Virginia lawmaker seeks to ban sale of muscle-building supplements to minorsVirginia lawmaker seeks to ban sale of muscle-building supplements to minors

A state lawmaker from Virginia has pre-filed a bill to prohibit the sale to minors of OTC diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building.

House Bill 1585 is backed by Delegate Baxter Ennis, a Republican, and it is expected to be formally introduced on Wednesday, Jan. 8, when the legislative session begins.

Ennis did not immediately respond to an email from SupplySide Supplement Journal requesting comment.

Similar bills were pre-filed in December in New Hampshire and Texas, reflecting growing support across U.S. legislatures for restrictions on dietary supplements marketed for weight loss and muscle building, in spite of vigorous opposition from industry.

Advocates of the bills maintain these products can contribute to and/or exacerbate eating disorders, and pose other health hazards, including by exposing youths to undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients in products marketed as dietary supplements. Industry reps deny there is a causal relationship between supplements and eating disorders and maintain the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ample authority to crack down on dangerous and/or illegal products marketed as supplements.

In determining whether a supplement is marketed for achieving weight loss or muscle building, HB 1585 identifies certain factors, including “whether the product contains (i) an ingredient approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for weight loss or muscle building; (ii) a steroid; or (iii) creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, or green coffee bean extract.”

Related:Texas, New Hampshire join movement targeting supplement sales to minors

Another factor includes “whether the product’s labeling or marketing bears statements or images that express or imply that the product will help (i) modify, maintain, or reduce body weight, fat, appetite, overall metabolism, or the process by which nutrients are metabolized or (ii) maintain or increase muscle or strength.”

HB 1585 authorizes a civil penalty of $500 for a first violation and penalty in the amount of $2,500 for a second or subsequent violation within a three-year period.

The bill has little time to move through the Virginia legislature. Jan. 17 is the last day to introduce legislation, Feb. 2 is the final day for appropriations in both chambers to complete action on budget bills, and Feb. 4 is the last day for each chamber to act on its legislation, according to Kyle Turk, vice president of government affairs with the Natural Products Association (NPA), which is based in the nation’s capital. The legislative session adjourns on Saturday, Feb. 22.

“With the introduction of HB 1585 in Virginia, this marks the 14th state bill with the dietary supplement industry in the bull’s-eye,” Turk said in an email to SupplySide Supplement Journal. “It should be obvious to everyone with a vested interest in providing consumers with world class health products that groups supporting proposals such as HB 1585 are hell-bent on creating an untethered matrix of regulatory complexity, making it impossible to provide consumers with health products while communicating the benefits of dietary supplements. There is not a single dietary supplement or ingredient proven to cause an eating disorder and the NPA will continue to reinforce with lawmakers the positive health outcomes associated with dietary supplementation.”