Washington, D.C.—Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), will appear on the CBS show “The Doctors” on February 7, 2022, according to a press release.

Dr. Fabricant will discuss the unintended consequences of legislation pending in California that would place age restrictions on nutritional supplements.

AsWholeFoodsMagazine haspreviously reported,the billcalls for:
  • Prohibiting retailers from selling dietary supplements for weight loss and OTC diet pills to anyone under 18 without a prescription.
  • Requiring retailers to limit access to those products.
  • Requiring to retailers to conspicuously post a health-related notice regarding those products at each purchase counter.
A violation of the provisions outlined in the bill would make retailers subject to a civil penalty of no more than $1,000 for each violation.

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NPA launched agrassroots campaignto counter the bill, explaining, “If passed, the bill would restrict access to dietary supplements. Unfortunately, we are seeing unhealthy proposals like this across the country. Lawmakers in New Jersey, New York, Missouri, and Massachusetts have also advocated restricting access to these critical health products. While many of us are working toward new years resolutions that may include a healthier lifestyle, lawmakers in Sacramento want to make sure you’re restricted from accessing essential health products like vitamin D and amino acids.”

AsWholeFoodsreported in April 2021, the bill’s sponsors say the legislation is necessary because of an association between dietary supplements and eating disorders. To that, NPA said, “no such association has been proven by a review of the most authoritative publicly-available data. NPA recently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine if any such association existed and found no adverse events or reporting associated with dietary supplements and eating disorders.”

Kyle Turk, NPA Director of Government Affairs, has warned that the bill would be hard on small retailers: “This bill will do more harm to small businesses already hard hit by the pandemic, while doing nothing to protect public health.” He pointed to the effort it will take to put targeted products behind the counter, and to ensure that IDs are checked and enforce the various aspects of the bill.