Washington Post Editorial -- Wednesday, January 26
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This is a message to the CRN Government and Media Relations Committees: (from Judy and Mike)
We wanted to make sure you knew the following editorial ran yesterday. It is not a new position for the Washington Post, but troubling nevertheless. More information to follow as appropriate:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36720-2005Jan25.html
Alternative Drugs
Wednesday, January 26, 2005; Page A20
ADECADE AGO, Congress passed a law shielding makers of dietary supplements from regulatory scrutiny. The consequences of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 were entirely foreseeable: largely uncontrolled sales and marketing of vitamins and herbal remedies without advance approval of their safety and effectiveness. According to a new report by the Institute of Medicine, the foreseeable has come to pass. The report deals broadly with alternative and complementary medicine, which has become a giant industry in America, worth $27 billion a year; visits to alternative-care providers now exceed visits to primary-care doctors. But the section on dietary supplements deserves particular attention.
An estimated 15 million adults in America take herbal remedies or high doses of vitamins, which are often sold with vague claims about how they affect the body. These statements can easily be taken for claims of medical benefit, even cures for specific diseases. Yet few herbal supplements are proven to work, and some may be dangerous, particularly when combined with prescription drugs with which their interactions are largely unknown. Because of the 1994 law, however, the Food and Drug Administration has no power to approve their use before they go on the market, and the burden is on the agency to show that a supplement is dangerous before it can be removed from stores. Unlike drug companies, moreover, supplement manufacturers have no obligation to monitor or report health problems their products may cause.
The report notes the supplement industry's severe "lack of quality control." Dosages vary greatly between products -- in some the active ingredient, if any, isn't even known -- and impurities appear common. One study showed that 32 percent of certain Chinese herbal medicines contained "undeclared pharmaceuticals or heavy metals," while smaller percentages contained "lead, mercury or arsenic." Another study showed that of 59 samples of echinacea purchased in Denver, 10 percent contained "no measurable echinacea" at all. When you buy a dietary supplement, in other words, you have no idea what you're getting.
The report recommends amending the 1994 law to ensure "accuracy and comprehensiveness in labeling," reasonable enforcement authority, and stronger consumer protections. Our view is that reform should go further, holding herbal medicines to the same standards of safety and efficacy as drugs made by pharmaceutical companies. "Alternative" medicine should not mean unaccountable medicine.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
