Washington, D.C.—The push to restrict access to supplements has taken a step forward in New York. New York Assembly Bill 5610-D relates to establishing restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building. The legislation would prohibit the sale of dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to people under 18 (it exempts certain protein powders, protein drinks, and foods). The bill is now headed to the New York State Senate.
In the last legislative session, in December of 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed similar legislation, noting that state health departments are not equipped to be a substitute for federal regulation overseen by FDA, and that age restrictions on these products would limit supplement access for all consumers.
Industry Leaders Outline Their Concerns
In a statement concerning the bill, the Natural Products Association (NPA), which has been fighting efforts to restrict access to supplements from New Jersey to California and several states in between, explained, “Unfortunately, the NY state assembly and senate has once again chosen to ignore the facts in this matter and wrongfully implicate supplements. As we have been pointing out for years in testimony, testimony that led to a similar bill being vetoed prior by the governor, there is no data point, no adverse events at FDA that provide any associational link on dietary supplements to eating disorders." NPA pointed out that, after the last bill was vetoed, the lawmakers in NY "doubled down in an even worse manner by unscientifically targeting ingredients like creatine, one on the most well studied and researched chemicals on the planet, to limit all New Yorkers choices when it comes to self-care with natural products."
NPA called on Gov. Hochul to veto this bill if it reaches her desk. Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., President and CEO of NPA, outlined his concerns in a letter to Gov. Hochul.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) also issued a statement, noting that CRN is "dismayed by the uncritical review given to AB 5610-D by the New York Assembly. The legislation is a scientifically unsubstantiated response to legitimate concerns about increasing eating disorders and body dysmorphia among young people, but it completely misses the mark by wrongly targeting dietary supplements as a cause of disordered eating. These products may make a convenient scapegoat, but this legislation does nothing to address the underlying causes of these mental health issues."
CRN noted that, in addition to making it more difficult to purchase dietary supplements and functional food products, if passed this bill will also "pose a significant challenge to both retailers and enforcement authorities within the State of New York."
Another important consideration, CRN stated, is that the bill has no provision aimed at actually addressing the mental health concerns of the state’s adolescent population who are affected by eating disorders. “Childhood obesity affects 1 in 5 children in this country, yet we don’t kid ourselves into thinking that age-restricting junk food and sodas would put an end to that epidemic,” said CRN President and CEO Steve Mister. “We hope the Governor will again recognize that body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and other mental health issues are complex problems that are not solved by the distraction of ‘quick-fix’ tactics like this, which only offer sufferers and their families false hope. We will continue to advocate for more scientifically based solutions that get at the root cause of youth eating disorders, while ensuring that families have the ability to purchase the trusted products that support healthy lifestyles.”
Call to Action
NPA is urging all in New York who are in the industry, as well as those who have the products produced by this industry as a key part of their self-care regimen, to go to www.npanational.org and click "take action" to let your voice be heard. Regarding the successful efforts in 2022, NPA wrote, "Thousands of health and wellness advocates like you wrote, called, and emailed New York lawmakers urging their opposition to this bill because the FDA has found zero correlation between eating disorders and dietary supplements. Time after time, our industry has seen the results of being actively engaged in the policy process, and this fight is no different. We can all agree eating disorders are serious illnesses. However, legislative proposals like S5823/A5610 demonstrate policy-making that lacks science-based evidence. Please write to your members of the New York legislature urging their opposition to S5823/A5610."
