Regulatory and Washington

WASHINGTON — More than sixty dietary supplement industry executives representing forty member companies of the Council for Responsible Nutrition last week met with members of Congress to discuss pressing issues facing the dietary supplement industry and its consumers. 

 

The event, held June 8 on Capitol Hill, gathered industry attendees to visit with offices and committees relevant to manufacturers and ingredient suppliers of dietary supplements and functional foods.

 

ATLANTA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday noted that the 2015-2016 influenza season was lower in terms of influenza activity and peaked later as compared to the three previous seasons in the June 10 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

 

Activity remained low from October 2015 until late December 2015 and peaked in mid-March 2016. According to the report, only two other seasons have peaked in March in the past 18 influenza seasons - 2011–12 and 2005–06. 

 

WASHINGTON — Testifying before the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Friday expressed cautious optimism on the impact OTC Monograph User Fees may have on OTC innovation. 

 

SILVER SPRING, Md. - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned that taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter and prescription diarrhea medicine loperamide (the main ingredient in Imodium, for example), including through abuse or misuse of the product, can cause serious heart problems that can lead to death. 

 

ARLINGTON, Va. –  The National Association of Chain Drug Stores issued a statement Wednesday urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health to focus on policies and innovations that will improve healthcare access and foster healthcare-delivery partnerships by supporting provider status legislation. 

 

WASHINGTON — More than two-thirds of American adults take dietary supplements each year, and according to a new economic impact report released by the Council for Responsible Nutrtion on Wednesday, the dietary supplement industry contributes $121.6 billion to the U.S. economy, creates 754,645 jobs nationwide, and pays $38.4 billion in wages. 

 

Additionally, the industry contributes nearly $15 billion in business taxes — both federal and state — and not including taxes collected on product sales.

 

WASHINGTON - Progress is being made to increase awareness of the safe use of acetaminophen, according to new research released Monday by the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition. The group says data collected from the National Poison Data System and released in late 2015 show a steady decline in unintentional exposures of acetaminophen, including dosing errors and accidental misuse, since a peak in 2009.