The California Assembly Bill 82 (AB 82), which would have restricted access to dietary supplements for weight management, failed to advance in the Senate.
A similar bill, AB 1341, was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2022. The bill would have restricted access to dietary supplements, and in some cases would have required a prescription to access these health products. The bill would also have required brick-and-mortar retailers to post warning signs at purchase counters saying that dietary supplements are known to cause serious adverse events, including stroke, organ failure and even death, despite no scientific evidence supporting the claim, the Natural Products Association (NPA) reported. The bill had no such similar warning requirements for online sales. Failure to comply with the legislation would have brought fines of up to $1,000 for each infraction.
“The fact that AB 82 is not advancing further this legislative session is a win for consumers in California. The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has raised significant concerns with this bill and will continue to do the same with regard to any other similar legislation that attempts to impose age restrictions on dietary supplements,” said Steve Mister, CRN president and CEO. “Such restrictions, also proposed in several other states, are unnecessary given the strong safety profile of these federally regulated products and the lack of scientific data connecting them to eating disorders in young people. Limiting access based on age also harms local retailers and reduces access to these products for everyone.”
Daniel Fabricant, PhD, NPA president and CEO stated that the association is “thrilled to have secured this major victory for the dietary supplement industry and appreciate all the support we generated on behalf of our membership. But we cannot rest easy, because this is now the third attempt at this misguided proposal, and we are convinced that it will not be the last.
“If you are a company involved in the manufacturing, distribution or sales of dietary supplements and other healthy natural products our message is clear: stay involved and engaged. More states are considering copycat legislation that is a clear and present danger to our industry and the benefits our products provide. If these bills were to be enacted, the cost of doing business would soar and consumers would be negatively impacted. We need to stay united and defeat these growing efforts or we will find ourselves out of business altogether.
“The sad fact is that these proposals don’t support science, health, or protecting consumers,” Fabricant continued. “As we have demonstrated repeatedly in public testimony and official correspondence to officials in California and elsewhere there is not a single data point connecting the use of eating disorders and dietary supplements. If there were, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) would be required to remove that product from the market.”
For more information, visit www.crnusa.org or www.npanational.org.
