I know that in the past you’ve had some great insights on the Pharmaceutical Industry…so I wanted to direct this to you and others with some knowledge.
This is a VERY sketchy outline…
But as you all may (or may not) know…CODEX is in a final stages of ratification. In essense, it’s a International set of codes that:
1)Decides what Supplements can be sold OTC and in what concentrations.
(Needless to say, the amounts that will be allowed to be sold OTC are in amounts so small as to be almost useless).
IF they are in more potent amounts, they will a) be INFINITELY more expensive and b)only be available by prescription.
This is what makes me angry (if it is true):
1)The Legislation WAS and IS strongly supported by U.S. Pharmaceutical Companies (DUH!) (which are really International Corporations merely based in the U.S.).
They were a driving force behind passage of the Legislation.
It seems like the Pharmaceutical Companies did an “end around” after Congress rejected their attempt at gaining control over our access to effective and inexpensive OTC supplements.
I’m also angry that it’s VERY likely that we will end up with limited access to those effective supplements…and in some cases, could mean the end of the Supplement Industry as we know it…
I know that in the past you’ve had some great insights on the Pharmaceutical Industry…so I wanted to direct this to you and others with some knowledge.
This is a VERY sketchy outline…
But as you all may (or may not) know…CODEX is in a final stages of ratification. In essense, it’s a International set of codes that:
1)Decides what Supplements can be sold OTC and in what concentrations.
(Needless to say, the amounts that will be allowed to be sold OTC are in amounts so small as to be almost useless).
IF they are in more potent amounts, they will a) be INFINITELY more expensive and b)only be available by prescription.
This is what makes me angry (if it is true):
1)The Legislation WAS and IS strongly supported by U.S. Pharmaceutical Companies (DUH!) (which are really International Corporations merely based in the U.S.).
They were a driving force behind passage of the Legislation.
It seems like the Pharmaceutical Companies did an “end around” after Congress rejected their attempt at gaining control over our access to effective and inexpensive OTC supplements.
I’m also angry that it’s VERY likely that we will end up with limited access to those effective supplements…and in some cases, could mean the end of the Supplement Industry as we know it…
PLEASE tell me that I’m wrong and over-reacting…
Mufasa[/quote]
Mufasa –
I don’t have any familiarity with this particular issue at all. I’ll have to see what I can find out – it sounds as if it is at least partly concerned with enforcement of intellectual property rights? Specifically patents? I don’t see how else the prices would be affected?
Apparently, it’s an organization of relatively long-standing created by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
THis is what it says on the front of the international home page:
The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
What I’ve been able to dig up is that this may…and I emphasize MAY…be one of those things generated in the “Internet Fear Mill…”
While it was hard for me to believe that Congress would “give up” rights to the International Community something that so many Americans hold dear (availability of effective supplements)…I simply wouldn’t put it past them…
Please post if you guys have any furthur information…
Is the issue here whether they are going to take supplements out of a “food” category, or keep them in a “food” category and subject them to international regulatory standards? Is that the fear?
I can’t find much of anything that I would consider trustworthy on this topic.
At this point, it questionable how trustworthy all of this is…
You would think that such Legislation would be eliciting a LOT more debate both in the media AND on the Internet…
The essence of the “Legislation” was to a) “outlaw” certain supplements and b) place other supplements under prescription if certain ingredients were above a certain concentration in a formulation.