Late last month, the FDA held a hearing to find out more about the use of OTC homeopathic products. The FDA asked about American’s attitudes towards homeopathy, whether or not Americans know enough about homeopathy to make informed decisions, and whether or not having OTC homeopathic products on retail shelves is confusing to Americans.
The Organic Consumers Association is asking for your help to make sure the FDA knows that you know what you are buying when you purchase OTC homeopathic products:
Help us get the following messages to the FDA:
• Consumers have positive attitudes about access to over-the-counter homeopathic medicines
• Consumers ARE able to make informed decisions about purchasing homeopathic products vs traditional OTC medications
• Consumers want to find the right medicine for their symptoms in the appropriate category area of the storeWe encourage everyone who uses homeopathic products to take 5 minutes to submit comments to the FDA about:
• YOUR own personal position and viewpoint regarding homeopathy
• YOUR understanding and practical knowledge regarding purchasing decisions of OTC homeopathic productsGuidance for Submitting Comments to the FDA
The most effective, meaningful comments will address:
• YOUR attitudes about homeopathy, and/or
• YOUR experiences making decisions about purchasing OTC homeopathic products
The FDA is discussing re-evaluating its regulatory framework of prescription and OTC homeopathic products. The link to the propsed rule can be found here. You don’t need to look any further than that page to find one of the biggest reasons that the FDA is re-evaluating the regulatory framework of homeopathy:
“The homeopathic drug industry has continued on an upward growth trajectory since FDA issued its CPG in 1988, especially with respect to OTC drug products labeled as homeopathic. The CPG noted that, at the time of original publication in 1988, the homeopathic drug market was a multimillion dollar industry in the United States. In 2007, the National Health Interview Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, estimated that adults spent about $2.9 billion on the purchase of homeopathic medicine.”
Take a look at this ABC News video where the only real negative example that the guest doctor mentioned is reports of people losing their smell from a product labeled “homeopathic.” Is should be noted, for the comfort of homeopathic consumers, that the issue with Zicam never had anything to do with its homeopathic ingredients, but rather its use of zinc.
In 2014, Zicam’s manufacturers introduced new, zinc-free homeopathic Zicam® Cold Remedy Nasal Spray, which now is reportedly the only nasal spray on the market that is clinically proven to shorten the length of a cold when used at the first sign.
Don’t let products that are 100 percent homeopathic-based be bunched in with products that are blended with other supplements. Let the FDA know that you understand the difference between homeopathy, homeopathic medicines blended with other products, and mainstream OTC medicines. Your comments are needed by June 22nd, 2015, so prepare your comments and post the on the page found here as soon as possible! And please, spread this around so that everyone gets a chance to have their comments heard.
[Photo Credit: “WomanHomeopathy” by Casey West from Pittsburgh – Smelling the flowers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0]