Unfortunately, this has already passed in a sub committee hearing
which my state senator is part of. We have to hope it does not pass
the full senate

--- In amalgamillness@yahoogroups.com, "russtannercom"
<russtannercom@...> wrote:
>
> Immediate grassroots action is needed RIGHT NOW to oppose the bad
AER
> bill because the Pharma Dominated NPA (Natural Products Assn)
> (formerly NNFA) just sent a HUGE E-Blitz out to every vitamin
> company, and every health food store in the country to try to push
> this TROJAN HORSE legislation.
>
> This huge push by NPA threatens to blow the innovative sector of
the
> supplement industry SKY HIGH, and you MUST contact congress per
the
> alert below AND network this info for ALL YOU'RE WORTH!!
>
> Please call your family, friends, neighbors about this and URGE
them
> to join you in taking action! Copy the article below. Take it to
> every health food store within a 50 mile radius of your home and
> strongly urge the owner to QUIT NPA (formerly NNFA). Use your
> strongest powers of persuasion to get all the staff in the health
> food stores to read Byron's superb article below.
>
> If you lack time right now to read it, at least skim through to
the
> part where with ONE MOUSE CLICK you can TAKE ACTION, then print it
> out and keep it by the toilet so you can read it while sitting on
the
> throne... but PLEASE READ IT- this one is a MUST READ.
>
> Donations needed to send IAHF back to DC: IAHF needs to return to
DC
> after the lame duck session to continue opposition to the bad AER
> bill and also for ongoing work against the FDA's Trilateral
> Cooperation Charter. For $25. we'll send a copy of Byron's book
Fight
> for Your Health- Exposing FDA's Betrayal of America. For $50.
we'll
> send the book, plus Kevin Miller's documentary film "We Become
> Silent" about the Codex vitamin issue.For $100. we'll send the
above
> + an IAHF Bumper Sticker. For $500. we'll send the above + an
> autographed photo of John Hammell swimming in a hole cut in the
ice
> of a frozen pond. Please help us get back to DC so we can do our
> work! IAHF 556 Boundary Bay Rd., Point Roberts WA 98281 or via
> paypal : [url=http://www.iahf.com]http://www.iahf.com[/url] click
to
> enter site, see paypal link on top of scrollbar inside the site.
>
> [url=http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron16.htm]
> http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron16.htm[/url]
>
> BIG PHARMA TROJAN HORSES PERMEATE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY
>
> By Byron J. Richards, CCN
>
> December 5, 2006
>
> NewsWithViews.com
>
> Today I received an e-mail from the Natural Products Association
> (NPA) asking me to support the Dietary Supplement and Non-
> Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (the "AER bill").
> Apparently they do not know I am one of the most outspoken critics
of
> this legislation. I have already posted two articles on this topic
> for NWV, one in July and one in November. The NPA, formerly the
NNFA
> (National Nutritional Foods Association), is the largest trade
> association for ingredient suppliers and health food stores. This
> group, along with CRN (the Council for Responsible Nutrition) has
> been taken over by Big Pharma and is selling out the supplement
> industry.
>
> You as a consumer must weigh in on this subject before it is too
> late. Your options for effective natural solutions are in serious
> jeopardy. Immediate action is required to defend health freedom
and
> your right to have therapeutic choices in natural health options.
>
> Unfortunately, it is up to "we the American people" to save the
> supplement industry from traitorous groups pretending to be on
your
> side. There is a serious attempt underway to push this bill
through
> prior to the close of the lame duck session (apparently to end on
> December 8). Click here to take action now, tell your
congressional
> leaders to vote no on S. 3546/H.R. 6168.
>
> This is what the December 4, 2006, NPA e-mail stated:
>
> We're contacting you because an important bill may soon be voted
on
> in Congress. This legislation, which the Natural Products
> Association – along with the other leading dietary supplement
trade
> groups – supports, is, S. 3546 in the Senate and H.R. 6168 in the
> House of Representatives.
>
> Yes, these are the names of the bills and they are rotten to the
core
> for consumers and the supplement industry.
>
> Contrary to what you may have heard, this legislation will not
affect
> the availability of dietary supplements or lead to closures of
health
> food stores.
>
> Wrong, an outright lie! This legislation may drastically reduce
the
> availability of therapeutic supplements by linking them with
adverse
> effects actually caused by drugs. True, health food stores are not
> likely to close. They will keep selling the lower quality Big
Pharma
> brands, like One-A-Day (Bayer) and Centrum (Wyeth). About 80% of
the
> supplement market is not really concerned about your health; this
> includes big box stores, most network marketing companies, drug
> stores, super markets, and internet fly-by-night operations. Big
> Pharma knows these brands pose no competition to their
monopolistic
> drug cartel. Rather, Big Pharma wants all effective nutrition off
the
> market – the really great products that fix diabetes, resolve
> depression, prevent heart disease, enable weight loss, fix
> fibromyalgia, and help a person survive cancer treatment. Big
Pharma
> wants a sick America and will do anything to keep people in poor
> health and on m ultiple toxic drugs.
>
> It's also important to remember that the legislation would require
> only serious – such as life threatening– experiences, not just any
> complaint, to be reported. And keep in mind that the government
> already tracks adverse experiences that could be related to
dietary
> supplements.
>
> The FDA is currently unable to properly track adverse events
caused
> by drugs and does not even know which drugs are safe. Over 100,000
> Americans are killed each year by drugs, and at least 3 million
are
> injured so severely it requires hospitalization. The FDA already
has
> an adequate MedWatch reporting system for serious adverse events
for
> dietary supplements. The proposed bill calls for supplement
> manufacturers to keep track of all complaints any person reports,
> serious or not, a standard far stricter than truly dangerous
drugs!
> This is absolutely absurd.
>
> If such legislation becomes law it will be used as a vehicle for
the
> FDA to remove supplements from the market based on hearsay data.
> There is no mechanism in place for any supplement company to
collect
> health information on the person reporting, including existing
> medications or health history. This means the legislation can and
> will be used as a witch hunt against effective natural options for
> health. Certainly, the lawyers at NPA and those supporting this
bill
> are licking their chops at all the business this legislation will
> generate for them.
>
> What's new is that manufacturers who get reports of consumers
being
> seriously harmed by their products can't keep them secret. While
we
> believe such occurrences are extremely rare, if they do happen,
> reporting is the right thing to do.
>
> True serious adverse events from dietary supplements are extremely
> rare and already covered by MedWatch. Any medical doctor or
patient
> believing a supplement has injured them can easily fill out a
> MedWatch form. No one has any objection to serious AER reporting.
> That is not what this bill is really all about. It is about
gutting
> DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994), the
> legislation that enables American consumers to have more options
for
> health than in any other country in the world. By implying there
is a
> safety problem (which there isn't) and making supplement companies
> defend themselves, the burden of proof is shifted from the FDA to
> supplement companies, thereby drastically changing existing law in
> favor of Big Pharma and away from access to natural health options
> granted by DSHEA. The FDA already does what it can to discriminate
> against < font face="georgia,palatino" size="4">small and
innovative
> companies.
>
> If H.R. 6168 and S. 3546 are passed and become law, they will
amend
> the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to require the reporting
> of "serious" adverse events for both over the counter (OTC) drugs
and
> dietary supplements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
>
> That is true. However, there is no way to differentiate between
drug-
> drug interactions, drug-nutrient interactions, or food poisoning,
> meaning there is no way to accurately judge what is causing a
> problem. Furthermore, the real issue is the safety of drugs, not
> supplements. Until the FDA has a working system for drug safety,
> there is no way for the FDA to judge supplement safety. There is a
> reason the Institute of Medicine reported that the FDA is
> dysfunctional and not able to protect Americans from harm. Its
> drugs!!!! – not vitamins.
>
> While the Natural Products Association understands that the
mandatory
> reporting requirements of the AER bill will add to manufacturers'
> record keeping responsibilities, we believe the bill will benefit
the
> industry in the long run.
>
> This opinion must be coming from the lawyers that stand to make a
> fortune defending supplement companies from frivolous attacks
> relating to non-serious adverse events. Also, doctors will attempt
to
> blame vitamins for the devastating side effects of their commonly
> prescribed medications. Dangerous drugs, like statins, are in
> widespread use and making many Americans very ill and even causing
> premature death. When someone has heart failure from taking
statins,
> doctors will try to blame it on vitamin E. It would be a major
> travesty to pass legislation that allows the side effects of
> dangerous drugs to be reported in such as way as to remove safe
and
> effective supplements from the market. The Big Pharma goal is to
> maintain its monopoly at any cost. It is an agenda based on drug
> sales and a callous disregard for human life.
>
> First, by helping to change the perception by critics of the
dietary
> supplement industry that it is not well regulated.
>
> This is the Big Lie. The truth is that supplements are safer than
> food. Supplements are not drugs. Critics of the dietary supplement
> industry are all getting a pile of money from Big Pharma and they
> pretend to be upset about network marketing companies making bogus
> health claims, companies with a history of paying off Senators
Hatch
> and Harkin for protection. Since most of these companies that
> seemingly cause problems are members of CRN and NNFA, why don't
these
> junk trade organizations clean up their own members? There is no
need
> to put out of business the many nutritional companies providing a
> true quality service to millions of Americans in true need of real
> help, unless of course you are simply trying to put your own
> competition out of business.
>
> Second, over time, the recordkeeping and reporting requirements
will
> substantiate what many in the industry have been saying all along –

> that the safety record of dietary supplements is exemplary,
> especially when compared to other health-related products.
>
> Obviously, true serious AERs will be very infrequent, unlike the
> several thousand people dying each week at the hands of Big
Pharma.
> However, the recordkeeping requirement for non-serious adverse
events
> opens the door for unlimited FDA harassment of any company. Since
the
> FDA is currently bought and paid for by Big Pharma, that is a huge
> problem.
>
> Ultimately, safety reporting is the right thing to do for a
> responsible industry that puts consumers first.
>
> In a world where Big Pharma and the FDA have spent decades trying
to
> obliterate competition, such a naïve statement is designed to
appeal
> to "reasonableness" and "political correctness." NPA has no
concept
> of integrity to the US Constitution or what makes America great.
If
> anyone wants to believe the utopian garbage put forth by NPA, try
to
> get the statement to apply to Big Pharma.
>
> The e-mail is then signed by the Natural Products Association.
Yes,
> not one person in this pathetic group had the nerve to put their
name
> on this embarrassing e-mail. I wonder who wrote it. Was it Senator
> Hatch's younger son who works at NPA? Was it Senator Hatch's older
> son who lobbies for NPA? Or was it one of the Big Pharma members
> sitting on the NPA board? Companies supporting this horrid
> legislation and the related anti-American globalization agenda of
> Codex Alimentarius include Mannatech, Herbalife, Shacklee, Now
Foods,
> Dr. Weil Vitamins, Jarrow, and many more.
>
> Besides faxing, phoning, and e-mailing Congress to vote no on
S.3546,
> any person purchasing supplements should demand that whomever they
> buy supplements from is not a member of CRN or NPA. Health food
> stores and ingredient suppliers should withdraw from these bogus
Big
> Pharma pro-globalization organizations. If you need more facts to
> convince you of the magnitude of this problem, read my book Fight
for
> Your Health: Exposing the FDA's Betrayal of America. If you buy
> supplements from such companies or stores then answer this simple
> question: why are you paying money to be shot in the back?
>
> © 2006 Truth in Wellness, LLC - All Rights Reserved
>
> For Health Freedom, John C. Hammell, President International
> Advocates for Health Freedom 556 Boundary Bay Road Point Roberts,
WA
> 98281-8702 USA [url=http://www.iahf.com]http://www.iahf.com[/url]
> [Email]jham@...[/Email] 800-333-2553 N.America 360-945-0352 World
>