Return-Path: jham@concentric.net Errors-To: Date: Sat, 9 Aug 1997 15:39:07 -0400 (EDT) X-Sender: jham@pop3.concentric.net (Unverified) To: Paracelsus@teleport.com From: John Hammell Subject: WHO DOES FISHER ANSWER TO? (JUST SAY NO TO EUROPEAN-AMERICAN PHYTOMEDICINES COALITION) Cc: President@whitehouse.gov, tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov, senator_mack@jec.senate.gov WARNING to DIETARY SUPPLEMENT CONSUMERS: If you sent in my last form letter, between us we have submitted over half of the comments the Commission has received, but WE CAN'T STOP NOW!!! Here is why: I have read the comments submitted to the Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels by the Eurpean-American Phytomedicines Coalition. Needless to say, this multinational pack of SCAMMERS are the DRIVING force behind the push to create an OTC market for herbs in the US. Their effort constitutes Codex harmonization. Please attach your own note of outrage to the letter I have below, and fax or email it in to President Clinton, Senators Hatch and Harkin, as well as your own Senators and Representatives. The final meeting of the Commission is this coming thursday and friday in DC. Congress doesn't come back in til the first week in Sept. This is a major scam. Foods ARE NOT DRUGS! ***********************Please forward this warning to more people********************************** International Advocates for Health Freedom 8/9/97 John C. Hammell, legislative advocate 2411 Monroe St. Hollywood, Florida Republic, America 800-333-2553, fax on demand 954-927-8795, fax 954-929-0507 jham@concentric.net, http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html President Clinton president@whitehouse.gov Senator Orrin G. Hatch c/o Tricia Knight Fax 202-224-6331 Senator Tom Harkin c/o Sabrina Corlette Fax 202-224-9369 tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov Senator Connie Mack c/o Mark Smith 202-224-8022 senator_mack@jec.senate.gov Dr. Ken Fisher, Executive Director, Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels, cdsl@birchdavis.com fax 202-205-0463, tel: 202-401-5811 c/o Dr.Castro Re: The Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels Must Be STOPPED from Exceeding Their Legal Mandate: Your Assistance Is Requested. Dear President Clinton, Senator Hatch, Senator Harkin, Senator Mack.... and last, but certainly not least, Dr. Fisher of the Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels: As a consumer, representing millions of American consumers of Dietary Supplements, (as well as millions of angry consumers world wide), I am very concerned by the scam I see unfolding vis a vis the Commission on Dietary Supplements Report, which just underwent a comments period, and which holds its final meeting on August 14-15, in the middle of summer, while people are on vacation, while Congress is recessed, while people are largely unaware of what is going on. What a SCAM! Of the 123 comments received by the Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels (CDSL), one was mine, one was Suzanne Harris's of the Law Loft (representing Life Extension Foundation's 100,000 + members, along with National Health Federation's 200,000 plus members), one was Emord and Associates (representing 11 parties inlcuding Dr.Julian Whitaker whose news letter reaches over 500,000), Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, etc. In addition, of the 123 total comments, 77 were copies of a form letter that I generated, which people from all over the US agreed with and sent in by email and fax. My comments support those of Emord, and The Law Loft, and 77 citizens sent in form letters agreeing with me. Who do you answer to, Dr.Fisher, the American people, or the European-American Phytomedicines Coalition (the multinational pharmaceutical industry)? It comes as no surprise to us that the EAPC strongly supports the Commission's effort's to create an OTC drug category for herbs-- but is this in the best interests of American consumers, or American industry??? Upon close examination of the documents submitted by Emord and Associates, and the Law Loft, it would not only be illegal for the Commission's final report to contain recommendation that an OTC drug category for herbs- by blindly accepting the FDA's undefined "significant scientific agreement standard" the Commission is BLOCKING our access to truthful health information. Significant Scientific Agreement is essentially a synonym for the consensus rule, the Frye rule, or the "general acceptence" test. In the world of science, business interests, and politics, this does not always translate to the truth. Often, it is a matter of "old boy politics" and "committee politics". This runs contrary to the Supreme Court decision of Daubert vs Merrell Dow. On June 29, 1993 the Supreme Court overturned the "consensus doctrine." The "old boys" club is DEAD! I urge every member of Congress to closely examine Emord's and the Law Loft's comments, because from an emerging international law perspective, it would harm American industry to re-write America's laws on botanicals so that Europeans can take over much of our domestic markets! Along with the ratification of the NAFTA and Uruguay round of the GATT, America and other nations signed the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement which created new important mechanisms to promote food trade. These were the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures within the World Trade Organization, and the establishment of the pre-existing Codex Alimentarius Committee as the body that sets international reference standards for safety in international food trade. Under the terms of the Sanitary Phytosanitary Agreement, any nation that adopts a Codex reference standard, guideline or recommendation for food safety is presumed not to have erected an unfair trade barrier. Conversely, any nation that erects a higher food safety standard than that prescribed by Codex runs the risk of having that standard found to be an unfair trade barrier by the WTO. That this new system has teeth and claws was recently discovered by the EU when the WTO decided in a preliminary decision that EU legislative barriers to beef containing certain beef hormones were an unfair trade barrier, not in conformity with the Codex standard, not sufficiently justified by science and did not constitute a consistent risk management decision when compared to other EU standards. CAN WE GET OTHERS TO HARMONIZE WITH US? Suzanne Harris, JD of the Law Loft in in complete agreement with Jonathan Emord's analysis which calls for the Commission to go "back to the drawing board" but she goes beyond his analysis to examine the issue of why it would be a mistake to create an OTC drug category for herbs from a standpoint of emerging international law. Harris attended the Codex Alimentarius Executive Committee Meeting in Geneva Switzerland at the end of June, and also sneaked in to the briefing on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as a member of the press. In her detailed, well researched and footnoted comments, Harris concludes that its in the best interests of not only the American consumer, but for American manufacturers not to blur the lines between foods and drugs, but to keep these products classified as FOODS! Every member of Congress will want to read her comments to better understand how health freedom issues are playing out in America under emerging international law. I intend to bring her comments, and Emord's to every member of Congress, and to distribute them widely on the internet, through my website and via radio discussions, magazine articles, and by any other means at my disposal. For Truth and Freedom, John C. Hammell ****************************************** Donations Needed- Am One Person Working Alone International Advocates for Health Freedom John C. Hammell, Legislative Advocate 2411 Monroe St.#2 Hollywood, FL 33020 USA 800-333-2553, 954-929-2905, FAX 954-929-0507, FAX ON DEMAND 954-927-8795,jham@concentric.net http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html