WASHINGTON UPDATE*

Bad Advice

GAO advises FDA to focus resources where they’re not needed.

May 2009

In the April edition of Washington Update, we discussed the US Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) assertion that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lacks the resources it needs to ensure the safety of dietary supplements. In the GAO’s report, the organization complains that “the FDA is dedicating a small percentage of its resources to regulating the dietary supplement industry.” According to the GAO, the FDA’s lack of resources “may increase the likelihood of unsafe [dietary supplements] reaching the market.”

It is mind-boggling that this GAO study, launched by Representatives Henry Waxman, John Dingell and Bart Stupak, along with Senator Dick Durbin, has the gall to suggest that the FDA focus its limited resources on something bad that might happen (unsafe supplements hitting the market) but is highly unlikely, when far more significant threats already under the FDA’s jurisdiction are wreaking havoc on the American public right now. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 87 million cases of food-related illnesses, 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths in 2008. Meanwhile, prescription drugs, the FDA’s other project, are believed to kill over 100,000 people each year when taken as directed.

Reality Versus Possibility

Foods and synthetic drugs have been proven to be dangerous, harming Americans through foodborne illness and unwanted side effects. Both of these areas need the FDA’s undivided attention. If, as the GAO suggests, the FDA is short on resources, then it must prioritize and spend its energies wisely. With foods and drugs killing and sickening millions of innocent Americans, it makes absolutely no sense to waste resources on scrutinizing the dietary supplements that have already been proven to be overwhelmingly safe—not to mention beneficial for people’s health and well-being.

The GAO report cites the FDA’s dedication of “a small percentage of its resources to regulating the dietary supplement industry” as a problem that needs to be corrected. Actually, the FDA should be commended for doing the right thing in this instance. Perhaps the dietary supplement industry occupies a small percentage of the FDA’s time by design because the FDA is prioritizing wisely, choosing to leverage its resources against far more significant threats to the American public.

Distressingly, however, the GAO report concludes that the FDA “generally agreed with GAO’s recommendations.” It would be nice if the FDA stood up and vehemently disagreed with the GAO’s criticisms. If the FDA explained that it only dedicates a small percentage of its resources to dietary supplements because they pose no risk to the American public, the GAO would be exposed for its dubious reasoning capacity—and elected officials Waxman, Dingell, Stupak and Durbin would be exposed for wasting taxpayers’ money on the GAO’s uninformed reporting.

Don’t Give Up the Fight

Does it trouble you that the GAO’s suggestions appear to be influencing the FDA’s course of action on dietary supplements? Even worse, do you feel this course of action may steer us towards a health catastrophe, where drugs and foods continue to harm us while supplements are persecuted for supporting our health?

Write to your elected officials and let them know that you want the FDA to focus, above all else, on food and drug safety. Tell your elected officials that dietary supplements are safe and natural, and that they work in harmony with the body to promote well-being. And be sure to let those officials know that your health freedom is a non-negotiable priority, and you will not stand to have the government meddle with your supplementation rights. For more information, visit www.nha2009.com and join the NHA today!

*This editorial is a public service announcement sponsored by the Nutritional Health Alliance (NHA).