A bill which is being heard by the Health and Human Services Committee of Colorado’s state legislature, which calls for numerous protections for people with eating disorders, was recently amended to strike down language which would’ve prohibited people under the age of 18 from purchasing dietary supplements marketed for weight loss.
 
Most of the language of the bill, SB 23-176, is concerned with stipulations for medical treatment and health benefit plans for individuals with a diagnosed eating disorder. However, the bill initially prohibited “a retail establishment from selling, transferring, or otherwise furnishing dietary supplements for weight loss or over-the-counter diet pills to any individual under 18 years of age without a prescription.”
 
Colorado Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, primary sponsor of the bill, removed all language involving dietary supplements after discussions with the Natural Products Association (NPA) and Natural Grocers, according to NPA.
 
The amended language of the bill provides the same restrictions but only on “over-the-counter diet pills,” which only covers over-the-counter products with a Drug Facts panel.  
 
“This is a big victory for consumer access in Colorado and we want to thank Majority Leader Moreno for his leadership and willingness to collaborate on a good solution. We wish more state lawmakers in other capitals would exercise the same approach to science, reason, and common sense,” said Kyle Turk, director of government affairs at NPA. “Far too often, legislators simply ignore science, data, and the consequences of poorly-designed legislation that ends up hurting consumers, but this was not one of those instances. Our team immediately had the opportunity to share the impact language in the bill would have on consumers and industry stakeholders. We are grateful to the Majority leader and other stakeholders in the eating disorder community who considered the facts and recognized that there is no data point connecting eating disorders and the use of dietary supplements.”
 
Colorado is far from the first state to introduce legislation seeking to restrict dietary supplements that are in some way marketed for weight loss or weight management, and sometimes for muscle building. Across California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, bills have been introduced to restrict minors’ access to dietary supplements, some of which have been vetoed.
 
“We may have won this battle in Colorado, but if you really want to know what’s going on, you only need to know this. There is an all-out war against the dietary supplements industry, and this is why industry stakeholders join organizations like NPA,” said Turk. “No other organization has consistently fought back against government overreach directed toward our community. The growing number of dangerous proposals by state legislatures and actions by the FDA are a two-front war against our industry and one that the NPA is committed to fighting at every turn. This victory demonstrates the influence of our grassroots operation and how effective we can be when the entire supply chain of retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers come together.”