Updated 2:47 PM EST, Wed January 10, 2024
Sacramento, CA—When the push to restrict access to supplements succeeded in New York state with Governor Kathy Hochul signing A.5610/S.5823 into law to ban the sale of weight loss and sports nutrition dietary supplements to New York consumers under the age of 18, natural products industry leaders cautioned that efforts would intensify in other states. Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), told WholeFoods Magazine in a Call to Action: "In years past, the NPA defeated proposals in California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and others. However [in 2023], despite intense lobbying and grassroots efforts led by the NPA, New York enacted a new law restricting access and making it hard to purchase dietary supplements. This is significant because the state represents billions of dollars for industry and establishes a precedent that other states will follow."
Just days in 2024, we are seeing that play out in California, where the State Assembly Health Committee advanced AB 82, which would restrict and prohibit access to dietary supplements. This action comes despite the fact that California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed an age-restriction bill in 2022. Outlining his reasons for vetoing that bill, Newsom said: "I commend the work of the author as this bill raises an important public health issue related to the safety of diet or weight loss pills that can result in injury. However, dietary supplements for weight loss are not considered drugs and, therefore, this measure would require CDPH [California Department of Public Health] to evaluate every individual weight loss and dietary supplement product for safety, which is beyond the scope of the department's capabilities."
(Read more: CA Governor Vetoes Legislation Restricting Access to Supplements.)
NPA updated industry members on the latest in CA
“The NPA has worked in good faith with the California Department of Public Health to educate them on dietary supplement safety, efficacy, and regulations,” said Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., NPA President and CEO. “As we have seen across the country, there are legislators who ignore the realities of science to promote their agenda. As we have demonstrated repeatedly in public testimony and official correspondence to the Governor and to California public health officials, there is not a single data point connecting the use of eating disorders and dietary supplements. If there were, the FDA would be required to remove that product from the market.”
CRN presents testimony in CA
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) President and CEO Steve Mister also offered an update on industry action: "We presented testimony before the California Assembly Committee on Health and stated that we intend to work with the Assembly to ensure that safe and legal dietary supplements are protected, and await the release of the DPH's Working Group's findings, which was initially expected at the end of 2023."
Background on the push to age-restrict supplements
As Susan J. Hewlings, Ph.D., RD, and Douglas S. Kalman, Ph.D., RD, have explained to WholeFoods Magazine readers, dietary supplements are under attack from the Harvard-based organization STRIPED (Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders), which claims that dietary supplements, especially those that they refer to as diet pills, cause eating disorders. "Part of their efforts have been to propose age restricted legislation in various states, including New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, California, Colorado, Missouri, Maryland, and Massachusetts...While the details of the proposed legislation vary from state to state, the main objective of all of them is to limit access of teens to specific dietary supplements that they refer to as 'weight loss' or 'diet' supplements," Drs. Hewlings and Kalman explained. "These include protein, creatine, branched chain amino acids, and diet pills, which are not clearly defined. The research they reference to support their platform is full of scientific holes, which are discussed in a recent review published in Nutrients."
Indeed, STRIPED issued a letter thanking California Assemblymember Akilah Weber for "championing this bill to protect young people from dangerous weight loss dietary supplements and over-the-counter diet pills."
Call to Action for Industry
NPA in encouraging concerned industry members as well as members the public to write to their lawmakers in Sacramento by visiting the NPA grassroots campaign. In New York, NPA has taken action by filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, asserting that the law is unconstitutional.
