ACSM, Sen. John Mccain Support "Supplement Safety Now"
Main Category: Sports Medicine / FitnessAlso Included In: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine
Article Date: 05 Feb 2010 - 3:00 PDT
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The world's largest sports medicine and exercise science organization today expressed its support for proposed safety legislation in the dietary supplement industry.
The American College of Sports Medicine - a professional society with more than 35,000 members and certified individuals - is a partner of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the entity leading the charge for "Supplement Safety Now." USADA held a press conference today with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who proposed new legislation on supplements.
According to USADA, "dangerous drugs, such as designer steroids, are intentionally being sold as dietary supplements, and current law allows these products to get easily to market."
McCain's legislation, "The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010," is applauded by USADA, which believes the bill strikes a fair balance between tighter regulations and reasonable policies. More information on the initiative can be found at http://www.SupplementSafetyNow.com.
Numerous other sports and health organizations in addition to ACSM support Supplement Safety Now and the proposed legislation, including all four major professional sports bodies (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the PGA Tour, and more.
ACSM has long supported anti-doping policies. In 2007, the organization founded Professionals Against Doping in Sports, uniting health care organizations and individuals in support of clean competition. To date, PADS counts more than 40 worldwide organizations in its ranks, including USADA and numerous USA sport governing bodies.
Source
American College of Sports Medicine
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MLA
13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/178296.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/178296.php.
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Re: Supplement Safety DSSA Nonsense
posted by Jeremy on 10 Feb 2010 at 12:57 amThe proposed bill, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA), is superfluous and detrimental.
The FDA does not need a bill like this in order to seize and remove banned substances masquerading as supplements, nor to address steroid knockoff products ("designer steroids"). It has the authority to ensure safety already. The respective sports agencies should police their own & enact more stringent drug policies rather than making the FDA police athletes *and* everyone else.
Bills like this one harm Americans by restricting freedom to choice and access to health products. DSSA grants the FDA extensive power to restrict more than "steroid-like" prohormones; it gives the FDA authority to arbitrarily restrict vitamins & other supplements, both in availability and in dosage. This has the potential of increasing health costs. Consider anemia- Americans diagnosed with iron deficient anemia or pernicious anemia can address their condition inexpensively with vitamins (B6, B12, C, & Folate) & minerals (iron); FDA restrictions may remove this easy accessibility (via restrictive doses & high costs), increasing complications in those who can't afford to correct their anemia. The result of DSSA may resemble the outcome of the European Union's health product regulations, which have curtailed legal vitamin dosages significantly.
Ironically, the bill bears the name safety in its title, yet a published report from the American Association of Poison Control Centers shows that not a single person died from supplement use. That cannot be said about easily available medication like cough medicine, nor prescription only medication like which has not been heavily restricted.
Re: Supplement Safety DSSA Nonsense- Edit
posted by Jeremy on 10 Feb 2010 at 2:24 pmI failed to mention the year of the report. It was from the 2008 report from the American Association of Poison Control Centers. To highlight the contrast, supplements did not cause a single death in 2008, yet acetaminophen, an over the counter medication, has been responsible for more than 100,000 calls to poison control centers, 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths *per year*. Such problems can occur at amounts slightly higher than or within recommended dosages.
Despite this, the FDA has been extremely slow to issue a black box warning about liver failure. In fact, it would be well within the scope of official policy to issue such a warning about acetaminophen.
The failure to inform Americans about acetaminophen is but one among many failures of the FDA. Repeated FDA bungling (even when granted necessary powers) demonstrate that it is inconsistent in protecting Americans, so why grant it more authority & restrictive powers?
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