The threat of a regulatory stranglehold over dietary supplements has intensified.

Earlier this year, Sen. John McCain introduced a bill that would have given the FDA draconian new powers. A citizen's revolt ensued that caused that bill to be sidelined. We are being watchful that Sen. McCain does not try to slip some of his oppressive original proposals into another Senate bill.

The urgent issue we face today is language Rep. Henry Waxman snuck into the already passed Wall Street Reform Bill (H.R. 4173) that he hopes to get into the Senate bill. This language would give unelected FTC bureaucrats arbitrary authority to impose crippling requirements that will drive up the costs of supplements or remove them from the market entirely.

It is imperative that consumers email their Senators to keep this language out of the Senate version of the Wall Street Reform Bill and out of any later version voted on by the House and Senate.

Pharmaceutical companies recognize that their greatest competitive threat comes from low-cost dietary supplements that are virtually free of side effects. The most efficient way to destroy this competition is to have Congress enact legislation that will enable federal agencies to eradicate consumer access to dietary supplements.

To give you an idea of how much money is involved, just look at the cost of prescription drug fish oil sold under the trade name Lovaza®. A 30-day supply of Lovaza® sells for around $195.00. Consumers can obtain the same quantity of EPA/DHA fish oil for under $32.00 as a dietary supplement.

With the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act and Health Care Reform Act, the federal government (that means you) pays outrageously inflated prices for fish oil prescriptions and other drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry heavily lobbied Congress to obligate Medicare to shell out full retail price for prescription drugs. In the case of prescription fish oil, taxpayers pay 500% more than what consumers pay for the same amount of fish oil as a dietary supplement.

Pharmaceutical companies now want to erect so many new restrictions over dietary supplements that consumers (and taxpayers) will be forced to pay outlandish prescription drug prices for fish oil and other low-cost nutrients.

As most of you know, taxes will soon be raised and new government debt created to fund these lavish subsidies to drug companies. It is this kind of institutional corruption that bankrupts governments around the world. We fear that citizen apathy may enable this corrupt legislation to be enacted into law, which will hasten Medicare's date with insolvency, while saddling consumers with higher dietary supplement prices.

If this legislation is passed, our fear is that many supplements will disappear or that Americans will be unable to afford their supplements and will succumb to a host of deficiency-related diseases.

Please take action below to e-mail your Senator to demand that Rep. Waxman's drug company favoring language not be added to the Senate version of the so-called Wall Street Reform Act and not be included in any later House/Senate version of the bill.

The threat of a regulatory stranglehold over dietary supplements has intensified.

Earlier this year, Sen. John McCain introduced a bill that would have given the FDA draconian new powers. A citizen's revolt ensued that caused that bill to be sidelined. We are being watchful that Sen. McCain does not try to slip some of his oppressive original proposals into another Senate bill.

The urgent issue we face today is language Rep. Henry Waxman snuck into the already passed Wall Street Reform Bill (H.R. 4173) that he hopes to get into the Senate bill. This language would give unelected FTC bureaucrats arbitrary authority to impose crippling requirements that will drive up the costs of supplements or remove them from the market entirely.

It is imperative that consumers email their Senators to keep this language out of the Senate version of the Wall Street Reform Bill and out of any later version voted on by the House and Senate.

Pharmaceutical companies recognize that their greatest competitive threat comes from low-cost dietary supplements that are virtually free of side effects. The most efficient way to destroy this competition is to have Congress enact legislation that will enable federal agencies to eradicate consumer access to dietary supplements.

To give you an idea of how much money is involved, just look at the cost of prescription drug fish oil sold under the trade name Lovaza®. A 30-day supply of Lovaza® sells for around $195.00. Consumers can obtain the same quantity of EPA/DHA fish oil for under $32.00 as a dietary supplement.

With the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act and Health Care Reform Act, the federal government (that means you) pays outrageously inflated prices for fish oil prescriptions and other drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry heavily lobbied Congress to obligate Medicare to shell out full retail price for prescription drugs. In the case of prescription fish oil, taxpayers pay 500% more than what consumers pay for the same amount of fish oil as a dietary supplement.

Pharmaceutical companies now want to erect so many new restrictions over dietary supplements that consumers (and taxpayers) will be forced to pay outlandish prescription drug prices for fish oil and other low-cost nutrients.

As most of you know, taxes will soon be raised and new government debt created to fund these lavish subsidies to drug companies. It is this kind of institutional corruption that bankrupts governments around the world. We fear that citizen apathy may enable this corrupt legislation to be enacted into law, which will hasten Medicare's date with insolvency, while saddling consumers with higher dietary supplement prices.

If this legislation is passed, our fear is that many supplements will disappear or that Americans will be unable to afford their supplements and will succumb to a host of deficiency-related diseases.

Please take action below to e-mail your Senator to demand that Rep. Waxman's drug company favoring language not be added to the Senate version of the so-called Wall Street Reform Act and not be included in any later House/Senate version of the bill.