New Supplement Law

Legislation was recently passed into law requiring the makers of dietary supplements and other nonprescription drugs to report serious adverse affects to the government. They will be required to report these to the FDA within 15 days and it takes effect in December of 2007.

It also requires the packaging to have a U.S. phone number or address where consumers can report these events. Spokesmen for Consumer reports magazine said it was long overdue.

The supplement industry reported sales of $20.3 billion dollars in 2005 and this new law will provide some oversight to this industry. Up until now, these supplements are considered safe until proven otherwise by the FDA. This is completely opposite the drug industry. The drug industry has to provide safety data to the FDA before a drug can be released to the market.

There is no perfect system. Both OTC medications as well as prescription medicines have been found to be unsafe and taken off the market. This new law should at least bring more information to light and better inform the public.