On Nov. 12, Michigan introduced House Bill No. 5250, also called the “Weight Loss Products and Minors Act,” a bill designed to prohibit the sale of weight loss or muscle building dietary supplements and over-the-counter diet pills to minors.
Michigan is now the latest state to introduce such a bill. Other states include Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia, New Hampshire, Illinois, Maryland and Washington.
The bill applies to products that contain ingredients such as creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, Garcinia cambogia and coffee bean extract.
According to the law, physical retailers would require customers to prove they’re at least 18 by presenting identification such as driver’s license or passport when purchasing prohibited supplements. Online retailers would be required to ask for a consumer’s full name, birthdate and address, and then cross-verify against a database. Retailers could potentially be fined up to $1,000 per violation of the bill.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) criticized HB 5250.
“The Council for Responsible Nutrition opposes Michigan House Bill 5250 in its current form because it is premised on a misunderstanding of both the science and the regulation of dietary supplements,” a CRN spokesperson said. “There is no credible evidence linking these products to the development or worsening of eating disorders, and age restrictions would not address the complex psychological and social factors that truly drive these conditions. Dietary supplements are already extensively regulated by the FDA, and imposing age limits would unnecessarily restrict access for all consumers, stigmatize safe and legal products, and—because these kinds of bills are often overly broad—risk sweeping in basic vitamins and minerals never intended to be targeted.”
For more information, visit www.legislature.mi.gov.
