David vs. Goliath
Dr. Wright is one of the most mild-mannered people I've ever met. But one thing that makes him truly angry is los Federales' complete disregard for the First Amendment when it comes to nutritional supplements. Those of you who have been involved in natural medicine for some time are likely already aware that the Federal Trade Commission prohibits supplement manufacturers from making claims of any sort -- even 100 percent truthful ones -- on any information describing their products, unless the company is willing to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars to have those products "approved" by the FDA. Since most supplement companies are too small to afford the costs involved in approval, they're left stranded between a rock and a hard place: Offering valuable products to the public, but completely unable to tell people what those products can do and how they might benefit from them. This gag order is what makes things like the eTips and publications like Dr. Wright's Nutrition & Healing newsletter so important: Since we're not directly selling nutrients and supplements, we CAN tell you how they can change your life -- and your health -- for the better. But recently, one small supplement company in New Mexico decided to take this issue one step further. Native Essence Herb Company has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an attempt to make the commission repeal its preposterous guidelines that classify truthful information about natural products as unlawful "commercial speech." The lawsuit arose after the FTC reprimanded Native Essence for posting what it considered "false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims" on the company's website about the herbs used in their products. Exactly what sort of "unsubstantiated claims" were they, you might wonder? No, they weren't wild tales of cancer cures or effortless weight loss attributed to a "magic pill" concocted by Native Essence. Instead, the so-called "claims" the FTC took issue with were statements regarding the historical uses of the herbs, particularly references to the fact that many of the herbs have been used by Native American and other cultures for hundreds or thousands of years. And the real kicker? The owner of Native Essence found most of this information on federal government websites! But, apparently, even government-"approved" history is "commercial speech" when supplements are involved. While Native Essence did remove the "controversial" content from its website temporarily, the company didn't simply roll over and play dead (as I'm sure the FTC was expecting). Instead, they filed a suit to overturn the FTC's advertising guidelines. As the company's attorney put it "Herb sellers should be able to tell consumers that an herb has a long historical use to treat a disease. The FTC's prohibition of this kind of truthful information is unreasonable and unconstitutional." If they're successful, it won't just be a victory for Native Essence. A ruling in their favor would mean that supplement manufacturers everywhere may finally be able to tell consumers the truth about their products. Source:
"Native Essence Herb Company sues FTC," NPICenter (www.npicenter.com), 6/25/08 | 
