Quacks like a duck - Letters

Washington Monthly, Nov, 2001 by Steven Cerier

I read your article "Scorin' with Orrin" (September 2001) and, while I agree with your sentiments, I also believe that you should have been even more critical of the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DHSEA). George Orwell would have loved the name of this piece of legislation. It is not an educational act.

Instead, it is an "Encouragement of Fraud and Quackery Act" I believe that most of the public is under the illusion that dietary supplements are regulated by the Food and Drug Association (FDA). After all, they probably can't believe that the government would allow the sale of products that are potentially harmful. But that is what this legislation does. There is absolutely no quality control or oversight of these products. Consumers have absolutely no idea what they are buying. The reality is that if the herbal industry were held to the same high standards as the pharmaceutical industry, it would go out of business very quickly.

STEVEN CERIER
Forest Hills, N.Y.