Senate Hearing on DSHEA Tomorrow

The Senate Special Committe on Aging has been planning tomorrow's 2pm eastern time hearing on supplements and seniors for a while now, but just released the list of witnesses today. It will likely be a pretty direct attack on supplements, DSHEA and consumer access to these products. That shouldn't be surprising since this committee has a long history of attacking supplements and nutritional approaches to health. In fact, the first such hearing on this topic by this committee took place in 1963 and featured the American Medical Association stating that cod liver oil was essentially worthless. I have a copy of the LA Times article covering that hearing. Well, they were wrong then, and they will probably be wrong again tomorrow. Even the AMA acknowledges the benefits of fish oil and omega 3s now. Of course it took almost 50 years. Tomorrow's witnesses will likely talk about how supplements lack research, may not be safe, and are putting senior's at risk. Just like when AMA did its dance in front of this committee in 1963, the exact opposite is true. Well-researched supplements keep seniors healthy, prevent many illnesses, and could save both seniors and the Medicare system money. Hopefully some of that info will make it into the hearing and fight its way through the anti-supplement propoganda that is sure to be "testified."

Also, the final witness to be called is FDA Deputy Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein. I just hope someone on the committee asks Dr. Sharfstein some tough questions about why the agency has failed to enforce DSHEA in any meaningful way for more than 15 years. Though we already know why. The agency enforces the laws that it wants to enforce, and chooses instead to ignore the law, the Congress and the will of people when that serves its agenda. And while lately the agency has been more active (and Dr. Sharfstein is certainly not to blame for the previous years of agency negligence), it is the agency's refusal to enforce the law that has taken us to the point we are at today. I would hope such a blatant disregard for the law and the Senate would be of interest to the committee. We will find out tomorrow.

Here is a link to the press release and witness list that just went up today. It will be available tomorrow at 2pm eastern as a live webcast at this site.

Expect a lot of anti-supplement media coverage (The New York Times lives for this stuff). I fully expect the Times and other anti-supplement press to call for repeal of DSHEA, pre-market approval of supplements by FDA, etc. Even when most of the behavior they cite as support for their argument is already illegal. You can be sure of this: the anti-DSHEA forces are ramping up for a fight. And industry and its consumers had better be ready...again.