title: Should states and local governments regulate dietary supplements?
abstract: Federal regulation of dietary supplements in the United States is governed by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The law has been criticized as weak and ineffective. Alarming research has emerged demonstrating that supplements may be mislabelled, contaminated, adulterated with dangerous or unknown compounds, or sold at toxic doses. As a result, the health community has raised concerns about the safety and quality of dietary supplements. Increased federal oversight is an important avenue for improving supplement safety; however, states and local governments may also pursue strategies to strengthen the overall regulatory control of dietary supplements. States and local governments have substantial experience in regulating other products that pose a risk to public health, such as tobacco. Additionally, much has been learned about the tactics the tobacco industry has employed to protect its interests. Lessons learned may be applied to new regulatory efforts aimed at improving the safety of dietary supplements at the state and local levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Office of Public Health Studies, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI, 96822, Honolulu, Hawai.
authors.forename: Ranjani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Starr
mesh_terms: D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000592:standards*; D004340:Drug Contamination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007881:Legislation, Food; D009111:Local Government; D011356:Product Labeling / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States
keywords: dietary supplements; state government; tobacco industry