A coalition of dietary supplement trade bodies has issued a statement urging industry members not to promote natural treatments as a prevention or cure for the SARS virus.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) and the Utah Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) joined up to release a statement to industry, media, regulatory authorities, and consumers.
The group said that the dietary supplement industry is keenly aware of public concern regarding SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and of the desire of the public to protect itself against this syndrome, which has led to serious illness and more than 200 deaths worldwide.
"While we support the responsible sale and use of health-promoting vitamins, minerals, herbs and other dietary supplements, we do not believe there are any dietary supplements that have been shown to prevent or treat SARS. In addition, federal law does not allow dietary supplements to claim to treat or prevent any diseases, including SARS," explained the AHPA statement.
The trade associations said that marketers and retailers of dietary supplements should refuse to stock or sell any products that are presented as preventing or curing SARS, and should not promote any dietary supplement as a preventive, cure or treatment for SARS.
"There are dietary supplements that have much to offer in terms of enhancing general immune function and disease resistance. However, therapies for the prevention or treatment of SARS should only be recommended by qualified healthcare professionals or public health authorities," continued the statement.
The associations said they recognised that there are some health conditions for which the choice of self-care should be actively discouraged, such as the current global outbreak of SARS.