DSIB, CRN join others in opposing weight-loss claim petition

SARASOTA, Fla. The Dietary Supplement Information Bureau, comprised of the American Herbal Products Association, New Hope (event organizer for NatExpo East and West) and the Natural Products Association, on Monday joined the Council for Responsible Nutrition in pledging to fight against a recently-filed citizen’s petition that would render weight-loss claims as disease state claims, a classification that would prohibit dietary supplement manufacturers from making any before-and-after weight loss claims in support of a dietary supplement diet aid.

The petition was jointly filed April 17 by GlaxoSmithKline, the American Dietetic Association, Shaping America’s Health and the Obesity Society.

In a blog posted Monday afternoon, the Bureau charged, “Many believe that this is an effort by GlaxoSmithKline, makers of alli, an over-the-counter weight loss drug, to quash competition from the dietary supplement weight loss industry. … GlaxoSmithKline’s petition has huge implications for dietary supplements, and we feel that a negative ruling by the FDA could result in more attacks from pharmaceutical companies, and perhaps eventually the death knell for the dietary supplements industry.”