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Nanny State Extremism

by John F. Tamburo, Editor in Chief, Publisher
Originally Posted: 7/12/2005 10:56:44 AM

We’ve all seen those Enzyte commercials, with Bob, who is taking a pill that supposedly gives his nether regions a massive "boost of confidence."  We’ve seen those commercials for a diet pill for $153 per bottle.  These items are actually not prescription or over-the-counter drugs.  They’re sold as food supplements, since there is virtually no regulation of food supplements when compared to pharmaceuticals.  Frankly, while there are some effecacious items in the food supplement arena, most are the modern-day version of snake oil.  It’s now reported that the  EU has decided to slap tough restrictions on the food supplement / vitamin marketplace.

"While some of these "dietary supplement" scams are beyond disgusting, we don’t believe that the government should be regulating every minute aspect of our lives.  The vast majority of people have common sense."

While some of these "dietary supplement" scams are beyond disgusting, we don’t believe that the government should be regulating every minute aspect of our lives.  The vast majority of people have common sense.  We know that a pill filled with herbs will never make one’s reproductive organ grow larger.  Because less than 100% of the people have common sense, the EU now feels obligated to step in and treat everyone like two-year-olds.  It’s insane, it’s condescending to the vast majority of the people, it’s growing government in an unnecessary and dangerous manner.

There are already strong laws worldwide that can be used against con artists who pack some plants into gelcaps and sell them for things they cannot do.  The scammers can easily be prosecuted.  Enzyte, for example, has spawned a class action lawsuit regarding its marketers’ alleged grand claims and their alleged refusal to honor their money-back guarantees.  The FTC has taken action against the marketers of similar products.  We did not need a set of laws that imposed a whole new bureaucracy upon the citizens.

"There are professional wholistic health practitioners, people who obtain actual results, using food supplements."

There are food supplement remedies that are legitimately useful.  St. John’s Wort is effectively used to treat dysthymia and depression.  There are professional wholistic health practitioners, people who obtain actual results, using food supplements.  Under the EU regime, their products, even those available for many years, must now be submitted for approval.  This process is expensive, hideously expensive.

What this EU decision does is foreclose the peoples’ options.  It’s a subsidy for the socialized medicine industry, since wholistic health options will be burdened with massive regulatory costs.  It’s yet another example of the leftist nanny state run amok.  Liberals love to legislate your rights away, in the name of preventing you from making your own choices in life.  What they do is, whether or not these liberals recognize it, evil.

Right now, the GOP controls both houses of Congress and the White House.  We’re probably safe from such left-wing handholding for right now, unless some socialist liberal judge gets it in his or her head to legislate this from the bench.  Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.