislation and more.
The US Congress is examining a bill to limit supplement availability in that country. The FDA seems to be upping the ante with its proposal (about to appear) of new Good Manufacturing Practices. Some say they are barking up the wrong tree and should examine their approval processes of largely toxic substances for "medicine" and "food".
Europe has passed its directive on supplements, to be made into national law in all member countries by the end of this month of July 2003. They are ready to discuss herbs next, making them medicines to be registered. And they are discussing the medicines laws, proposing a definition of medicine that can easily include ANY healthy supplement. There is one group that is particularly active on this and is getting ready to challenge the supplements directive in court, in addition to lobbying lawmakers and government to mend their ways. Their site: Alliance for Natural Health
But not enough that these major areas are all implementing restrictions to the availability of alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs. The United Nations is also in on the act. Codex Alimentarius, which is an international standard-setting body for food and is located in the Food and Agriculture Organization here in Rome, has been discussing its own "giudelines for vitamin and mineral supplements" since the mid '90s. Such a Codex Standard, other than serving as "sample legislation" for the countries of the world, is also enforceable through the World Trade Organization, which uses trade sanctions to make countries conform.
Do we really need to be told what to avoid (and be reminded to take our pharmaceutical medicines) by the governing authorities of the world? I think not. It is time to take an interest and counter this trend wherever possible. Best to start "close to home" - with your own life, and by informing your friends. Then start organizing. If you feel you want to do more, or want to do more in a much more efficient way, become a Communication Agent and start your own campaign for change. Together, we are stronger than any government or international agency could even dream to be.
In conclusion, thank you Brian Vaszily for an excellent article, which I will link on my site for further distribution. And thank you Dr. Mercola for a great health site.
See also:How proposals for EU, US and Codex regulation could destroy natural healthcare: the critical need for a new regulatory paradigm
By Robert Verkerk PhD, executive director, Alliance for Natural Health
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Saturday July 19 2003
updated on Tuesday November 30 2010URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/07/19/supplement_regulation_whos_behind_it_and_why_should_you_oppose_it.htm
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