HealthNotes

Diane Rehm, host of The Diane Rehm Show on NPR, recently hosted a discussion on the regulation of dietary supplements, following the recent, high profile hearing undertaken by the FTC to stop Dr. Oz and others from continuing to promote fraudulent weight-loss products. Guests on the show included a health policy expert, a medical doctor, as well as Dr. Daniel Fabricant, the former Director of the Division of Dietary Supplement Programs at the FDA and current CEO of the Natural Products Association. While all of the guests voiced concerns that some products may be adulterated or have other quality issues, Dr. Fabricant stated his belief that the current federal law regulating supplements is enough to protect consumers. He stated that federal law includes a comprehensive set of good manufacturing practices that firms are required to follow, and that it is generally not a lack of regulations that leads to problems in the industry, but rather that the FDA often does not have enough resources to fully enforce the laws currently in place. Nevertheless, the FDA has still used its powers widely to impose jail sentences, order recalls, and collect billions of dollars in fines.

Source: The Diane Rehm Show