• On February 3, 2010, Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan introduced S. 3002, a bill entitled, The Dietary Supplement Safety Act. The supposed purpose of the bill is to make dietary supplements "safer." This is ironic because dietary supplements are already hundreds of times safer than either prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
• The real purpose of this bill is to limit your access to dietary supplements. The government would tell you, the consumer, what dietary supplements you could and could not buy. There is little doubt that if this bill becomes law your choices will be drastically reduced, and many of the supplements you take today will become illegal. This misguided bill affects ALL dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, sports and diet products.
• But, who is behind this bill? The answer is simple: big time sports leagues, especially Major League Baseball, which in recent years have been plagued by steroid scandals. Fearful that Congress will end their lucrative anti-trust exemption and require real drug testing, they have decided to make the supplement industry their scapegoat. When one of their players tests positive for steroids, they'd like people to think it must have been an adulterated dietary supplement.
• Unless you want the government to tell you what supplements you can and cannot take, and unless you want to see your freedom of choice drastically reduced, you need to make your views known to your United States Senators. Tell them to oppose this terrible piece of legislation.
• To make your views known, you can go to the Save Our Supplements website (SaveOurSupplements.org) to send a note in opposition to S. 3002 directly to your two Senators or you can use the website to get information to construct your own personal letter. Either way, you need to act immediately.
Do not let Congress take away your right to buy and use dietary supplements.
