Sustain Economic Growth

The Economics of Dietary Supplements

Dietary supplements contribute not only to good health, they fuel jobs and the economy. With more than 70 percent of the U.S. population -- seven out of ten Americans -- currently using dietary supplements, the industry is an economic and consumer health success story.

• A recent Institute of Medicine report, sponsored by the FDA, estimated that American consumers spend $18 billion annually on dietary supplements and that there are about 29,000 products on the market, with another 1,000 new products introduced each year.
  
  
• The Nutrition Business Journal states that market sales of dietary supplements, which include vitamins, minerals, botanicals and specialty supplements, reached $19.8 billion in 2003.
  
  
• Scientific studies have shown how vitamins help prevent chronic diseases, which can save billions of dollars in health care costs. Using Congressional Budget Office cost accounting methodology, a recent study by the Lewin Group estimates that if adults over age-65 took 1200 milligrams of calcium with vitamin D daily, the net savings in hospital, nursing facility, and physician expenditures resulting from a reduction in the occurrence of hip fractures would be $13.9 billion over a five-year period. But what we cannot even begin to estimate is the improved quality of life that the approximately 734,000 individuals who avoid hip fractures will now have.
  
  
• The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) , reversing its previous position, now concludes that every child and adult would benefit from taking vitamins daily. A 2002 report in the journal Nutrition also recommended a daily vitamin for older adults, who often do not get proper nutrition from food.
  

Supplement the Market

Currently, there are approximately 17,000 health product stores in the United States making supplements accessible to all citizens. The most commonly used vitamin/mineral product is the multivitamin (with or without minerals), followed by vitamin C, vitamin E, B vitamins, calcium and iron. The most common botanicals in the United States are ginseng, garlic, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea, St. John's wort and saw palmetto. Top-selling specialty supplements include glucosamine, chondroitin and plant and fish oils. These products are sold in health food stores, supermarkets, drug stores, and discount department stores, as well as by direct sales and mail order.

Sustain Growth Through Access to Supplements

Since its passage in 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) has fostered an atmosphere conducive to continued market growth by permitting nutritional support claims for dietary supplements and by preventing the FDA from regulating dietary supplement ingredients as food additives. This has been accomplished without sacrificing product safety and without impairing the FDA's authority to assure truthful labeling.