Washington, DC— The New York law that restricts consumer access to certain dietary supplements under the age of 18 goes into effect today in New York state, despite industry efforts challenging it. The law prohibits retailers in New York from selling to anyone under 18 years old any dietary supplements with ingredients that are labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented for “weight loss” or “muscle building,” even if the product doesn't explicitly make such claims. Retailers who fail to comply with the law would be subject to fines for each infraction. Industry efforts continue in the fight to challenge the constitutionality of the law that was recently passed in New York, which would starting this month.
Both the Natural Products Association (NPA) and the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) have taken legal action, filing lawsuits and preliminary injunctions.
In the latest development, a federal judge in New York State's age restriction law case ruled that CRN has standing to sue on behalf of its members, allowing CRN's lawsuit to move forward. CRN also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have delayed the law from going into effect was, which was denied.
Barring further legal developments, NY state now can begin enforcing the age restriction law.
As CRN explained, the court stated that a preliminary injunction is “an extraordinary and drastic remedy” and held that issuing the temporary injunction was not in the public interest. CRN’s request for a permanent injunction remains before the court, and CRN said it will file a motion for clarification regarding points raised by the judge’s preliminary injunction opinion later this week.
"The announcement that we have standing is significant because it means that only CRN is positioned right now to go before the court on behalf of industry and argue the merits of what we believe is a strong case,” said CRN President and CEO Steve Mister. “As for the preliminary injunction, we knew that asking for such extraordinary relief was a longshot, although we respectfully disagree with the court. We will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to challenge this law and continue to believe it unfairly restricts consumer access to legitimate, beneficial health products and infringes upon the rights of businesses to engage in lawful commerce."
Read more about the efforts to age-restrict access to supplements, and actions being taken by CRN and NPA, here.
