Can We Have Confidence in a Lawfully Marketed Dietary Supplement?

        Herbs have been used for thousands of years as a type of medicine. Although the use of herbs has decreased due to the production of synthetic medications, the use of alternative medicines, such as dietary supplements, has reached an all time high in the United States. In class, Dr. Shimp said 53% of American adults, age 20 years and older, use one or more vitamin products daily. If half of adults use these products, shouldn't there be strict regulation of these products?

        Before 1990, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strictly regulated dietary supplements only allowing vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients in them. However, in 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed, which classified dietary supplements as food not drugs. The FDA's ability to regulate dietary supplements' safety was greatly reduced. Many customers think of dietary supplements as being natural and therefore safe; however, because of DSHEA, manufacturers of dietary supplements do not have to conduct clinical trials to prove the safety of their product. It is the FDA's responsibility to prove that the dietary supplement is harmful in order to keep it off of the market. I feel like this raises a major concern about the safety of dietary supplements and their potential health risks especially due to drug-dietary supplement interactions. 

        The active ingredients in dietary supplements often have strong biological effects because they are manufactured to affect the body’s structure or function, which can sometimes be unsafe and harm people’s health. Customers often use dietary supplements along with their prescription medications to help manage different conditions, which could result in drug-dietary supplement interactions or adverse effects. Because dietary supplements do not have to be tested clinically to prove safety, drug-dietary supplement interactions and adverse effects are also not studied. In order to protect the safety of customers, I think it should be required for manufacturers to study these interactions and effects. 

        In other countries, such as Australia and Canada, supplements are regulated similarly to drugs requiring approval before being put on the market. Health agencies in these countries determine what ingredients are acceptable to be sold as dietary supplements. We don't necessarily have to regulate them as stringently as prescription medications; however, I think they should be regulated similarly to over-the-counter medications. This would require manufacturers to collect data proving safety before their product is put on the market. Without these essential studies to prove safety, I don't think the consumer can have confidence in a lawfully marketed dietary supplement.