Print

[YanTing]

Sissung TM, Cordes LM, Figg WD.
The Dietary Supplement Health And Education Act: are we healthier and better informed after 27 years?
Lancet Oncol. 2021 Jul;22(7):915-916

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(21)00084-X/fulltext

The article is free with a login, and you can register for free.

Concluding paragraph:

The DSHEA has removed the burden of proof for good manufacturing, safety, and efficacy from supplement manufacturers while simultaneously providing a poor framework to monitor adverse events and prevent safety hazards. At the same time, it has facilitated a geometric increase in public expenditure on pseudoscientific therapies and has inflated public trust in misinformation. The DSHEA is even an obstacle to those who believe in complementary and alternative medicine remedies and expect that the products they purchase actually contain the ingredients listed on the packaging. If over-the-counter medications must meet clinical standards for safety and efficacy while showing good manufacturing practices and providing standardised labelling information to users, why should supplements that claim to have health benefits or reduce the risk of disease be exempted from such standards? Put simply, although it has been responsible for considerable economic activity, the DSHEA has promoted neither public health nor education for the past 27 years.