NPA to Testify and Activate Grassroots in Opposition to Bill; NPA Has Blocked Similar Efforts in Massachusetts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Natural Products Association (NPA) today is calling for the Illinois state legislature to reject a proposal that would restrict consumers’ access to popular nutritional supplements and likely drive customers under the age of 18 to shop on the internet instead. The proposal would require businesses to put nutritional supplements under lock and key, only be accessible by a store manager. This requirement would place a burden on small businesses who would have to retrofit stores to comply with the law. NPA has led successful efforts to block a similar proposal in Massachusetts in recent years.
The hearing will take place at 8:30 AM CST today in Room C-1 of the Stratton Building in Springfield, Illinois.
“Nutritional supplements are simply natural ingredients found in foods. Restricting access to them is unfair to Illinois consumers, hurts responsible retailers and drains the state budget through lost sales taxes. Nobody wins,” said Kyle Turk, Deputy Director for Government Affairs for NPA.
This legislation targets lipotropics, which are found in healthy and recommended foods, including lean cuts of beef, chicken, turkey and fish, thermogens, which are found in products containing caffeine, and muscle building supplements such as amino acids and vitamin D. The bill’s sponsors claim that the legislation is necessary because of an association between dietary supplements and eating disorders, yet no such association has been proven by a review of the most authoritative publicly-available data. In fact, NPA’s professional staff was so interested in the allegation that it filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine if any such association existed and found no adverse events or reporting associated with dietary supplements and eating disorders. There was no linkage whatsoever.
The natural products industry contributes $5.75 billion in state and local taxes each year and supports over 750,000 jobs. NPA also urged the state treasury and/or the relevant budget and revenue committees in the legislature to conduct a formal analysis of the lost revenue that would result from this legislation.
###
Natural Products Association
The Natural Products Association (NPA) is the trade association representing the entire natural products industry. 
We advocate for our members who supply, manufacture and sell natural ingredients or products for consumers. The Natural Products Association promotes good manufacturing practices as part of the growth and success of the industry. Founded in 1936, NPA represents approximately 1,000 members accounting for more than 10,000 locations of retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural products, including foods, dietary supplements and health/beauty aids. Visit www.npanational.org.
