[Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)] was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, but really this was bipartisan buffoonery. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), cosponsored it with Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and it remains the quintessential example of how crafty language can be used to circumvent science and the FDA.
There can be no better example of both the built-in sleaziness of the act, and how it enabled the supplement industry to get away with murder, than the recent, disgraceful (but hardly unique) cancer claim scandal that is now in the news again thanks to FDA taking action against 14 companies selling illegal, unethical, immoral and fraudulent cancer treatments.
But it isn’t. It’s more of the same. The best we can say is that it is a small victory that the FDA sent warning letters to 14 US-based companies, and advisory letters to four more. They have been robbing the public using a total of 65 phony cancer treatments.
Terms like “helps”, “supports”, thanks to the intentionally sloppy language in DSHEA, enables supplement sellers to conditionally claim benefits, knowing that most of the population will take that those words to mean “treats,” even as companies evade the aegis of the FDA by using a carefully crafted disclaimer at the bottom.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: DSHEA Allowed 23 Yrs Of Disgraceful Cancer Claims By Supplement Makers
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