AMA Seeks DSHEA Modifications on Herbals

AMA Seeks DSHEA Modifications on Herbals

CHICAGOThe American MedicalAssociation (AMA) approved a resolution during its annual meeting here in Juneempowering AMA leadership to urge Congress to modify the Dietary SupplementHealth and Education Act (DSHEA) to require herbal dietary supplements to belabeled as herbals and to prove their efficacy prior to marketing.According to AMA, the resolution seeks to ensure consumers understand thedifferences between standard pharmaceuticals and herbal dietary supplements.

In a Reuters story on the resolution, Daniel van Heeckeren,M.D., chairman of the AMA reference committee that heard testimony on herbalproducts packaging, was quoted as stating, This resolution addresses thepotential for consumers to confuse dietary supplements that are marketed asherbal remedies with over-the-counter drugs.

The new resolution expands on an existing policy thatencourages health care providers to use the MedWatch system to report adverseevents possibly linked to dietary supplements to FDA. AMA policy also holds thatDSHEA should be amended to require pre-market approval of safety and efficacy ofall dietary supplements, and that supplement labels carry an expanded warningthat the products can interact with pharmaceuticals and should only be takenafter consultation with a physician.