-----Original Message----- From: Louise [mailto:lou...@raw-connections.com] Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 9:40 PM To: silver-list@eskimo.com Subject: CODEX...We need to do something
IF WE DO NOT FIGHT NOW you will be with out supplements in large doses well any vit C over 25mg in each capsule or multi vitamin. Your herbs will be severely restricted or cost a LOT more. Getting the average person to pay attention to this is important. IT is hard to believe but it is coming, please alert others. Louise The U.S. is one of the 165 member countries of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - an international food standards program created by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the purposes of the Codex Commission is to "harmonize" international food trade. And here are a few key elements of that harmonizing: * WHO classifies all dietary supplements as drugs * The Codex Commission intends to limit over-the-counter sales of dietary supplements while reclassifying others as pharmaceuticals, available only through a pharmacist * Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Codex guidelines override the regulations of individual countries * Member countries (including the U.S.) that refuse to accept and enforce the WTO directives are subject to severe trade sanctions A strong tremor was felt just last month when the Codex Commission approved draft guidelines that will begin restricting the sale of dietary supplements as early as next summer. So in spite of our current laws that make a wide range of vitamins, minerals and herbal formulations readily available, the U.S. is poised to simply put those laws aside to conform to the unacceptably restrictive Codex guidelines. ------------------------------------------------------------ Whose country is it anyway? ------------------------------------------------------------ Incredible, isn't it? Our freedom to make our own healthcare choices may simply be taken away by an international commission. But at this point, the imposition of the Codex guidelines isn't necessarily a done deal. And although the situation is not promising, it's still not too late to help prevent it from happening. I strongly urge you to join me in taking a moment to send a brief letter or e-mail to your Senators and Representatives. (You can easily find Congressional street addresses and e-mail addresses at congress.org just by entering your zip code. We've heard that snail mail gets more attention from our public servants than e-mail.) http://www.house.gov/writerep Tell them that you strongly oppose the international "harmonization" of dietary supplement laws, drafted in another country, and designed to "protect" you from the choices you make about your personal healthcare. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., has written a sobering description of what life would be like under the Codex regulations. You can find Dr. Wright's editorial on the web site for his Nutrition & Healing newsletter: wrightnewsletter.com. Look for the heading titled "Featured Article." Dr. Wright offers links to other resources with detailed information about Codex and he also suggests further actions we all can take. http://www.wrightnewsletter.com December 1, 2004 Featured Article Written by Jonathan V. Wright You've taken supplements for years. You're out of vitamins C and E. You go to your natural food store, but you can't find the kind you want on the shelf. You ask a clerk to find them for you. She says you can't get your vitamin E as mixed tocopherols (the best natural form) anymore, and asks if you like your vitamin C in the 100 or 200 milligram size. The 1,000 milligram size, you say. "Where have you been?" she asks. "Asleep since 2004? It's 2007 now! The types and sizes of vitamins you just asked for have been declared illegal by the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization!" "Wait!" you reply. "This is America! Our President says we're fighting for American freedom--and you're telling me that the World Trade Organization can dictate what size vitamin C I can take, and forbid me from taking mixed tocopherols?" The sales clerk sighs, and reaches for a piece of paper. "It's a little complicated," she says. "A few years back, the European Commission passed the European Food Supplements Directive..." You feel your blood pressure rising. "What does the European Commission and its Directive have to do with me? If Europeans want bureaucrats to tell them what to do, that's their business. I'm a free citizen of these United States!" "Now, now, dear, your blood pressure will go up, and you can't get calcium citrate, magnesium aspartate, CoQ10 or L-arginine or anything else natural to help regulate it anymore." "What? This goes beyond the FDA's wildest dreams!" "That's not a tenth of it, dear. While you were distracted by the war overseas for American freedom, here at home we lost our right to buy any amino acids at all-no arginine, no carnitine, no tryptophan, nothing. I can't sell you any essential fatty acids either-no DHA or EPA. And no beta-carotene, no mixed carotenoids, no MSM, no boron...The list goes on and on." "So what can I buy?" you ask. "Let's see...those 100 and 200 milligram vitamin Cs. Vitamin B6 maximum 4.2 milligrams, vitamin B1, 2.4 milligrams. Oh, here's a better one: You can get niacin at 32 milligrams." "Enough! I'm getting sick! How did this ever happen in these United States?" "As I was saying, the European Directive..." "I heard you. But what about America's Congress, America's President? "Oh, they signed us up for this in the 1990s, when they made us members of the World Trade Organization. According to the Congressional Research Service: 'As a member of the World Trade Organization, the United States does commit to act in accordance with the rules of the multilateral body. The United States is legally obligated to ensure national laws do not conflict with World Trade Organization rules.'" "Our President and Congress send troops overseas to fight for freedom, but let the WTO tell us what to do with our vitamins? There must be something we can do." "Actually, we did have a chance or two to reverse this in 2004, but it's going to be incredibly difficult now." "But I really need my mixed tocopherol vitamin E. And my mother with congestive heart failure depends on CoQ10." "I'm not unsympathetic, especially to your poor mother, dear." She looks all around, then lowers her voice. "I can give you some sources downtown." She whispers a few names. "But those people deal dangerous drugs! Now they're selling vitamins, too?" "That's freedom in America in 2007, dear." Think it can't happen? Think again The FDA's wildest dream-and our worst nightmare-is about to come true. Two years ago, I told you about the passage of the European Union (EU) Directive on Dietary Supplements. This directive, which is part of a larger form of legislation called Codex Alimentarius, severely restricts access to natural health products in Europe. At the time, it probably seemed a long way off: After all, the law wasn't to go into effect for several years following the initial passage. Unfortunately, that several years is up, and the EU Directive is on track to take full effect in August 2005-less than a year from now-- and by 2007, the scene described above will certainly be a reality for many, many people. Obviously, this is devastating news for Europe. But thanks to some pre-existing international agreements made by the U.S., the EU Directive will be just as devastating for the natural health community here. The main difference is that while the Directive has been big news in Europe for some time, it's been virtually ignored by U.S. media, which means that the severe restrictions it calls for will sneak up on most people and rob us all of our freedom to choose natural alternatives before we even know what's happening. That's why I and many of my colleagues in the health publishing world have done our best to keep you informed of the Directive's developments-and their consequences for the U.S.- over the years. And why we've decided to make a big push in our September newsletters by covering it in-depth. Simply put, we're down to the wire, and if we don't act immediately, we will be facing the same fate as Europeans. There are steps you can take to get the word out and, hopefully, to diffuse this ticking time bomb. But first, let's take a few minutes and recount some of the specifics included in the Directive so that you know exactly what it is we're fighting against. 5,000 products set to disappear The EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as "medical drugs" rather than dietary supplements, which means that they're subject to government regulation in terms of dosage and availability. It gets worse: There are many nutrients known to be vital to optimal health that are not on the government's RDA nutrient list including chromium picolinate, lysine, and selenium. Under the Directive, these types of supplements are banned from over- the-counter sale. Put simply, it will be illegal to buy them without a prescription. The supplements that will be available will be restricted to multi- vitamins containing no more than 100 percent of the established RDA amounts, which are usually useless, trivial quantities--and they'll be far more expensive than what we have now. This Directive, for all intents and purposes, makes it illegal for people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing with essential nutrients. Plus, the Directive only allows supplements to be made from a list of 15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out at least 40 minerals important in human metabolism and forbids the use of the most bio- available forms of vitamin complexes. In essence, it means that all nutritional supplements will be virtually the same-the specific combinations might vary, but the types and amounts of nutrients will be identical-no matter what product they're formulated into. So, for instance, a middle-aged woman in Liverpool, England, who has a dangerously elevated homocysteine level will no longer have the option of reducing her risk of heart disease with a vitamin B dosage of her own choosing. If she's currently taking 5 mg of folic acid daily, under the new Directive she will be legally restricted to a prescription of 1 mg per day. If she's taking a 100 mg dose of B6, she'll be restricted to 10 mg. And her pantothenic acid (B5) intake of 500 mg will drop to 200 mg. These maximum dosage levels have been chosen to "protect" her (so we're told), when in fact the protection she needs the most will be unavailable. In addition to these essential B vitamins, low maximum dosage levels have also been set for vitamin C, niacin, and vitamin E. But at least they made it on the list of allowed nutrients. Approximately 350 supplement ingredients are missing from the list. If they are not added to the list by June 2005, they will be deemed illegal throughout the European Union. Supplement manufacturers may submit "technical dossiers" to support applications for the inclusion of individual elements or formulations on the so- called "positive list." But the EU has made this process so expensive and time consuming that many manufacturers simply can't afford the costs involved. As a result, around 5,000 safe formulas and nutrients that have been on the market for decades will soon be banned. Saving us from ourselves Of course, these regulations were all passed under the guise of "protecting the public." According to the World Health Organization, popular alternative medicines are often "misused" and may "harm patients." They point out that the "incorrect use" of alternative therapies has caused deaths in wealthy countries where more and more patients rely on them. You could also argue that the incorrect use of kitchen knives, water skis, and even plastic bags have all caused deaths! Not to mention the use of AMA-sanctioned medical procedures and FDA-approved drugs. The key phrase here is "incorrect use." The WHO could do everyone a service by first addressing the incorrect use of accepted mainstream therapies that have caused far more widespread death and adverse reactions than natural medicine therapies ever have or ever will. Although they are few and far between, there are mistakes and fatalities associated with alternate therapies, supplements, and herbal remedies. It's always important to keep in mind that many of the compounds and herbs used in natural medicine treatments are very powerful. They have risks and potential side effects, which is why I always recommend that you work closely with skilled natural medicine practitioners whenever you use these therapies. But even with their cautions, natural remedies are far, far safer than prescription drugs, and one reason might be the users themselves. An article published in the journal Psychologist noted that people who seek out natural and alternative treatments are generally more health conscious than non-users, and believe that by making sound lifestyle choices they can influence their own health. But not if the EU has anything to say about it. Finally, tell your friends and let them know what's going on. We obviously can't depend on the mainstream media to adequately report this one, so it's time to get the message out by word of mouth. If we don't act now, these rumbling tremors may develop into something far worse. -----Original Message----- From: Ken & Nancy [mailto:kena...@i680n.com] Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 4:18 PM To: silver-list@eskimo.com Subject: Re: CS>The FDA, silver, and CODEX... Yes, I perfectly understand what you guys are saying. But again, you just admitted that there were only a few supplements that this was true of. I don't doubt that the FDA can ban certain supplements like epehdra, or Typtophan, maybe even certain commercial CS supplements. But banning everything sounds too extreme to be ever really be true. And to add, their are usually alternatives that work as well. Re CS...GSE, xylitol, oil of oregano, cloves, etc, are other alternatives that can do similar things. Granted, they are not nearly free like CS, but they are also not outrageously expensive either. Id the FDA going to start banning oregano oil or cloves or xylitol? Doubtful. Nevertheless, it's a good idea to never let the FDA think that they are right to try to, so we fight them when they are wrong. We'll see, I guess. I'm not shaking in my boots, though. -Ken Bagwell -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. 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