California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that aimed to ban the sale of dietary supplements either formulated or marketed for weight loss to anyone under the age of 18. The

Newsom’s primary objection to the bill was its requirement that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) would be required to establish a list of dietary supplements that would be subject to this bill, a task which he described as “beyond the scope of the department’s capabilities.”

“I commend the work of the author as this bill raises an important public health issue related to the safety of diet or weight loss pills that can result in injury. However, dietary supplements for weight loss are not considered drugs and, therefore, this measure would require CDPH to evaluate every individual weight loss and dietary supplement product for safety, which is beyond the scope of the department’s capabilities,” Newsom wrote in a letter to the Assembly. “Recognizing the need to educate and protect the public—particularly California’s youth—of the dangers of using dietary supplements for weight loss, I am directing CDPH to form a working group, inclusive of academic and medical experts, that would develop public policy recommendations on the best way to address this important public health challenge.”

CDPH is prepared to work on legislative actions that address minors’ access to dietary supplements, however, those actions do not involve those which would require the state to take on lengthy studies of the wide variety of dietary supplements on the market, Newsom concluded.

While no states have passed legislation banning the sales of dietary supplements to minors, similar proposed bills are being considered in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Industry Engagement and Reaction

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) noted that it took a neutral position on the bill after working with its author, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, in order to ensure that CDPH would be required to come up with a list of supplements that would be subject to the bill, so that each product would be evaluated individually. Initially, the bill would have been a blanket ban on the sale of all dietary supplements to people under 18.

“CRN had multiple conversations and a good working relationship with bill author Assemblymember Cristina Garcia and her staff,” said Julia Gustafson, CRN vice president of government relations. “We appreciate her willingness to include practical measures in the final version of her legislation that limited its scope and removed behind-the-counter restrictions.”

“We expect this bill or similar proposals to be reconsidered during the next legislative session,” Gustafson continued. “CRN stands ready to work with the lawmakers to ensure this legislation is reintroduced in a way that responsibly balances consumer safety with public access to dietary supplements.”

The Natural Products Association (NPA) has been stalwart in its opposition to the California bill along with similar bills proposed in other states, stating there is insufficient evidence linking the use of dietary supplements by minors to adverse events. Specifically, the organization’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration yielded no results affirming potential risk.

“This is a decisive victory for California consumers, the natural products industry, and science. Supporters of this bill like STRIPED used a range of completely false claims and zero science to jam this through with no evidence, but to his credit Governor Newsom and his team looked at the facts and made the right call. NPA members had a big hand in persuading him by sending thousands of messages that made their opposition clear,” said Daniel Fabricant, president and CEO of NPA. “While we are extremely grateful Governor Newsom listened to the science, the fact remains other states need to now take notice and ensure these draconian policies never again see the light of day. NPA is still currently battling to ensure similar proposals in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Rhode Island do not become law.”

Fabricant noted that efforts will continue at a grassroots campaign level against other legislative proposals such as age restriction, as well as proposals at the federal level including mandatory product listing.