The Council for Responsible Nutrition in the US has responded angrily to a recent survey by in the journal JAMA which claimed that the increased use of herbal supplements could lead to adverse reactions with other drugs.
The article in JAMA said that adverse reactions to drugs were among the leading causes of hospitalisation and death in the US, and implied that increasing supplement use had accelerated this process.
Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., vice president, scientific & regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition refuted these claims. "The rate of adverse reactions to drugs and the possibility of interactions among these various medications are a legitimate and serious source of concern.
"But there is an implication in the article that herbal supplements present an equally serious risk of interactions, while in fact, there is no evidence that interactions with most supplements present any more of a risk than commonly recognised interactions with various foods. It is the drug/drug interactions that may occur when multiple pharmaceuticals are used that should be the major focus of concern."
"Food/drug interactions are well recognised, and many organisations provide consumer education on this topic. For example, the National Consumers League and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have jointly prepared an extensive brochure that provides reliable information on food/drug interactions. In addition, consumers are encouraged to tell their physician or pharmacist about all the products they are using - including dietary supplements - and to take the health professionals' advice about avoiding interactions."
She continued: "The JAMA article also asserts that herbals and similar supplements are 'by law not subject to FDA regulation.' This is simply false. It is true that dietary supplements are not regulated like drugs, but this does not mean they are unregulated. Under current law and regulations, ingredients of dietary supplements are required to be either 'grandfathered' or supported by safety information submitted to the FDA.
Every aspect of product labelling is controlled by the FDA, and all advertising must comply with laws and regulations of the Federal Trade Commission."
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is a science-based trade association representing more than 100 companies in the dietary supplement industry, including ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. CRN members adhere to a strong code of ethics, comply with dosage limits and manufacture dietary supplements to high quality standards under good manufacturing practices.