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From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.med,net.consumers
Subject: Warning are sought on Vitamin Supplements
Message-ID: <239@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Mar-86 09:49:49 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.239
Posted: Wed Mar  5 09:49:49 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Mar-86 07:48:43 EST
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 27
Xref: watmath net.med:3540 net.consumers:4449


>	"The FDA should initiate consumer protection measures, including a
>printed caution on all supplement labels and packaging, warning consumers
>that vitamins and minerals won't prevent disease and that the long term
>consequences of long-term frequent use are unknown," Dr. Heber said.

The article quoted almost sounds reasonable, then you hit a paragraph like
this. Of course vitamins prevent disease (scurvy, rickets, beri-beri),
they just don't prevent some diseases. I hope if the FDA labels, they be
specific somehow, probably by providing what is known in a positive way
rather than a negative statement like this ("won't prevent disease")
which is rather hard to, er, swallow.

Unfortunately, what makes us all cynical is that we know that unless
something is completely accepted by most everyone (and hence probably
common and trivial knowledge, like vitamin C prevents Scurvy) it won't
make it on the label. This will only serve to erode the credibility of
the FDA rather than its intended purpose.

I think consumer education in the form of readily available pamphlets,
possibly put by the gov wherever they sell vitamins (as much as possible)
would go a lot further than a little warning label. People need information,
not labels. Even better if they would invite reasonably speculative views
(not that mega-doses will cure cancer, but perhaps Linus Pauling's view
on Vitamin C, even if just as a dissenting view to standard medical practice.)

	-Barry Shein, Boston University