Rome, Italy. On July 4, 2005, the international Codex Commission passed final rules which will force consumers in most countries to get prescriptions for virtually all vitamins. High-dose vitamins and many supplements will likely become impossible to get legally. And the law will apply to most nations, including Canada and probably the U.S.
Congressman Ron Paul (R, TX) says "Codex is the final step in this 100 year-old battle to remove ?citizen independence? in the area of health and medicine."
Codex vitamin regulations are the product of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an offshoot of the United Nations, which has been working for years to "harmonize" food and supplement laws between nations.
The recent Commission meeting in Rome was attended by 85 of the 171 Codex countries, and only a few half-hearted objections to a global vitamin regime were voiced by attending nations. (Much stronger objections were presented by independent consumer advocacy groups, like US-based National Health Federation).
The Codex vitamin ban will automatically apply to the United States without any further legislative action, as soon as CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) passes the House of Representatives. CAFTA has already passed the Senate and President Bush says he will sign it.
The health consequences of the Codex ban could be serious for millions of people who depend on Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Co-Enzyme Q10, calcium, zinc, and hundreds of other supplements to ward off disease and improve their nutrition.
$8 each for Vitamin E capsules?
Based on how Codex now works in Germany, here is what to expect once it goes into effect here, as described by Canadian Helke Ferrie:
"In the mid-1990's my mother, then in her 80s, had a stroke. She lived in Germany. When she left the hospital, I was ready with a nutritional plan that included high-dose vitamins: C, E, and B ? especially Inositol, as well as Co-enzyme Q10. I went to the pharmacy, whose owner was a family friend for some 25 years, and handed him my list.
"He handed me a small packet with a price sticker of DM 200 (then about $200) containing vitamin E capsules manufactured by one of Germany's largest pharmaceutical companies. The source was synthetic, not the 'mixed' version from living plant sources I wanted, which contains the whole E spectrum.
"The package contained a total of 10,000 international units of E, the equivalent of a mere 25 capsules of 400 IUs each that we are used to buying. Our bottles contain 90 capsules and cost about $20. If Codex rules in Canada, we will likely pay $800 for a bottle of 90 capsules of low-quality vitamin E ? if Health Canada lets us buy that many at once, and if you can find a doctor willing to prescribe it."
Ms. Ferrie was then informed by the pharmacist that many of the vitamins and supplements she requested had been banned in Germany, because "Germany is a Codex country."
Prison for possessing fish oil?
Under Codex, high doses of Vitamins C and E will likely become impossible to get legally. And supplements like omega-3 and omega-6 fish oils will likely be banned. As Congressman Ron Paul (R, TX) warns:
"The FDA, like all federal agencies, ultimately uses its regulatory powers in political ways. Certain industries and companies are rewarded, and others are punished. No regulatory agency is immune from politics, which is why the FDA should not be trusted with power over our intimate health care decisions.
"The real issue is not whether supplements really work, or whether FDA drugs really are safe. The real issue is: Who decides, the individual or the state."
If you don't want your vitamins and supplements taken away from you by the UN, write your representatives in Congress and President Bush now.
For more information go to:
# Congressman Ron Paul's Website
# Dr. Rath Health Foundation
# Johathan Campell Health Alert
http://www.isil.org/towards-liberty/vitamin-ban.html