Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was originally designed to serve the needs of the American public.
Of course, these days, it does no such thing – it is owned, outright, by “Big Pharma,” the very industry it is supposed to regulate.
Not just is there a revolving door of pharma employees with the FDA, but every committee is in the hands of the drug pushers. In fact, the FDA is little more than a gun carrying enforcement agency whose only purpose seems to be to stifle, raid, imprison, shut down, harass, torture, lie about, and generally discourage competition to drugs, drugs, and more drugs.
They don’t even try to hide it.
Despite “Big Pharma’s,”,and their minions at the FDA’s best efforts, however, over fifty percent of the total US health health dollar is spent on alternatives to “organized medicine.” The National Science Foundation indicates that 88% of all US adults use, and believe in, some alternative to “organized medicine.” That’s no surprise when you consider that “organized medicine” is the number one, two, and three killer of Americans (the medical system itself, heart disease, and cancer) at 2,036,884. Americans are just trying to protect themselves.
The number one cause of unnecessary death in the United States, called Iatrogenic deaths (the system itself) is 783,986.
The number two cause of unnecessary death in the United States is Heart Disease. Statistics show “The 2001 heart disease annual death rate is 699,697.”
The number three cause of unnecessary death in the United States is Cancer. Statistics show “the annual cancer death rate, 553,251.”
The total number of known unnecessary deaths, per year, directly due to the American Medical System is 2,036,884.
But that’s about to end – perhaps. The powerful North American Health Freedom Movement is flexing its muscle – and has gone to the US Congress and said “Enough is enough. We’ve got to stop the drug pushers.”
Congress has responded. And what Congress did was to activate HR 4282.
What’s HR 4282 about?
It’s simple. When enacted, the bill will:
(1) amend the drug and health claim provisions of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to permit truthful disease treatment claims for foods and dietary supplements (presently FDA prohibits all such claims.
(2) prohibit FDA from preventing any who sell foods and supplements from sending consumers government reports (and accurate quotes form government reports) on nutrient-disease associations.
(3) prohibit FDA from preventing any who sell foods and supplements from sending consumers scientific publications on nutrient-disease associations;
(4) limit FDA disclaimers on health claims to no more than three concise sentences.
(5) require FDA to permit health claims to be made unless FDA proves there to be no scientific evidence to support the claims and no disclaimer capable of avoiding misleadingness;
(6) compel FDA to approve or disapprove health claim petitions within 100 days or the claims will be automatically allowed.
(7) require FDA to consider studies of the treatment effect of nutrients in evaluation of nutrient-disease prevention claims.
(8) prohibit FDA from waiving conflicts of interest in its food advisory panels considering health claims.
(9) reverse FDAs denial or restriction of the following nutrient-disease association claims: (a) saw palmetto treating benign prostatic hyperplasia; (b) omega-3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease; (c) omega-3 fatty acids and sudden death heart attacks; (d) glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate treating osteoarthritis; and (e) calcium reducing the risk of bone fractures.
(10) prevent FDA from disallowing structure function claims that include terms that refer to signs or symptoms of disease so long as the disease itself is not mentioned.
(11) amend the deceptive advertising provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) to make all publications exempt from regulation by the amendment to the FDCA also exempt from regulation by the FTC.
(12) prohibit FTC from regulating as advertising any truthful and accurate summary of findings from peer-reviewed scientific publication.
(13) require FTC to give notice and an opportunity to cure to any company suspected of engaging in deceptive advertising of a health benefit.
(14) prohibit FTC from commencing a deceptive advertising investigation of a health benefit promotion unless FTC possesses proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the ad is false and misleading.
(15) require FTC to prove that an ad is false and misleading and that it actually misleads consumers before FTC may hold an advertiser guilty of deceptive advertising.
The bill, the “Health Freedom Protection Act, HR 4282”, co-sponored by Congressmen Ron Paul (TX), Peter DeFazio (OR), Dan Burton (IN), Walter Jones (NC), Rob Bishop (UT), John J. Duncan (TN), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Jeff Miller (FL), Butch Otter (ID) and Tom Tancredo (CO).
This will be a huge battle with “Big-Pharma.” It will be the first of many conflicts to dislodge “Big Pharma’s” hold on North American health care -and their obvious intent to destroy the US economy.
America needs to be “healthy” not “medicated.”
Stay tuned…
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate