Michigan House Bill 5250, which has been given the title Weight Loss Products and Minors Act, was introduced last week by State Representative Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn).
“Diet pills are not something children need, and marketing them to minors is simply wrong,” Byrnes said in a press release. “These products can be dangerous, come with serious side effects, and minors who use them are far more likely to develop body image issues, dysmorphia or eating disorders later in life.”
The bill is similar to others introduced in other states over the past 18 months, which specifically call out ingredients such as creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia and coffee bean extract.
HB 5250:
– Defines “dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building” as any product labeled, marketed or represented for fat burning, appetite control or muscle building
– Prohibits both in-person and online sales of these products to minors.
– Requires age verification using government-issued identification for all in-person and virtual sales.
– Allows for civil fines of up to $1,000 per violation and empowers the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief against retailers.
– Authorizes the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), in consultation with the Board of Pharmacy, to promulgate implementing regulations.
Kyle Turk, vice president of government affairs at the Natural Products Association (NPA), explained that a similar bill last year failed to move out of the Committee on Health Policy.
“This new bill follows a familiar and troubling pattern we have seen in other states seeking to restrict access to legally marketed and federally regulated dietary supplements,” he said.
“Similar bills have been introduced or debated across the country in CA, TX, MO, IL, WA, MD, NJ, NH, MA, NY, VT, among others. Collectively, these proposals target categories such as weight management sports nutrition, and energy relying on broad and scientifically unsupported claims that these products encourage eating disorders or unsafe behaviors among minors.”
CRN: ‘Imposing age limits would unnecessarily restrict access for all consumers’
Jeff Ventura, vice president of communications at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), said his organization opposes the bill in its current form because “it is premised on a misunderstanding of both the science and the regulation of dietary supplements. There is no credible evidence linking these products to the development or worsening of eating disorders, and age restrictions would not address the complex psychological and social factors that truly drive these conditions.
“Dietary supplements are already extensively regulated by the FDA, and imposing age limits would unnecessarily restrict access for all consumers, stigmatize safe and legal products, and—because these kinds of bills are often overly broad—risk sweeping in basic vitamins and minerals never intended to be targeted,” Ventura added.
STRIPED
This is the latest in a campaign of legislative efforts across the country to restrict access to certain categories of dietary supplements. The efforts reportedly originate from the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), launched as a “public health incubator” based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Proponents of the restrictions cite a purported link between the use of such products and the worsening of eating disorders, even though a review of the scientific literature, funded by CRN, concluded that the “evidence to date does not support a causative role for dietary supplements in eating disorders.
“The use of dietary supplements for weight management in both male and female teens appears to be declining, and the objective of weight loss is not observed as a common motivation for the use of dietary supplements among this age group,” wrote Susan Hewlings, PhD, RD, the author of the review, which was published in the journal Nutrients.
Byrnes’ office admitted to working closely with STRIPED to develop her new legislation, and a press release from her office includes a quote from Dr. S. Bryn Austin, a Harvard professor and director of STRIPED.
“Too often, these deceptive products are laced with hidden, dangerous ingredients and peddled to kids with reckless disregard for their safety and well-being,” Dr. Austin stated. “State Rep. Byrnes’ bold action will finally put Michigan’s children ahead of industry profits and give parents and families much-needed protection from these predatory products.”
Judith Banker, founder and executive director at the Michigan-based Center for Eating Disorders, added: “Weight loss and muscle building supplements are dangerous, potentially deadly weapons in the hands of minors as they can swiftly push mild emotional struggles and body image concerns into life-threatening mood and eating disorders. We strongly recommend the state implement measures to prohibit the sale of these substances to minors.”
