HR 4282, an act introduced by US Congressman Ron Paul on November 10 aims to turn the tables on the FDA. According to the bill's sponsors and a wide coalition of consumers, physicians, nutritional practitioners, and producers of supplements, the FDA has been keeping vital health information from the public by insisting that only medicines, not foods, can claim to have any influence on disease. This position has long been shown to be scientifically untenable but is held in place by pressures on the agency brought by pharmaceutical producers.

Because of the FDA's censorship of truthful health claims, millions of Americans may suffer with diseases and other health care problems they may have avoided by using dietary supplements. For example, the FDA prohibited consumers from learning how folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects for four years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended every woman of childbearing age take folic acid supplements to reduce neural tube defects. This FDA action contributed to an estimated 10,000 cases of preventable neutral tube defects! The FDA also continues to prohibit consumers from learning about the scientific evidence that glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis; that omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of sudden death heart attack; and that calcium may reduce the risk of bone fractures.   (Congressman Paul in his introductory speech)

One of the supporters of this legislation, the Life Extension Foundation, has challenged the FDA in court to allow certain statements about nutrients and has actually won its case ten years ago, but the FDA has been dragging its feet and has so far refused to relax its gag rules on information about the healthy properties of foods and supplements.

Medical News Today reports about the bill introduced by Congressman Ron Paul:

Health Freedom Protection Act Introduced in US Congress
(Original on Medical News Today)

Washington, D.C.: Wednesday, November 9, 2005, Congressmen Ron Paul (TX), Peter DeFazio (OR), Dan Burton (IN), Walter Jones (NC), Rob Bishop (UT), John J. Duncan (TN), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Jeff Miller (FL), Butch Otter (ID) and Tom Tancredo (CO) introduced the Health Freedom Protection Act, HR 4282.

If enacted, the bill will (1) amend the drug and health claim provisions of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to permit truthful disease treatment claims for foods and dietary supplements (presently FDA prohibits all such claims); (2) prohibit FDA from preventing any who sell foods and supplements from sending consumers government reports (and accurate quotes form government reports) on nutrient-disease associations; (3) prohibit FDA from preventing any who sell foods and supplements from sending consumers scientific publications on nutrient-disease associations; (4) limit FDA disclaimers on health claims to no more than three concise sentences; (5) require FDA to permit health claims to be made unless FDA proves there to be no scientific evidence to support the claims and no disclaimer capable of avoiding misleadingness; (6) compel FDA to approve or disapprove health claim petitions within 100 days or the claims will be automatically allowed; (7) require FDA to consider studies of the treatment effect of nutrients in evaluation of nutrient-disease prevention claims: (8) prohibit FDA from waiving conflicts of interest in its food advisory panels considering health claims; (9) reverse FDAs denial or restriction of the following nutrient-disease association claims: (a) saw palmetto treating benign prostatic hyperplasia; (b) omega-3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease; (c) omega-3 fatty acids and sudden death heart attacks; (d) glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate treating osteoarthritis; and (e) calcium reducing the risk of bone fractures; and (8) prevent FDA from disallowing structure function claims that include terms that refer to signs or symptoms of disease so long as the disease itself is not mentioned.

The bill will also (9) amend the deceptive advertising provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) to make all publications exempt from regulation by the amendment to the FDCA also exempt from regulation by the FTC; (10) prohibit FTC from regulating as advertising any truthful and accurate summary of findings from peer-reviewed scientific publications; (11) require FTC to give notice and an opportunity to cure to any company suspected of engaging in deceptive advertising of a health benefit; (12) prohibit FTC from commencing a deceptive advertising investigation of a health benefit promotion unless FTC possesses proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the ad is false and misleading; and (13) require FTC to prove that an ad is false and misleading and that it actually misleads consumers before FTC may hold an advertiser guilty of deceptive advertising.

The Coalition to End FDA and FTC Censorship supports the bill and has commenced a national grass-roots campaign to achieve its passage. The following fifty companies form the Coalition:

Whitaker Wellness Institute (CA)
Living Fuel (FL)
Freedom of Health Foundation (CA)
Nat'l Health Freedom Coalition (MN)
American Longevity (CA)
Allergy Research Group (CA)
Simone Protective Cancer Institute (NJ)
Basic Research LLC (UT)
Nutrition Now (WA)
ITV Direct, Inc. (MA)
Total Nutrition (UT)
Northwest Nutraceuticals (WA)
Clinton Ray Miller (TX)
Friends of Freedom International (Canada)
SupraLife, Inc. (AZ)
MLM WatchDog (TX)
The Doctor Paula Show (TX)
MLM Industry Association (CA)
The Life Extension Foundation (FL)
Sam Brunelli, Denver Broncos (Ret.) (VA)
Former Congressman Berkley Bedell (IA)
Great American Products (FL)
Anti-Aging Formulas LLC (CA)
Farmasea Health LLC (NJ)
Imagenetix (CA)
Dr. Alex Duarte (CA)
USANA (UT)
Swiss Bioceuticals (NV)
Tropical Traditions (WI)
Life Enhancement Products (CA)
Suarez Corporation (OH)
Frutaiga (CA)
Forever Green (UT)
Envigra Liquid Supplements (NV)
The Marketing Wizard (CA)
Invision Group LLC (CA)
NWM Entertainment Group (CA)
King Orchards (MI)
Alexandria Services (CA)
Talk Star Radio Network (FL)
Purest Colloids Inc. (NJ)
SuperFoods Distributors, Inc. (UT)
Tango LLC (CA)
Remedies Magazine
Life Force International (CA)
Vitagenesis (MI)
MLM Distributor Rights Association (TX)
Kevin Miller, Well TV producer (FL)
Novera LLC
Emord & Associates, P.C.

Brooke Holve
Public Relations Manager
brooke@americanlongevity.net
www.AmericanLongevity.net