Supplements Essay Research Paper The debate topic

Supplements Essay, Research Paper

The debate topic that I had to preside over was the regulation of drug and herbal supplements. Since I broke the debate into six parts Pros & Cons of labeling, claiming and advertising, this paper will follow the same format. I am going to go over in great detail the high points of both sides debate. Then the paper will conclude with my own analysis of the case, and which group I thought stated their case more strongly. Except for the fact I will talk about all of the pros and then discuss the cons of the issue.

PROS of Regulation

The debate began with Kerri stating her teams case as to why the government should step in and place stricter regulations on the entire supplement industry. I totally agree with her in that when people buy goods, the contents inside should be fully disclosed. Unfortunately for the consumer government intervention is not even allowed when the issue deals with dietary supplements. In fact the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 made the dietary supplements untouchable by the FDA. Of course this law does not apply to medical drugs, which fall under a completely different category. The only power granted to the FDA is to pull a product from the shelf due to false labeling, but not until it has already been publicly distributed.

Obviously since herbal and dietary supplements are drugs, the ingredients used in them must be disclosed on the bottle s label, but as we all know the print is microscopic and most people don t know what the stuff is. The companies manufacturing the supplements seem to be out to intentionally trick the consumer with some of their blatant actions. The pro group stated that many companies do not give 100% accurate figures regarding what is in each bottle. This accusation has been found to be true by both random scientist tests and further investigating by 20/20. One of the companies that was busted for false labeling explained the mishap as being a goof when the label for the bottle was made. I m sorry but I do not see how this can be described as simply a goof. Peoples lives and well-being are on the line when these products are being made so messing up in this magnitude is inexcusable and therefore should be watched over more closely.

I feel that although the companies are wrong for lying about the amounts of drugs in the product, but the most troubling issue deals with the disclosure or lack thereof of what makes up some pills. Kerri stated that numerous raw animal parts have been found in supplement bottles. That is very disturbing and also very unethical. Apparently some companies mention that animal parts are inside, but the technical name is used not the common term that most people would be able to comprehend. The example given was the use of orchis which technically means bulls testicles. I cannot speak for everyone but I would bet the farm that no one would take a certain pill full knowing that a bull s testicle is inside. Other animal parts that are common in these products are spleen, brain, pancreas, pituitary glands, pineal glands, heart, etc. the list goes on but I think you get the point.

Without a doubt people take medications and pills to combat sickness. How would you like to take a supplement if it was found to stop your medication from doing the job that it was supposed to do. The herbal supplement St. John s Wort inhibits necessary HIV/AIDS medications from working properly. This same drug also creates side effects with anti depressants and prescription drugs and it decrease the overall effectiveness of birth control pills. A worst case scenario of the pills is that some are not healthy for women to take when they are pregnant.

Regarding the claiming issue pertaining to dietary supplements, this side argued that the FDA should be legally responsible for the claims that companies make about the products. Again, the DSHEA law enacted in 1994 really gives drug manufacturers a great deal of leeway in the claims that they make about the products. Dietary supplements are different than other drugs in that they do not have to be proven safe or even effective. Unfortunately this puts a great deal of importance on ethics, and some companies have no problem lying about drug attributes if they can make more money because of the faulty claims.

Although drug products that can legally state certain drugs have the power to treat, prevent and heal specific diseases, dietary supplements cannot make that claim. Any supplement in the dietary category that makes such a claim would be unapproved, and therefore illegal. These laws are subsequently the only laws that have any affect on the dietary supplement market. The DSHEA act allowed claims if

A statement claims a benefit related to a classical nutrient deficiency disease and discloses the prevalence of such disease in the United States, describes the role of a nutrient or dietary ingredient intended to affect the structure or function in humans, characterizes the documented mechanism by which a nutrient or dietary ingredient acts to maintain such structure or function, or describes general well being from consumption of a nutrient or dietary ingredient.

The manufacturer of the drugs are usually responsible for explaining how a product works and what ingredients allow for the process to work. All dietary supplements must have a disclaimer on the