FYI...



>From the "free trade" organization. ("Free" does not mean the people are free to choose what they wish to buy. It means the corporations are free to restrict whatever competition they wish and sell whatever they wish wherever they wish. There are NO democratically elected officials in the WTO making these decisions.)

------------------------------------------

WTO to Severely Restrict Consumer Right to Food Supplements

Your right to choose your vitamin, mineral and other supplements may end in June of this year (2005). After that U.S. supplements will be defined and controlled by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The CODEX ALIMENTARIUS (Food Code) is setting the supplement standards for all countries in the WTO.

They will be enforced by the WTO and will over ride U.S. laws. The U.S. President and Congress agreed to this take-over when the WTO Treaty was signed. Violations are punished by WTO trade sanctions.

CODEX drastically restricts vitamins, minerals, herbs and other supplements. CODEX met secretly in November, 2004 and finalized "Step 8 (the final stage)" to begin implementation in June, 2005.


The CODE includes:
(1) No supplement can be sold for preventive or therapeutic use.
(2) Any potency higher than RDA (minimal strength) is a "drug"
requiring a prescription and must be produced by drug companies.
Over 5000 safe items now in health stores will be banned, terminating health stores as we now know them.
(3) CODEX regulations become binding internationally.
(4) New supplements are banned unless given very expensive CODEX testing and approval.
CODEX now applies to Norway and Germany, among others, where zinc tablets rose from $4 per bottle to $52. Echinacea (an ancient immune- enhancement herb) rose from $14 to $153 (both examples are now allowed by prescription only). They are now "drugs". Vitamin C above 200 mg, niacin above 32 mg, vitamin B6 above 4 mg-all are banned over-the-counter as drugs. No amino acids (arginine, lysine, carnitine, et c. = essential amino acids!), essential fatty acids (omegas 3, 6, 9, etc.), or other essential supplements such as DMEA, DHEA, CoQ10, MSM, beta-carotene, etc. are allowed.


The CODEX rules are not based on real science. They are made by a few people meeting in secret (see web sites below), not necessarily scientists. In 1993 the FDA and drug corporations tried to put all supplements under restriction and prescription. But over 4 million Americans told Congress and the President to protect their freedom of choice on health supplements. The DSHEA Law was passed in 1994, which does so. But this will be over ruled by CODEX and the World Trade Organization.

Virtually nothing about it has been in the media. What the drug corporations have failed to do through Congress they have gotten by sneak attack through CODEX with the help of a silent media. What can be done at this late hour?

(1) Spread the word as much as possible. Inform yourselves fully at
www.ahha.org, www.iahf.com, and www.alliance-natural-health.org.
(2) Oppose bills S.722 and H.R.3377. These support the CODEX restrictions with U.S. laws, changing the DSHEA law.
(3) Support H. R.1146 which would restore the sovereignty of the U.S. Constitution over CODEX, etc.
(4) Express your wishes to the President, Senators and Representatives
(They got us into this!) ASAP.
(5) Contact multi-level health marketing groups that can get their members to inform the government.
(6) Send donations, however small, to the British Alliance for Natural Health (see web site above). It has succeeded in challenging the CODEX directives in World Court later this month or next. They need help financially, having carried the fight effectively for everyone.

CODEX and the FDA wish to protect us by controlling supplements in the same way they do prescription drugs. A study of the latter by three medical scientists was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, April 15, 1998-Vol. 279, No. 15, p. 1200 ".Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR's) was found to be extremely high." Covering 30 years (1966 to 1996) it was found that in the U.S. an average of 106,000 hospitalized patients per year (290 per day)! die from ADR's and 2,200,000 need more hospitalization for recovery. These were FDA approved drugs, properly administered by competent professionals in hospitals--none were considered malpractice. This is the number four cause of death in the U.S. When combined, these account for 7% of all hospitalized patients. This is equivalent to a 9-11 attack every ten days.

There are very few fatalities from supplements or the news would be on every front page. There is no need for more FDA control of supplements than is already in place, which is substantial. Instead of drastically restricting supplements, why doesn't the FDA better control and restrict the extremely dangerous pharmaceutical drugs which are now killing us at the rate of a major airline crash per day?

Wallace G. Heath, Ph.D.
1145 Marine Drive Bellingham, WA 98225
www.pulseplus@e... <<...>>

For the supplement industry the time to fight flat out was ages ago-too
late now When I wrote to manufacturers, they replied to the effect.. ' don't worry we've got it in hand'
They hadn't.

........and we don't think this is just the setting of precedents for the rest of alt-med? ( the alternative medical industry)

It is a shame IMO that the alternative medical industry doesn't recognise the nature of the competition and act accordingly. For too long the alt med industry was twee in the eyes of the competition and posed no threat so we had it easy.. 'threat - who us?' The WTO has sent a shot directly across our bows - in fact they've done more than that - sunk one of our ships - where is the combined concerted effort to meet this challenge head on from the rest of alt-med? All it requires to get the ball rolling is to recognise the scale of the problem and join forces, and then ACT, in corporate mode, not parochial mode.

It was probably as much of a surprise to the alt med community as it was to the competition that alt med has become such a huge industry, but it has. Yet despite the obvious need for a single leading representational organisation none exists and the disparate representative organisations are simply treading water. I see no difference in the approach to the problem from the rest of the alt-med industry than the supplements industry had -- It really is poor strategy to play chess with novices in the hope that you can find a master at the last minute to out manouvre the opposition when the game's almost done.

It is the responsibility of the representative organistaions to recognise the seriousness of the threat we pose to highly competative, highly motivated, major industry and the seriousness and determination with which they approach us, their problem. Fairness, rightness, have nothing to do with it, it's about money. The efficiency of the competition's organisation and political clout should set an example to be learned from and quickly.

The medical industry is a cutthroat world and maybe the alt med industry just can't rise to that kind of challenge, which would be a pity because it will be eradicated if it can't, (survival of the fittest) however hopefully the supplements codex will register on the parochial alt-med mind as a call to arms.

In homeopathic speak our industry has a VERY high level of susceptability to the same condition that afflicts the supplement industry. The alt-med industry is not fit, it is juvenile and naiive. That needs to change.

The only way I personally can see that happening is for the registering bodies to jointly address the problem, (with the manufaturers) but for that they must recognise the scale of it.


Simon King


=============
ps appended excerpt of another related post:
==============
Homeopaths put inordinate amounts of energy into squibbling amongst the cogniscenti about who has the the grooviest or least groovy status - but how much of this is actually influencing public opinion and decision to use the service?

It is my contention that ALL registering bodies are failing to adequately address the one issue that should be their top priority; that of promoting homeopathy to the public. Instead it hardly appears to figure in their remit except in the small print. This is 2005! Where are the TV and other media adverts, why is there no more than a simple WWW presence, why is is not being written comprehensively into TV and radio scripts etc. Answer- because it is low priority therefore no meaningful budget is allocated and there is no industry wide collaboration.

All we have in actuality is 'homeopathy week' once a year, occasional references in the paper and if we're lucky the very occasional interview on radio. Considering the size of the collective budgets of the registering bodies and the potential, they fall woefully short in this regard; and where's the industry collaboration and coordination?

Homeopathy is still governed by a 'women's institute' mentality, (in the UK especially) which is great for women's institutes (nothing agin 'em , they do what they do extremely well) but it is completely inappropriate for an industry the size of homeopathy.

Homeopathic orgainisations, especially the registering bodies, should have marketing (promotion of the service to the market) as the top priority, instead they see this as the domain of the individual practitioner. ( the equivalent of sending out reps with no promotion or sales material, no transport, no targets, no budget, no back up)

By all means sort out the registration and recognition questions but lets get the priorities right and spend the real energy where it's most needed - promotion to the public!.

Imagine the potential if all the organisations and manufacturers cooperated to promote homeopathy.


Simon
(waiting for the excuses)

Hi Theresa,

you wrote below:

Quote:

(4) New supplements are banned unless given very expensive CODEX testing and approval. CODEX now applies to Norway and **Germany**, among others, where zinc tablets rose from $4 per bottle to $52. Echinacea (an ancient immune- enhancement herb) rose from $14 to $153 (both examples are now allowed by prescription only). They are now "drugs". Vitamin C above 200 mg, niacin above 32 mg, vitamin B6 above 4 mg-all are banned over-the-counter as drugs. No amino acids (arginine, lysine, carnitine, et c. = essential amino acids!), essential fatty acids (omegas 3, 6, 9, etc.), or other essential supplements such as DMEA, DHEA, CoQ10, MSM, beta-carotene, etc. are allowed.

Well, at least for Germany this is not true! Things now as they have been - price and otherwise.

Moreover - I called the pharmacies and they have not heard that anything of that kind is planned to happen, no rumour - nothing. AND they think - and I agree - that it would not be possible here. The ramifications would be enormous, there would be a revolution in all sections. This law could never pass here!!

I have not heard of any other country where it has happened either.

So perhaps this report should be investigated for correctness?

Regards

Luise

Simon--
YES, YES, AND MORE YES!!!!
"They" have caught on that "we" are competition!
Here in the US, there has been ZERO, and I really mean absolutely none at all so far as I've seen (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) coverage or even *mention* of the matter in the mainstream press. Which is the *only* press that most of the US would ever get it from. It's not discussed among friends, no community response groups (er, am I handing myself a challenge, gulp), no Letters to the Editor, nothing on talk shows, even Public Radio (WHY???).

Is it similar in other places? If so, that explains a lot...

I've talked about it a bit with a few people, but to be honest to most folks (me too at first) it sounds rather incredible, a "They can't do that!" sort of thing--but they can, will, are, because money is king these days.

Shannon

Regarding "supplements":....here in Canada they are thinking (once again) of cracking down on the retailing of supplements...ideas by Health Canada have been tossed around for years on supposed toxicity and efficacy issues....they want to "protect us".

But the strangest thing to come about as a backlash of this is: a couple of homeopathic stores - one in particular - a store/lab that makes and sells the best remedies here in Toronto and is over 125 years old....has taken to changing the NAMES of some remedies over the past few years.....so, Nux Vomica is now: Colubrina...that sort of thing....they say it's the only way to get around authorities poking into their business with concern over the substance name....ironically, Arsenicum is still Arsenicum...so I can't figure out what they are doing with that.

Is anyone else seeing that kind of thing?...I would be interesting in hearing other stories.

Martha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon(waiting for the excuses) For the supplement industry the time to fight flat out was ages ago-too late now

No Doubt, however..
and I , along with many others, may have written the odd letter, but got too caught up in our own lives to continue with any "fight" add to that, my own cyniscism about so many supplements. They cost a fortune, more than the average person can afford, no one knows what is more absorbable than the next bottle of tablets, and then there is the latest, the greatest.... and no reliable tests to prove who is right.

In addition, if we were all fully breast fed, ate organic and got our diets right, would we really need supplements?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Homeopathy is still governed by a 'women's institute' mentality, (in the UK especially) which is great for women's institutes (nothing agin 'em , they do what they do extremely well) but it is completely inappropriate for an industry the size of homeopathy.

I don't know who wrote this. I don't know who "governs" homoepathy. As with so many walks of life, women do the baulk of the work, make up the majority of the workers, and still earn the least..There are so few high profile women homoeopaths, yet look at the all the male homeopaths, with their systems and schemes...

I found this insulting. Men interferred with midwifery, and look at the current day results, 25% of women surgically sliced open, few opportunities to be able to stay at home to breast feed and raise healthier nation..but then, who will pay for breast feeding promotion? Artificial feed is big business..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Homeopathic orgainisations, especially the registering bodies, should have marketing (promotion of the service to the market) as the top priority, instead they see this as the domain of the individual practitioner. ( the equivalent of sending out reps with no promotion or sales material, no transport, no targets, no budget, no back up)

I cannot afford to join an organisation, am not sure that any of them meet my needs, and will not sell out to any that even alude to endorsing vaccinations....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon By all means sort out the registration and recognition questions

And to whose cost? Are homoeopaths ready to accept all the models and styles of homoeopathy that we have at the moment? I have so many questions about the registration process, including CPD, since when did a GP have to do CPD??

but

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon lets get the priorities right and spend the real energy where it's most needed - promotion to the public!

Yes, that would be good, but we have to be united to prevent any flack / fall out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Imagine the potential if all the organisations and manufacturers cooperated to promote homeopathy.

I still fear a sell out to the allopathic model of medicine.

I home educate (H/E). Too many home educators are fearful that if they unite to promote H/E, demand rights / access to educational facilities, we will then become regulated, and loose our rights to freely educate as we choose to at the moment. So it is the "keep your head down and keep quiet" mentality.. Along with, too busy H/Eing, lack of money....time.... very similar to where I am at the moment with promoting homoeopathy

There Simon
here are my excuses...

Caroline ;-)

well, amen to all of this, Simon.. however, help me to do something. I think that my local hospital will put Homeopathy Today in every waiting room at this point. I only have one more hoop to hop thru.. but tell me more what to do. I am a novice, i am nieve,... etc... so help!

beth

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline Quote: Originally Posted by Me Homeopathy is still governed by a 'women's institute' mentality, (in the UK especially) which is great for women's institutes (nothing agin 'em , they do what they do extremely well) but it is completely inappropriate for an industry the size of homeopathy. I don't know who wrote this.

Me

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline I don't know who "governs" homoepathy.

the registering bodies I was referring to

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline As with so many walks of life, women do the baulk of the work, make up the majority of the workers, and still earn the least..There are so few high profile women homoeopaths, yet look at the all the male homeopaths, with their systems and schemes...

I made this reference because the WI is the only org that sprang to mind where there is a highly organised and efficient system but which is not specifically commercially goal orientated. It still has IMO the wartime mentality of 'help your neighbour' and other GOOD virtues. It has nothing to do with womens place in society, it has to do with the mentality of helping one another and not seeing your neighbour as a threat. These are good qualities and not an insult. It is this mentality, not the fact that it's run by Women, that I am referring to. What they do is , as I said, very highly commendable', Give me a male equivalent example and I'll use it happily, I just can't think of one.

I entirely agree with you about how men have usurped womens good work etc but that really is another issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline Quote: Originally Posted by Me By all means sort out the registration and recognition questions And to whose cost? Are homoeopaths ready to accept all the models and styles of homoeopathy that we have at the moment? I have so many questions about the registration process, including CPD, since when did a GP have to do CPD??

This is already being coordinated and adddressed by CORH (Council for Organisations Registering Homeopaths)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline Quote: Originally Posted by Me but lets get the priorities right and spend the real energy where it's most needed - promotion to the public!. Yes, that would be good, but we have to be united to prevent any flack / fall out.

My point precisely!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline Quote: Originally Posted by Me Imagine the potential if all the organisations and manufacturers cooperated to promote homeopathy. I still fear a sell out to the allopathic model of medicine.

And that fear is part of what prevents unity in the profession

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline I home educate (H/E). Too many home educators are fearful that if they unite to promote H/E, demand rights / access to educational facilities, we will then become regulated, and loose our rights to freely educate as we choose to at the moment. So it is the "keep your head down and keep quiet" mentality.. Along with, too busy H/Eing, lack of money....time.... very similar to where I am at the moment with promoting homoeopathy

Homeopathy is way past that point, has not only had its head above the parapet for a long time, it's in that battle plan, and had better waker up to the fact

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline There Simon, here are my excuses...

fear based?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Quote: Originally Posted by Me I still fear a sell out to the allopathic model of medicine. And that fear is part of what prevents unity in the profession

Do you know if there are that many homoeopaths who would want to follow an allopathic model? I could be wrong, but I understand that one society would be willing to sacrifice our ability to speak out against vaccinations, to get us acccepted by the NHS.

I could not, and would not sell out on that principle alone

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon fear based?

I am not sure what my fears are beyond what I have written. I am not scared to stand up and say "yes, homoeopathy works" I am being realistic about the time I have to become involved in any kind of promotional / campaigning front. However, our local support group will be discussing the latest CORR registration process documents. I need to discuss them so that I can formulate a response. Yes, here is one of my fears... the cost of registration... am still paying for my training.. I have other priorities in my life, and the thought of finding another £450 to become registered is just too much. I fear being pressurised into practising as a homoepath, without being able to call myself one... because the proposed single register is too expensive, for example.

Will CPD prohibit my ablity to register when that becomes too expensive too? These are not moans, this is the reality of my life, and no doubt, that of many other part time practitioners.

When my children are grown up, then I will build a full time practice to earn a decent income if I haven't been priced out / made illegal by my own colleagues in their desparation to be recognised and treated like doctors...

Hope this makes sense

Caroline :-}