Large vitamin doses may now need prescription 

The Green Party has raised concerns about changes to the EU Food Supplements Directive that will limit off-the-shelf access to vitamins and mineral supplements. Green Party Spokesperson on Health, Senator Déirdre de Búrca said the regulatory changes agreed by the Department of Health amount to over-regulation and will impose unnecessary restrictions on consumer rights.Senator De Búrca said: ‘Under the terms of this directive the Department of Health has agreed that the vitamins and minerals currently available for purchas off-the-shelf should be reduced to low levels. This will mean that consumers will not be able to self- select food supplements at strengths above the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA).
 
“In practice this will mean that Vitamin C for example would only be available at 60mg instead of levels of 1,000 mg and above, representing a reduction of over 90 per cent in dosage, despite thousands of scientific studies that testify to the safety of Vitamin C at higher levels”.
 
“If the Department of Health proceeds to sign up to the regulatory changes proposed, higher level food supplements such as vitamins and minerals will only be available to consumers by prescription, which will add significantly to the cost of purchasing them.
 
“Substances currently permitted on open sale with no restrictions, including cigarettes and alcohol, actually damage health. And yet despite a 40 year record of safe usage of higher level food supplements this country, as well as others, the Irish Government is about to agree to impose serious restrictions on their availability. This makes no sense.
 
“Nutrient supplements are not dangerous. On the contrary, a deficiency in nutrients can seriously damage an individual’s health. I am calling on Minister for Health Mary Harney and the European Commission to reconsider the proposed regulations. I believe that Minister Harney and the EU Commission should respect the basic rights of consumers to decide for themselves on matters concerning their own health and well-being given that no proven risk exists in relation to the use of higher-level food supplements.”
 
 
Information
Senator Déirdre de Búrca • (086) 806 14 50
Nicola Cassidy, Press Office • (01) 618 40 88 or (087) 914 81 75  

Filed under:
European Affairs, Health and Children, Press Release by Deirdre