The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has expressed disappointment after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declined to grant a preliminary injunction to pause enforcement of a New York law restricting the sale of certain dietary supplements to individuals under 18.

Oral arguments in the appeal were heard on Jan. 24, 2025. While the Second Circuit did not disturb the lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction, CRN’s broader lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law on First Amendment grounds is still permitted to proceed.

The law, which took effect on April 22, 2024, prohibits retailers from selling over-the-counter dietary supplements to minors if those products are labeled, marketed or otherwise represented for weight-loss or muscle-building. Rather than banning specific ingredients, the law focuses on how products are marketed—particularly claims related to body image and physical appearance. CRN argues that this constitutes an unlawful restriction on commercial speech under the First Amendment.

“While we are disappointed in the court’s decision not to halt enforcement at this stage, we remain confident in the strength of our constitutional challenge,” said Megan Olsen, CRN’s senior vice president and general counsel. “This law improperly targets truthful, lawful marketing claims about dietary supplements and represents a troubling attempt to regulate speech, not safety.”

The New York law, enacted in 2023, was the first in the nation to prohibit the sale of supplements marketed for weight-loss and muscle-building to individuals under 18. It was developed with support from the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) at Harvard, which has promoted similar legislation in other states, claiming without evidence that eating disorders and body dysmorphia are caused by supplement use.