WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 9, 2006) – The following is a statement from the Coalition to Preserve DSHEA regarding the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform hearing today on “The Regulation of Dietary Supplements”:

The Coalition to Preserve DSHEA supports the committee’s focus on working to protect consumers from illegal anabolic steroids, particularly when they are falsely marketed as dietary supplements. While serious, we believe this problem is extremely limited in scope and does not affect the average consumer of dietary supplements. In fact, more than seven out of 10 Americans use dietary supplements -- such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs or other botanicals -- as a safe, effective and affordable way to maintain good health and augment inadequate diets.

Although safety issues with dietary supplements are relatively infrequent, the law that governs these products, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994(DSHEA) allows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to swiftly and decisively address them. Not only did DSHEA create a mechanism for dealing with safety issues it also allows for regulation of health claims, accurate labeling, implementation of good manufacturing practices, and research on dietary supplements.

Finally, we would like to make clear that dietary supplements are not anabolic steroids. While some companies may have chosen to break the law by masquerading illegal steroids as a dietary supplement it does not change that indisputable fact.