CSfederal warnings, regarding health advice - internet sting ops to begin in January
=== - Original Message - From: Dominie Bush Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 2:08 AM Subject: Death of the newsletter and my FMS/CFIDS website?? Dear Newsletter Readers, 1. I was contacted today by a leading attorney whose job it is to warn those who give advice related to health conditions on the internet. This is now illegal, unless you are a medical doctor. My website at http://www.fms-help.com is not in compliance with FTC regulations. 2. Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, the FTC will begin a sting operation where someone will email or call to ask for help with a health problem. Should the kind-hearted soul reply with some advice, they can be fined $250,000--yep, that's a quarter of a million dollars(!) if they are not a medical doctor. I asked the attorney if the FTC would sue companies or individuals and was told that the FTC isn't putting up with it anymore and that individuals will be sued. 3. Because of this, I can no longer trust that people who write to me are actually FMS/CFIDS sufferers. I will still be accepting email at d...@fms- help.com but may not reply. 4. The attorney was most sympathetic with the use of nutritional supplements, because of a family member with serious health problems that drugs couldn't help. The person suffered serious side effects and is now using ONLY nutritional supplements and doing much better. The attorney even enthusiastically endorsed a popular nutritional supplement in the course of our conversation. 5. The attorney said that Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois is trying to get rid of dietary supplements and described him as the meanest man on the planet. My husband looked up Sen. Durbin's website and found an email address to write to him: d...@durbin.senate.gov My husband also found a good letter on the net at http://joeclarke.net/vitamins.htm (It's called, Hey Government, Don't Take Away My Vitamins.) There are many more letters out there too, I've found. 6. Well, I have been in tears and grieving the loss of the website and newsletter most of the day. I need to do something VERY QUICKLY about my website, but I have no idea what! Please PRAY for me to know what to do! Many of you have been with me for years and we have had the most wonderful relationship of support and caring. I will always treasure that!!! 7. What happened to my freedom of speech?Or is that only reserved for pornographers now?! How can I get information out to people with FMS/CFIDS, if I can't say anything because I am not a doctor?!!?? I am stumped! 8. My monthly newsletter is really YOUR newsletter, because much of the information comes from you and I pass it on via the newsletter to others who suffer with FMS/CFIDS. This is now against FTC regulations and they will be enforced and I could be sued. 9. The information on my website at http://www.fms-help.com has helped many people around the world and even prevented suicides. For the past 7 years, I have had calls and emails from thousands of people who desperately needed information and help in dealing with their fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Their doctors have failed them and no one really understands what it's like unless you have these conditions yourself. When you consider that Dr. Kervorkian has helped 4 women with FMS/CFIDS to end their lives, you realize the desperation and hopelessness in the hearts of many with chronic invisible illness. 10. My FMS/CFIDS website has been on the net since 1996, but it appears to now be coming to an end. At the very LEAST, I will have to severely curtail the information I offer on my site in the next few weeks to avoid being fined. If there's anything you want on my site at http://www.fms-help.com, you may want to print it out now before it is taken down. 11. The attorney said that NO health condition can be mentioned along with a nutritional supplement or advice of some kind. For example, when I say in my tips site that magnesium helps the muscle stiffness of fibromyalgia, that is a NO NO! All words have to be in secret code almost. Here are some examples: You can't say A.D.H.D. - You CAN say trouble concentrating You can't say pain - You CAN say discomfort You can't say insomnia - You CAN say difficulty sleeping You can't say menopause - You CAN say change of life You can't say fibromyalgia - Now I'm really stuck! Maybe I should say--severe discomfort in my body, count sheep all night, feel like an old lady, can't stand up for more than 15 minutes, think negative thoughts, have to lie down to rest frequently, can't stop my mind from thinking, have to go the bathroom a lot, etc. 12. See Stop Senator Durbin's Ban of Health Foods at http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/pol/18242201.html There are many more sites on the net about Senate Bill 722. Simply type in these words at http://www.google.com -- Sen. Durbin's ban on nutritional supplements bill--and you
Re: CSfederal warnings, regarding health advice - internet sting ops to begin in January
Greetings, all: While I am not certain on the issue of giving medical advice over the phone or via email, I do know several things: 1. The FTC and the FDA have no juristiction over websites that do not sell products. Second, if the United States Goverment is now willing to take away our 1st Ammendment rights, this is something that any website owner claiming to truly server the public in such a manner ( that provides information ) should be willing to go to jail over, if need be. For hardcore hitters, one should incorporate as an individual in the state of Nevada to receive as much personal protection from this type of activity as possible. I personally will not be paying any FTC fines, nor will I change the nature of our websites under threat of Government action. I have a hard time believing this attorney. The FTC stands for the Federal TRADE Comission. The FTC has never been interested in projects that don't sell products. As I understand it, the FTC does not prosecute for practicing medicine without a license. The FDA does. The FTC prosecutes for non-compliance with Trade Laws, and in the case of health products, these laws are defined by the FDA. I've written an email to the owner of http://www.fms-help.com , asking for further clarification. Best Regards, Jason R. Eaton - Original Message - From: Sara Mandal-Joy To: silver-list@eskimo.com Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 9:04 AM Subject: CSfederal warnings, regarding health advice - internet sting ops to begin in January === - Original Message - From: Dominie Bush Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 2:08 AM Subject: Death of the newsletter and my FMS/CFIDS website?? Dear Newsletter Readers, 1. I was contacted today by a leading attorney whose job it is to warn those who give advice related to health conditions on the internet. This is now illegal, unless you are a medical doctor. My website at http://www.fms-help.com is not in compliance with FTC regulations. 2. Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, the FTC will begin a sting operation where someone will email or call to ask for help with a health problem. Should the kind-hearted soul reply with some advice, they can be fined $250,000--yep, that's a quarter of a million dollars(!) if they are not a medical doctor. I asked the attorney if the FTC would sue companies or individuals and was told that the FTC isn't putting up with it anymore and that individuals will be sued. 3. Because of this, I can no longer trust that people who write to me are actually FMS/CFIDS sufferers. I will still be accepting email at d...@fms- help.com but may not reply. 4. The attorney was most sympathetic with the use of nutritional supplements, because of a family member with serious health problems that drugs couldn't help. The person suffered serious side effects and is now using ONLY nutritional supplements and doing much better. The attorney even enthusiastically endorsed a popular nutritional supplement in the course of our conversation. 5. The attorney said that Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois is trying to get rid of dietary supplements and described him as the meanest man on the planet. My husband looked up Sen. Durbin's website and found an email address to write to him: d...@durbin.senate.gov My husband also found a good letter on the net at http://joeclarke.net/vitamins.htm (It's called, Hey Government, Don't Take Away My Vitamins.) There are many more letters out there too, I've found. 6. Well, I have been in tears and grieving the loss of the website and newsletter most of the day. I need to do something VERY QUICKLY about my website, but I have no idea what! Please PRAY for me to know what to do! Many of you have been with me for years and we have had the most wonderful relationship of support and caring. I will always treasure that!!! 7. What happened to my freedom of speech?Or is that only reserved for pornographers now?! How can I get information out to people with FMS/CFIDS, if I can't say anything because I am not a doctor?!!?? I am stumped! 8. My monthly newsletter is really YOUR newsletter, because much of the information comes from you and I pass it on via the newsletter to others who suffer with FMS/CFIDS. This is now against FTC regulations and they will be enforced and I could be sued. 9. The information on my website at http://www.fms-help.com has helped many people around the world and even prevented suicides. For the past 7 years, I have had calls and emails from thousands of people who desperately needed information and help in dealing with their fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Their doctors have failed them and no one really understands what it's like unless you have these conditions yourself. When you consider that Dr. Kervorkian has helped 4 women with FMS/CFIDS to end their lives, you realize the desperation and hopelessness in the hearts of many with chronic invisible illness. 10. My
