Oppose Kessler Nomination

The FDA is on the record supporting mandatory product listing for dietary supplements—that is, requiring each supplement manufacturer to register all the products it makes, including all the ingredients of those products, with the FDA. It’s a strong possibility that with a Democratic appointee—which could be anti-supplement crusader Dr. David Kessler—as FDA commissioner or Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), this dangerous regulation will be aggressively pursued. Make no mistake: this innocuous-sounding proposal could spell big trouble for supplement access. We must proactively oppose it.

Write to Congress and tell themt to oppose Dr. Kessler if he is nominated to head the FDA or HHS.

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Oppose Dr. Kessler for FDA and HHS

Dear [Decision Maker],

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Dr. Kessler has been named co-chair of Joe Biden's COVID-19 task force, and reportedly being considered to head the FDA or HHS. Please oppose these appointments if he is indeed nominated.

Dr. Kessler was FDA commissioner between 1990 and 1997. During that time, Kessler demonstrated his hostility towards the dietary supplement industry. The last thing we need is someone who is diametrically opposed to natural medicine in a position of power, particularly concerning how our country deals with a virus against which natural medicines like zinc and vitamin D have demonstrated efficacy.

The record on Dr. Kessler is clear. In 1993, he took aim at the supplement industry by trying to limit the health claims supplements could make under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. This law gave the FDA the authority to approve disease-prevention claims for food, including supplements (for example, "adequate calcium throughout life may reduce the risk of osteoporosis")--but Dr. Kessler said the FDA would not approve any of the proposed claims for supplements. He stood before Congress that same year and compared the supplement industry to "snake oil salesmen."

Ironically, Dr. Kessler's aggressive campaign against supplements led to a grassroots movement in favor of supplements culminating in the landmark Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). Industry observers note that Dr. Kessler was "so infuriated by the enactment of DSHEA that he ordered the FDA not to enforce the new law." Former FDA officials subsequently admitted that the goal of this policy of non-enforcement was to allow the worst aspects of the supplement industry to run wild in hope that the law would be repealed. Thankfully, his plan failed, but this episode demonstrates the extreme measures Dr. Kessler was willing to pursue to undermine supplement access.

Dr. Kessler's appointment to the COVID-19 task force is therefore particularly concerning. We are already dealing with a federal agencies trying to gag doctors to prevent them from disseminating basic information about the benefits of supplements for COVID-19--supplements that were part of President Trump's own treatment regimen.

Dr. Kessler is also likely to pursue a mandatory registration requirement for supplements. Make no mistake: this innocuous-sounding proposal could spell big trouble for supplement access. Such a regulation could be used to create a list of supplements that might lead to "adverse events," similar to a legislative effort by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) that was defeated a number of years ago. In that case, the list would be created by the FDA and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)--the same body that once said people up to the age of 70 don't need more than 600 IU of vitamin D per day, and above 4000 IU may be dangerous. Keep in mind that researchers are recommending 4,000 IU of vitamin D a day to help reduce the severity of COVID-19. Some people may need four to five times that amount to achieve optimal blood levels of 60 ng/ml.

There is clear evidence to suggest many natural medicines to help prevent and treat COVID. Yet the FDA, FTC, and some state's attorneys general have recently told doctors they can't advise both their patients and the public about natural prevention and treatment for COVID-19.  If they continue to do so, they will face fines or even jail. Why? These treatments have solid research behind them. FDA drugs cannot cure Covid-19. But the FDA only seems concerned with protecting drug company monopolies.  All of this is an egregious violation of the patient/doctor relationship that will cost many lives.

We need people who will recognize and harness the power of natural medicines to fight COVID, not a proven supplement foe who will continue--and worse, potentially expand--this censorship campaign that is costing American lives. Especially during this pandemic, it is not acceptable to censor doctors or to censor others who want to share solid scientific studies with the public or to seek to ban safe, effective, and low cost treatments just because they are not profitable for drug companies.

Please do not allow Dr. Kessler to be nominated to head the FDA or HHS.

Sincerely,
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