Mercola: Drug industry is trying to use Congress to take over supplements and regulate them out of existence

Health freedom is under attack in a new way. Illinois Senator Richard Durbin (D) is the sponsor of a new regulatory proposal -the Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022. This regulatory nightmare would give the pharmaceutical industry (FDA) more control over nutritional supplements, allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate many out of existence [link to www.theburningplatform.com (secure)]

Under the new legislation [link to www.congress.gov (secure)] nutritional, food-based and herbal supplements would be required to undergo the same pre-market approval process as drugs – limiting access and driving up the cost of some of the most basic nutrients and superfoods.

Drug industry seeks to destroy NAC, B6, CBD and much more

Dr. Joseph Mercola warns that the Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022 would allow the drug industry to take over supplements and regulate them out of existence. In the past, he said, “the drug industry and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried to ban certain supplements, including vitamin B6 and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), by reclassifying them as new drugs.” The latest hostile takeover of supplements would ensure that millions of Americans are unable to take care of their health in the most basic, fundamental ways.

This legislation would allow the FDA to reclassify certain supplements as “new drugs.” Supplement companies will not be able to afford millions of dollars in new regulatory fees that will be required to get their products approved by the FDA. If passed, this will drive small supplement manufacturers out of business, allowing the drug companies to continue buying them up. Right now, fourteen mega corporations – including the likes of Pfizer, Nestle and Bayer – control more than one hundred of the most popular supplements on the market. For example, Nestle Health Science has bought up Garden of Life, Vital Proteins, Wobenzym, Persona Nutrition, Nuun, Orthica, Pure Encapsulations, Douglas Laboratories, Genestra, Minami, AOV, Klean Athlete, Bountiful and its smaller brands Solgar, Osteo Bi-Flex, Puritan’s Pride, Ester-C and Sundown. Once the drug companies control these products, the formulas are often adulterated and manufactured with fillers and synthetic chemicals.

The Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022 has already been introduced to the US Senate and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It is expected to become a part of the FDA’s Safety Landmark Advancements Act. Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D. president and CEO of the Natural Products Association, warned, “Last time I checked, dietary supplements are not drugs, biologics or medical devices, so why Congress or anyone supporting nongermane legislation that will only add costs to consumers who are doing all they can to stay healthy is extremely troubling.”

Big Pharma trying to control, distort, eliminate the very God-given substances that help the body heal

The FDA has been writing warning letters to supplement companies, telling them not to market N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) for any health issues. NAC has been used as a remedy to help the body synthesize glutathione, strengthening the immune system. The FDA threatened Amazon [link to naturalnews.com (secure)] to stop selling NAC products after learning about the public’s interest in NAC for combating infections [link to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (secure)]

This is just the tip of the spear. In 2007, Medicure Pharma manufactured a synthetic version of vitamin B6, for which they owned a drug patent. Medicure Pharma called the vitamin MC-1 and used it to treat inadequate blood flow.

That year, Medicure Pharma called on the FDA to target any dietary supplement manufacturer that used vitamin B6 in their formula. Medicure Pharma argued that any product that contained pyridoxal 5?-phosphate was guilty of selling an “adulterated” product under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, article 402(f). The drug company had already entered MC-1 into the drug bank and believed they had exclusive rights to manufacture the synthetic B6 vitamin – no competition allowed. However, various whole food vitamin manufacturers used the natural form of vitamin B6 (pyroxidine) and refused to acquiesce to the Medicure Pharma and the drug industry. When a pharmaceutical company turns a vitamin into a synthetic drug, they are able to jack up the price and market it as theirs.

Under the new regulatory proposal, drug companies would be able to legally get away with this fraud with just about any natural vitamin or phytochemical. This will inevitably destroy health food stores and push basic food-based supplements into the pharmacy, where drug companies can control the price and limit access.

The Natural Products Association urges everyone to contact their representatives [link to www.npanational.org (secure)] to oppose this threat to our health and freedom.