Should the US Government and the FDA be allowed to regulate Alternative Medicines?

I say No. And if you feel the same you should state your thoughts by going to: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc...

And also contact your local Senate: www.congress.org

Please read below: A re-print from HSI:

Dear Reader,

This might be the most important e-Alert I'll ever send you.

Your healthcare freedom is constantly under attack. And as we've just discovered, that freedom has suddenly come under fire as never before.

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Always something
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Most HSI members won't be surprised to learn that the FDA has launched a plan to impose new regulations on alternative healthcare - regulations that are far more severe than existing regs.

Attempts like this aren't new, of course. Over the years we've diligently monitored such actions so that we can keep you informed through the e-Alert, the HSI Members Alert, and our web site.

Just last month I told you about a new senate bill called the Safe Drug Compounding Act that would limit the freedom of women to choose a safe alternative to synthetic hormone replacement therapy. So far, there's no further news about the progress of that completely unnecessary act, but now a much larger threat looms.

This past December, the FDA quietly put a document on its web site titled "Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration." This document is open to public comments until April 30, 2007 - just a few days from now.

After that, FDA officials will evaluate the comments and decide if they dare proceed with a regulation that might actually make it a crime to take vitamin C for a cold without a prescription.

Sound extreme? Absolutely! This is the most extreme attempt to control the sale and use of dietary supplements I've ever seen.

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The cards are stacked
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The FDA document is 14 pages long, but here's what it boils down to: If you use an herbal or dietary supplement to stay healthy or to help prevent an ailment, that's fine. But if any supplement is used to treat a symptom, then it's a medicine and will be regulated by the FDA, just like any prescription drug.

And there's a qualifying statement to that second part: The supplement will be exempted if it is "generally recognized, among experts qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of drugs, as safe and effective for use under the conditions prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling."

In other words, the freedom to use a supplement to treat a condition will be at the discretion of FDA experts. And given the track record of FDA experts, this is really bad news.

With this spacious latitude, there's no telling just how far the FDA might go to restrict access to supplements. For instance, they could take a widely used supplement off the market if the label states a benefit; such as using lutein to reduce the damage from age-related macular degeneration, or using chondroitin and glucosamine to reduce joint pain, or using probiotics to address digestive problems - the list goes on and on.

As HSI Panelist Jon Barron points out on his web site (jonbarron.org), under the proposed FDA guidelines even bottled water might be considered a drug if used to alleviate severe dehydration, which is an emergency medical condition.

I say yes, here is why - if the FDA approves various herbal remedies, etc then doctors can then legally prescribe them if needed for one thing. Another thing is that Herbs ARE DRUGS. For example, the primary ingredient in most prescription drugs is an herb of some kind. Like Viagra is basically nothing more than an herb in a pill packaging. The problem with the FDA regulating this is that if it isn't approved they can take it off the shelves for a while. I wonder if this is a conspiracy by the drug companies so that only the drug companies can sell herbs. I don't know. But FDA approval will give these items the same testing as our drugs and that testing is needed. And it gives one standard by which to measure by. If you get Enzymes from your pharmacy they use one measurement system to measure how many units it is and if you go to your health food store they use another measurement system,a nd nobody knows how many of one = how many of the other one.

Right now you have doctors who make you buy a $1200 medicine when they could tell you to try the $3 herb, but the doctor can't tell you to take the $3 herb without FDA approval legally, so if these are approved your doctor can now tell you to take the $3 herb and they can do it legally. It might be good for everyone, but then it might not be either.
I really dont' know.

I think it's been frustrating for me that the herbs haven't had FDA regulation.

But that doesn't necessarily make it good

Heck no they already screwed up the medical field!

I have been torn over this issue. I think doctors should be informed about herbal supplements and be able to prescribe them like they do in Europe. Government regulation could eliminate all the crap supplements that are on the shelf for uninformed people to consume. At this point in time I think the federal government and the medical community are so biased against herbs that they would make it illegal to drink a cup of chammomile tea to relax. I am tired of the government telling me what to eat, what to drink, etc. Some of us do actually take the time to do RESEARCH on health issues. I know when I need to go to the doctor and when I can take care of myself. I guess General Mills is going to be in BIG trouble for their medical claims that Cheerios can lower cholesterol.