Subject: [Colloidal Silver] Most supplements to bebanned in Europe by August 2005
> > Greetings > This important message is from another group, I know others on thelist have written about this, but it is getting closer....we must stop this.... > > Roger wrote: > > Those of you in N. America may not be aware of the implications of > the intended EU directive on sales of vitamins in N. America - I > know I wasn't. You may know people in the USA who would like to > know this. > > Lynda (a friend of Roger's) wrote: > I assume you all know of the impending European legislation - the > EU directive on Dietary Supplements, part of the Codex > Alimentarius, the impetus of which comes from the German > pharmaceutical lobbies in the face of the rise in interest in > alternative therapies and natural remedies by consumers. In case > you don't, here's a very cogent summary, written by Dr Jonathon > Wright for an American audience. Supporting the UK legal action of > the Alliance for Natural Health against this legislation is critical if > you wish to be able to buy any sort of useful nutritional supplement > after August 2005. > > Two years ago, I told you about the passage of the European Union > (EU) Directive on Dietary Supplements. This directive, which is part > of a larger form of legislation called Codex Alimentarius, severely > restricts access to natural health products in Europe. At the time, > it probably seemed a long way off: After all, the law wasn't to go > into effect for several years following the initial passage. > > Unfortunately, that several years is up, and the EU Directive is on > track to take full effect in August 2005-less than a year from now-- > and by 2007, the scene described above will certainly be a reality > for many, many people. Obviously, this is devastating news for > Europe. But thanks to some pre-existing international agreements > made by the U.S., the EU Directive will be just as devastating for > the natural health community here. The main difference is that > while the Directive has been big news in Europe for some time, it's > been virtually ignored by U.S. media, which means that the severe > restrictions it calls for will sneak up on most people and rob us all > of our freedom to choose natural alternatives before we even know > what's happening. That's why I and many of my colleagues in the > health publishing world have done our best to keep you informed of > the Directive's developments-and their consequences for the U.S.- > over the years. And why we've decided to make a big push in our > September newsletters by covering it in-depth. > > Simply put, we're down to the wire, and if we don't act immediately, > we will be facing the same fate as Europeans. There are steps you > can take to get the word out and, hopefully, to diffuse this ticking > time bomb. But first, let's take a few minutes and recount some of > the specifics included in the Directive so that you know exactly > what it is we're fighting against. > > 5,000 PRODUCTS SET TO DISAPPEAR: The EU Directive > classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as "medical drugs" > rather than dietary supplements, which means that they're subject > to government regulation in terms of dosage and availability. It gets > worse: There are many nutrients known to be vital to optimal health > that are not on the government's RDA nutrient list including > chromium picolinate, lysine, and selenium. Under the Directive, > these types of supplements are banned from over-the-counter sale. > Put simply, it will be illegal to buy them without a prescription. > > The supplements that will be available will be restricted to multi- > vitamins containing no more than 100 percent of the established > RDA amounts, which are usually useless, trivial quantities--and > they'll be far more expensive than what we have now. > > This Directive, for all intents and purposes, makes it illegal for > people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing with > essential nutrients. Plus, the Directive only allows supplements to > be made from a list of 15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out > at least 40 minerals important in human metabolism and forbids > the use of the most bio-available forms of vitamin complexes. In > essence, it means that all nutritional supplements will be virtually > the same-the specific combinations might vary, but the types and > amounts of nutrients will be identical-no matter what product > they're formulated into. > > So, for instance, a middle-aged woman in Liverpool, England, who > has a dangerously elevated homocysteine level will no longer have > the option of reducing her risk of heart disease with a vitamin B > dosage of her own choosing. If she's currently taking 5 mg of folic > acid daily, under the new Directive she will be legally restricted to a > prescription of 1 mg per day. If she's taking a 100 mg dose of B6, > she'll be restricted to 10 mg. And her pantothenic acid (B5) intake > of 500 mg will drop to 200 mg. These maximum dosage levels have > been chosen to "protect" her (so we're told), when in fact the > protection she needs the most will be unavailable. > > In addition to these essential B vitamins, low maximum dosage > levels have also been set for vitamin C, niacin, and vitamin E. But > at least they made it on the list of allowed nutrients. > > Approximately 350 supplement ingredients are missing from the > list. If they are not added to the list by June 2005, they will be > deemed illegal throughout the European Union. Supplement > manufacturers may submit "technical dossiers" to support > applications for the inclusion of individual elements or formulations > on the so-called "positive list." But the EU has made this process > so expensive and time consuming that many manufacturers simply > can't afford the costs involved. As a result, around 5,000 safe > formulas and nutrients that have been on the market for decades > will soon be banned. > > SAVING US FROM OURSELVES: Of course, these regulations > were all passed under the guise of "protecting the public." > According to the World Health Organization, popular alternative > medicines are often "misused" and may "harm patients." They > point out that the "incorrect use" of alternative therapies has > caused deaths in wealthy countries where more and more patients > rely on them. > > You could also argue that the incorrect use of kitchen knives, water > skis, and even plastic bags have all caused deaths! Not to mention > the use of AMA-sanctioned medical procedures and FDA-approved > drugs. The key phrase here is "incorrect use." > > The WHO could do everyone a service by first addressing the > incorrect use of accepted mainstream therapies that have caused > far more widespread death and adverse reactions than natural > medicine therapies ever have or ever will. > > Although they are few and far between, there are mistakes and > fatalities associated with alternate therapies, supplements, and > herbal remedies. It's always important to keep in mind that many of > the compounds and herbs used in natural medicine treatments are > very powerful. They have risks and potential side effects, which is > why I always recommend that you work closely with skilled natural > medicine practitioners whenever you use these therapies. But even > with their cautions, natural remedies are far, far safer than > prescription drugs, and one reason might be the users themselves. > An article published in the journal Psychologist noted that people > who seek out natural and alternative treatments are generally more > health conscious than non-users, and believe that by making > sound lifestyle choices they can influence their own health. But not > if the EU has anything to say about it. > > WHERE'S THE "FIGHT FOR FREEDOM" WHEN YOU NEED IT?: > You'd think that such blatant abuse of power to restrict people's > personal liberty would have our own self-proclaimed freedom-loving > government up in arms (literally). But there's an even darker side to > all this, and it has little--if anything-- to do with health or looking out > for people's best interests. > > Even if the American government didn't want to go along with the > regulations imposed by the EU Directive, we really wouldn't have a > choice. In fact, the United States never has acknowledged or > stated any form of acceptance for the EU Directive. But hard as it > is to believe, this "Directive" can actually over-ride United States > law if it isn't stopped in Europe. > > As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. will > be bound by any finalized standards put forth in the Directive. > > If we choose to ignore the regulations our WTO-affiliation binds us > to, we would face severe trade sanctions with other WTO > countries, which could potentially cripple part of our economy. And > there's no way that our already anti-natural-medicine government is > going to let that happen over access to vitamins and minerals. So > the best way to ensure it doesn't get to that point is to do > everything we can to stop it now--before it happens. > > PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS WITH THESE 3 STEPS: There are three > actions to take: > > (1) The most urgent is to support a case brought by the British > Alliance for Natural Health to overturn the European Food > Supplements Directive. In January 2004, the Alliance's attorneys (a > firm which has successfully had another European Directive > overturned) won the first round in the High Court of Justice in > London; the appeal was referred to the European Court of Justice. > Please visit the Alliance's website, www.alliance-natural-health.org, > read about their case, and most importantly, make a donation to > support their efforts to protect everyone's supplements, including > yours. Even a few dollars will help; a few dollars from each of us > will add up. If we can help them overturn this food supplement > dictatorship in Europe, it won't ever come here. > > (2) The second action I urge you to take is to write, call, and e-mail > your state's Senators and Congressmen. Tell your Senators to > oppose S.722, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, and tell your > Congressmen to oppose H.R. 3377, the Dietary Supplement > Access and Awareness Act. These two bills put the wheels in > motion for restrictions similar to those outlined in the EU Directive > to become U.S. law, which would be even more threatening to us > than just an inter- national code of standards. These extremely > dangerous and misnamed proposals would allow the FDA to "roll > back" most of the small amount of health care freedom you and I re- > gained with the 1994 "DSHEA" law we all fought so hard for. Even if > we're successful in helping the Alliance for Natural Health defeat > the European Food Supplements Directive, if these bills are passed > into law, our supplement choices will shrink dramatically anyway. > > (3) The final step to take is to tell your U.S. Senators and > Congressmen to support U.S. Representative Ron Paul's H.R. > 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act. This accurately > named (for once) legislation would make the Constitution of the > United States the supreme law of the land again, and restore law- > making and judging power to our elected representatives and > American courts, respectively. Please don't leave this off your list; > in the long run, it's the most important action of the three. > > Please make a donation-of any size-to the Alliance for Natural > Health as soon as you can. Then, please write, call, fax, and e- > mail your U.S. Senators and Representative as often as you can, > telling them to oppose S. 722 and H.R. 3377, and to support > American freedom by voting for H.R. 1146. > > For further information on the European Union Directive on Dietary > Supplements and on the Codex Alimentarius legislation, contact > the American Holistic Health Association (www.ahha.org), the > Alliance for Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org), or the > International Advocates for Health Freedom (www.iahf.com). > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. 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