70% OF AMERICANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUPPORT A CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE WHO WILL PROTECT DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS AND HOMEOPATHY

Citizens for Health, along with several other prominent health-choice organizations ( Alliance for Natural Health USA , Americans for Homeopathy Choice and the Natural Products Association ) co-sponsored a survey conducted by the Marist Poll*, which found, among other things, the following:

• 75% of Americans use “vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements or natural or homeopathic remedies”
• 70% of Americans are “more likely to support a congressional candidate in their district who will protect the public´s access to dietary supplements and other natural and homeopathic remedies”

The survey found that the use of supplements and other natural or homeopathic remedies was consistent across all demographic and partisan categories — regardless of whether respondents came from city, suburban or rural areas; regardless of education level; regardless of ethnicity; regardless of age; and regardless of political party. The same held true for support for Congressional candidates who will protect consumer access to these products.

“This is a mandate from Americans that they want continued access to the health products of their choice,” said James Gormley, President of Citizens for Health, “and both our elected representatives and Congressional candidates should take notice.”

Read the full press release here

And you can download the full survey results here (PDF document).

CHALLENGES REMAIN

Despite this powerful and encouraging news, there are efforts afoot by unelected bureaucrats at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in Congress, and in several states — most notably New York — to restrict supplements and homeopathics under the pretense of “protecting us.”

The FDA has proposed new guidelines for homeopathic drugs that would change their status from a special category of medicine and put them into a group considered “unapproved.” Translation: all homeopathic medicines would become technically illegal and could be removed at any time by order of the FDA. Stay tuned for more on this in future alerts.

In the meantime, the latest Congressional attack on supplements is Senate Bill 4090, the Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022, which all of Congress should oppose. It was introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, no stranger to anti-supplement witch-hunts masquerading as consumer protection.

What adds insult to injury for Americans is the fact that the survey also found that as many as 83% of adults knew “little or nothing at all” about Congressional efforts to take away their rights.

This is unconscionable, as it shows what a poor job our legislators are doing in keeping their constituents aware of threats to their continued, and unfettered, access to the health products of their choice.

The most urgent current threat is New York Senate Bill 16 (Assembly Bill 431), which, instead of protecting minors from what are actually safe supplements sold in health-food stores, would push them to buy potentially unsafe knock-off, gray-market products available online or via shady retailers.

Senate Bill S16 bill has passed the New York State Assembly and Senate and is now poised to be delivered to the Governor.

Citizens for Health asks all of our New York State supporters to take action by signing this petition from our ally, the Natural Products Association.

* The Marist Poll, one of the first college-based public opinion polls in the United States, is highly respected, with an “A” rating from ABC News’ FiveThirtyEight.