Preserve Your Right to Access Supplements

[James]

For folks who believe in alternatives to prescription drugs, like statins, please be advised that our right to access supplements, like Co-Q10, Omega 3, etc and vitamins is being threatened by bills being considered in Congress. Legislators are working to impose adverse event reporting (AER) on nutritional supplements. If they succeed, you'll need a prescription to get your daily vitamins, because all vitamins and supplements will be regarded as drugs. Imagine asking your primary care physician for a prescription for Co-Q10, etc. in lieu of the Crestor he wants you on! Scarey scenario! Don't let the FDA take away your vitamins and health care rights!
The National Health Alliance site ww.NHA2004.com will provide you with more details on this and online means to contact your Congressman to voice your concern. This fight must be won or we all will lose the freedom to determine our health care options.

Jim

[ozbiker]

Do you pay full price for prescription drugs in the US??
Here in Australia the government subsidises almost all prescription drugs. When I was using Lipitor I paid about $10 for a month's supply. The full price was nearly $100. Those persons with a health care card (pensioers, unemployed, etc) pay less, just $3.
Now I take CoQ10 it costs me $57 for a month's supply. No government subsidy because it is not recognised as a drug.
Certainly, here in Oz, we may be better off if supplements are considered drugs.

[sos_group_owner]

Re: Do you pay full price for prescription drugs in the US??

Yes, we in the US do pay full price for prescription drugs unless we are lucky
enough to have health insurance coverage with a co-pay. Health insurance
coverage used to be a perk from employers, but those days are gone and it's
very expensive either through employment or private coverage.

The main point that James was trying to make is that ALL of us will need
to get a prescription for nutritional supplement (and that's as likely as
hell freezing over).

One additional note about nutritional supplements; Last year the WHO
(World Health Organization) set new guidelines on vitamin supplements.
This sounds innocent enough, BUT it could mean that vitamins might
only be available in RDA doses, not the higher doses some of us are taking
to counteract the side effects of statins. Add that to needing a Dr's script
and that could have dire consequences for many.
WHO/Codex article:
ww.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2005/np17/en/

Fran