Posted on 07/04/2005 8:33:33 PM PDT by shield
Vitamins to be Banned Worldwide...
"Big Pharma" won a major victory in Rome, Italy today. Vitamins and minerals, for over-the-counter sale will be phased out, almost completely, in every country on Planet Earth. The "German Model" of health care will now be the law of the land - in every land.
Below is a press release from Diane Miller JD of the National Health Freedom Coalition, detailing the action. Diane is in Rome at the meeting.
Press Release - National Health Freedom Coalition: Codex Full Commission adopts Codex Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements in final form July 4, 2005, Rome Italy. by Diane Miller JD.
Minutes ago the full Commission of Codex Alimentarius adopted in final form, the Codex Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements. This adoption is the Step 8 adoption, the final stage of adoption for the international Codex guidelines. The Codex Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements guidelines are now official and no longer in draft form.
The Commission, attended by over 85 of the 171 Codex countries, adopted the guidelines by consensus method. There was brief discussion before adoption taking in comments from a small number of countries and two NGOs.
Australia requested adding the word "only" in Section 1.3 bertwee the words "apply" and "in". The sentence would then read "These guidelines apply only in those jurisdictions where products defined in 2.1 are regulated as foods."
Australia's comments were followed by request from Venzuela and Spain to clarify the spanish translation.
Venezuela was followed by China. China stated that every government in making decisions about vitamins and minerals should take into account the dietary limitations of their own countries, that governments can select vitamins and minerals acocording to the customs and habits of their country. China also pointed out that there should be definitions of the sources of vitamins.
Columbia spoke up and commented that Vitamins and Minerals are intended for deficiencies and are recommended for health reasons and said that there has to be no exaggerated use of minerals.
Egypt commented and offered a clarification saying that vitamin and minerals can be considered if daily needs are not being met.
After the countries were heard, the Chairman recognized NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). National Health Federation (NHF) a world wide consumer organization with NGO status at Codex was recognized to speak. Attonery Scott Tipps of NHF stood and requested the guidelines not be adopted but rather be sent back to commitee for 3 important reasons. 1) According to Codex rules a "purpose" statement must be part of all guidelines adopted and the Vitamin and Mineral guidelines did not contain a purpose. Secondly,the guidelines did not define vitamin and mineral and therefore it is unclear as to what is being regulated. And lastly, he pointed out that the Chinese comments were substantive and according to Codex rules on page 27 of the procedural manual, a substantive amendment request should be addressed at the committee level. His comments were heard.
The NGO IADSA was then recognized. IADSA stressed the fact that the draft guidelines should be adopted because they had been worked on in committee for near 10 years and that valuable consensus had been reached in the Bonn Germany committee meeting and the guidelines should now be passed.
After all comments, the Chair, consulted with counsel to assess whether the addition of the word "only" would change the meaning of the sentence. After learning that it would not he consulted with Australia and Australia repeated their request for amendment. The Chair recommended adoption of the amendment and there was no dissent. Then the Chair recommended the guidelines be adopted at Stage 8 in their final form and that China submit their substantive amendment requests to the committee at their next meeting. There was no further comment or dissent from any country and the guidelines were adopted.
What this means, in the United States, is that as soon as CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) passes the House of Representatives (it has already passed the Senate), the US government will be forced, by the terms of that CAFTA agreement, to restrict vitamin and supplement sales in accordance with the "German Model" of health care.
If and when this happens, the hard won 1994 DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act) will be nullified, and the dismantling of the North American supplement Industry will begin.
However, it is not inevitable - the use of "supplements" and other "alternatives" to conventional medicine regimens represents over fifty percent (50%) of the total US health dollar spent annually. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of US adults use an "alternative," and believe in them. Opposition is already gearing up for the battle - (click here).
This is a battle between "We the People," and the free world's biggest, and worst, enemy - ever - "Big Pharma."
Stay tuned...
Tim Bolen - Consumer Advocate
No it's not an urban legend, it's crankery.
I can't believe that big businesses, like the Vitamin Shoppe and Puritan, would let this happen. They would go out of business.
I can tell you that if I can't get my false unicorn root (an herbal hormone) you're going to have one VERY bitchy Freeper to deal with. Got the message?
If every American had to get a prescription just to buy vitamins, I can assure you Congress would do something FAST.
Bush doesn't sign a treaty on climate 'cause it will hurt the economy bigtime...this will hurt our economy big time.
Google had the following and don't understand the author of this article or why it would have anything to do with CAFTA.
Codex won’t affect US law, say associations
4/18/2005 - Industry assocations are seeking to dispel myths that the impending Codex Alimentarius international guidelines for vitamin and mineral food supplements, expected to be adopted in July, will force a change in US law to bring regulation of dietary supplements in line with Europe, writes Jess Halliday.
The American Herbal Products Association (APHA) published a document last week to address concerns from its members and consumers that access to supplements containing vitamins, minerals and herbs will be affected by the guidelines.
All 165 Codex member countries will be required to allow the import of vitamin and mineral supplements that meet the new guidelines, it said.
But since US law on dietary supplements (the 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, or DSHEA) is less restrictive than the guidelines, logic dictates that imports which meeting the guidelines’ requirements will also meet those of DHSEA.
However countries whose laws are more restrictive than the guidelines will have to relax their regulations for incoming trade.
The flip-side of the guidelines, as John Hathcock, VP scientific & international affairs at the Council For Responsible Nutrition (CRN), explained to NutraIngredients-USA.com, is that other Codex countries could reject US products that do not meet the regulatory standards of the guidelines.
Whilst the regulations will not force them to reject such products, Hathcock noted that a country is unlikely to be more lenient on foreign imports than it is on products produced domestically.
He added that whilst the primary purpose of Codex is to “protect exporters against whimsical importers,” a country’s government could choose to use Codex as a national policy if it so wished. This option is most likely to be exercised by countries which do not have large budgets to develop their own.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission was set up in 1963 by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization to develop guidelines that protect consumer health and ensure fair trade practices. It has adopted almost 250 standards covering different aspects of the food industry to date.
The Draft Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements were first proposed in 1993 and are currently at step 8 of the Codex process, the final stage prior to adoption.
The discussions surrounding the new guidelines coincides with industry concern over the 2002 food supplements directive, due to come into force in August.
Earlier this month Advocate General Geelhoed of the European Court of Justice ruled that the directive, which would limit vitamin and mineral supplements to an approved list and see hundreds of widely-used ingredients withdrawn as of August 2005, infringes basic principles of European law and should be rewritten.
The opinion was given after two parallel cases brought by trade associations (the Health Food Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Health Stores) and a consumer health campaign group, the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), argued that the directive infringes EU constitutional law and basic principles of free trade.
Although not legally binding, in the majority of cases the Advocate General’s opinion reflects that of the senior judge in the final ruling, which is expected in July.
Mark LeDoux, chairman of CRN’s international trade and market development committee, said that the ruling “means that the Draft Standard for Vitamin and Mineral Supplements…is substantively vindicated, and any effort to amend this draft standard at the upcoming Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting in July would not only violate Codex’s fundamental tenets, it would run counter to what the European Union’s own jurists…opined.”
In urging CRN members to support the Codex guidelines, Hathcock called them “consistent with sound scientific principles, public policy and now, developing EU law.”
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=59466&m=1NIU418&c=dawbanclbgpffsx
Blame President Bush for everything without checking facts -- seems to be the new mantra with not only the media but on here as well!
Oh noooo. Not the Flinstone vitamins!!!
How many more times will you post this?
Oh for cryin out loud.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/vitamins.asp
Take a pill and calm down. It's B#llsh!t.
The anti-free-trade people are just trying to stir up opposition to CAFTA by throwing stuff like this up against the wall on the off chance it will stick.
CODEX will one day be implemented whether it's via this alleged mechanism or not.....
If the sheeple won't revolt regarding the recent abolition of private property by the SCOTUS, they won't break a sweat over their supplements.
I've seen this from time to time. I suspect that restrictions on vitamins will apply in socialist countries that want them to apply. I don't see it happening here. If anything, the hippies and liberals are more hooked on their vitamin supplements than the rest of us.
If every American had to get a prescription just to buy vitamins, I can assure you Congress would do something FAST.
Did you hear McCain wants to ban DHEA?
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