Stop "American Health Crisis Act"/Health Food Ban

STOP AMERICAN HEALTH CRISIS

By: Steve Bayt

(Parma/Brook Park, Ohio)



As too few know other than those on Internet message boards an
Illinois Senator Richard Durbin has proposed a Senate Bill 722 (The
Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2003) which is presently in The
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.



This bill would apply the standards of prescription drugs to
nutritional supplements/health foods which I will use interchangeably.
The federal procedure which prescription drugs adhere produce about
106,000 deaths in America yearly. Yet, last year only 16 people (not
counting ephedra and like products) died to due what was medically
labeled "possibly caused by OTC supplements".



Many of my previous articles can be found at google newsgroup searches
under simply Senate Bill 722, so I am not going to constantly take mb
space in repetition. A website that I paid a great deal to promote in
the mainstream media can be found at www.geocities.com/milk112778



While the mainstream media turns the 117 ephedra deaths into "Durbin
Poster Boys" none of the hundreds or so articles and newscasts about
ephedra have not even mentioned SB. 722, which should be re-labeled
"The American Health Crisis Act of 2003". For the cost of regulation
would eventually bankrupt supplement manufacturers and create a black
market complete with crime and related deaths.



While Randy Shilts is known as Reagan's biggest public foe about AIDS.
I am hereby proclaiming myself the equivalent against Senator Durbin.
And like those 1981-10/02/85 ignored Kaposi's Sarcoma(a.k.a. AIDS)
victims exploited any method of public awareness, so will I. For
saving thousands of lives is much more important than netiquette. And
anyone who complains of my spamming should question their values of
life.



Keeping tens of thousands of people from dying is far more important
then whatever "problems" are fantasized to exist by spamming.



For "The American Health Crisis Act of 2003" could very well yield 117
daily deaths partially due to reliance for health care available only
through a government system which produces 106,000 deaths annually.



Yet, in the history of supplements comprising tens of millions of
users who spend about $1,000 or so a year, only 7,000 people have ever
been admitted to hospitals for complications, side effects or any
other consequence of supplements. And most of them couldn't be
conclusively linked to the supplements.



The fact is that prescription drugs come with a dozen side effects for
every symptom being treated. While TV commercials do sell snake oil
supplements ( I hear the newest is the claimed $75 value Focus Factor
which has the same things as any $6.00 mv) there are far more that
sell prescription drugs. All of them end with the usual list of side
effects.



Perhaps the best quasi- media coverage against SB 722 came from the
January 4, 2004 comic Flo and Friends (Creators Syndicate). It shows
two elderly people watching a TV commercial for her doctor's
prescribed headache pill-which the commercial voiceover states causes
dizziness, nausea, vomiting, leprosy, rabies, dementia, sudden death
or worse.



Supplements that economically survive multiple uses come with few side
effects unless mixed with prescription drugs, which doctors seldom
inquire about.



There aren't just a surreal amount of health and athletic benefits
offered by an affordable, unregulated supplement industry but tragic
consequences if due to SB.722 supplements can't be either legally or
economically bought.



It is a disgrace to the American media that during a college project,
I had to explain to my class mates about SB 722. For the media waits
for disasters to happen then they report them.



Maybe when there are nutritional deficiency deaths in the thousands,
crime activity deaths in the tens of thousands from what would become
a Durbin Black Market, and billions of dollars trying to enforce "The
American Health Crisis Act" then the media will report.



I have contacted virtually every daily newspaper, weekly newspaper and
most network affiliates about SB 722, many times to many editors. I
have also paid for some ads in the mainstream media.



It's not unreasonable to theorize that some media people knew of
September 11th. Yet just waited for the disaster to happen so they
could grab viewers and readers, make tons of money, instead of acting
like human beings and stop the tragedy.



Think…. How did all the networks just happen to have cameras focused
on The World Trade Centers when not even Air Traffic Controllers knew
the tragedy was about to happen minutes before. Yet, NBC, ABC, CBS,
CNN et al. had cameras all ready to go. Not with spontaneous like
footage like with Roger Patterson's Bigfoot film. But, perfectly
framed with footers on the screen etc.



SB 722 is like AIDS, 9/11, Oklahoma City, Iran's Earthquake all in
one.



The reality is that without media coverage, even the 10-15 million
American supplement users who would be mad enough to vote based on SB
722 aren't enough per senator. The majority of voters have to know of
this possible tragedy, far more people than is available via The Net
postings. For Senators "play the numbers."



I am calling on whatever flock I might have to stop "The American
Health Crisis Act" to call in radio shows, go to live news events with
cameras rolling with anti-SB 722 signs. To handout fliers in their
hometowns. To do whatever is necessary to make it impossible for the
media to ignore SB 722.



To make it politically impossible for any senator to get re-elected if
they vote for SB 722. Media outlets and Senators can be mass e-mailed
with copy and paste technology very easily at www.capwiz.com



Although the media and senators might apologize years down the road if
SB 722 passes and thousands died with billions of tax dollars wasted
in futile black market enforcement. Sort of like what the media does
with the ignored years of AIDS.



The American readers, viewers and electorate should state something
now, not years from now. "Love Means Never Having To Say You're
Sorry."