NJ State Assembly bill that restricts supplements to minors advances

This week the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the Natural Products Association (NPA) testified in opposition to a New Jersey State Assembly Bill which aims to prohibit the sale of certain dietary supplements to minors. No supporters of the bill offered testimony. 

A.1848​ intends to restrict access to two broad categories of products—weight loss and muscle building—by mandating retailer-imposed age restrictions that sponsors of the bill assert cause eating disorders. 

The bill advanced along party lines. Now, the bill may be referred to the appropriations committee or be sent to the floor for a vote by the entire assembly, “as of now we have to wait and see,” explained Kyle Turk, director of government affairs at NPA.

“We're certainly disappointed that the bill advanced out of committee. Assemblyman Conaway and other advocates for this bill continuously mischaracterize and misrepresent the dietary supplement industry and state that dietary supplements are not regulated at the federal level, when indeed they are.

"And more importantly, there's no connection that they can make between the use of dietary supplements and eating disorders. So it's a real disservice to not just the industry in the state of New Jersey but to consumers that they're going to be restricting access to these products to,” said Turk, who previously worked at the New Jersey State House. 

'No credible scientific data'

Opponents of the bill argue the bill lacks scientific backing. Last year the journal Nutrients​ published a CRN-funded review of scientific literature​ examining eating disorders and dietary supplements, which concluded: “The evidence to date does not support a causative role for dietary supplements in eating disorders. The use of dietary supplements for weight management in both male and female teens appears to be declining, and the objective of weight loss is not observed as a common motivation for the use of dietary supplements among this age group.”

Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN, said there continues to be no credible scientific data that the products identified in the bill lead to or cause eating disorders.

“Now let's be clear, there is no medical literature, despite what the proponents of the bill will tell you, that demonstrates a causal relationship between the use of these products and the onset or exacerbation of eating disorders," he said. "They will talk about prospective associations that X exists when Y exists, but that does not mean that X causes Y or that Y causes X. There is simply no evidence that these products cause the problems, and so restricting these products will have no effect on solving the problem."

Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA, offered a similar sentiment, noting that “once again, state legislators are ignoring science and common sense.”

"Despite failing to identify a single dietary supplement that causes eating disorders, Assemblyman Conaway and his Trenton cronies failed their constituents by advancing legislation that cripples public health," Dr. Fabricant said. "Consumers deserve access to products that support their overall health and wellness.

“Unfortunately, today in Trenton, the freedom of choice took a significant blow today. We are urging all wellness advocates to email and call their New Jersey state representatives urging their opposition to A1848 when the bill comes before the entire State Assembly.”

Last week the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) submitted a statement of opposition, acknowledging that while the bill may be well-intentioned, it would restrict access to beneficial products and create major expenses for public health regulators and retailers, all without addressing the social forces they believe are the root cause of eating disorders.

AHPA said it remains opposed to all product category specific restrictions at the state level, adding "In communication with the aligned trade, we're evaluating A1848's path forward and considering a further intervention in the state.”

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) said while it shares the Committee’s concerns associated with the potential misuse of OTC medicines intended for weight loss and dietary supplements intended for muscle building, particularly among teens, they are also concerned about the bill’s overly broad language. 

“This week, CHPA urged the Assembly Health Committee to clarify the legislation’s intent to eliminate the potential for consumer and retailer confusion and the risk of unintentionally implicating products not marketed for weight loss or muscle building. The lack of a clear distinction between weight loss products and reported adolescent misuse of other nonprescription items can lead to overreaching policies that affect unrelated dietary supplements, as we witnessed in New York State last April,” said Carlos I. Gutiérrez, CHPA vice president, state & local government affairs. “CHPA will continue advocating in support of solutions that both maintain safety standards and preserve access to these products for all New Jersey residents.” 

Déjà vu

When asked how the NJ bill compares to a NY bill signed into law in 2023​, Turk said “Essentially it is the same bill,” adding that  “they're still trying to figure out the exact language, but there will be amendments, particularly addressing online sales, that we should be seeing in the next day or so.”

Those amendments were made public Tuesday morning. 

Just last month, AHPA, NPA and UNPA (United Natural Products Alliance) expressed joint opposition to controversial legislation in California​ that also aimed to restrict dietary supplement sales to minors. The bill failed to pass Senate appropriations, a result hailed by the dietary supplements industry.

Over the last 10 years, similar proposals have been defeated in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri and Rhode Island.