Texas House Bill 1474 was introduced on Nov. 26 by Representative Suleman Lalani, M.D. [D], and, if it passes, would go into effect on Sept. 1, 2025.
The bill contains very similar language to the one that passed in New York last year and defines a weight loss or muscle building dietary supplement as containing “creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia or green coffee bean extract.” The exact same ingredients are also listed in a bill that passed through the New Jersey Assembly this year.
The bill adds that the definition also includes products that are “labeled or marketed using statements or images that express or imply the supplement will help:
(i) modify, maintain, or reduce body weight, fat, appetite, overall metabolism, or the process by which nutrients are metabolized; or
(ii) maintain or increase muscle or strength”.
This is the latest in a campaign of legislative efforts across the country to restrict access to certain categories of dietary supplements. Previous efforts have mostly come in Democratic-led states, like New York, California, and New Jersey, and a bill being introduced in the Lone Star State was not something that was on many people’s 2024 bingo card.
Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), said that this should get people’s attention. NPA has already launched its grassroots campaign, he said, with over 1,000 letters already submitted to the State House via their online action center.
Kyle Turk, NPA’s director of government affairs, added that the association has already reached out to the bill sponsor to start an “open and honest dialogue”.
“When you look at creatine, which is specifically mentioned in the bill, that’s got hundreds of studies on its benefits listed on clinicaltrials.gov, we want to be able to educate them on that. Then we would start meeting with other Representatives in Texas, members of the committee, etc.”
The bill will be considered in the 89th legislative session in Texas, which begins on January 14th, 2025. That session is slated to run for 140 days, but Turk noted that in previous years the sessions often finished earlier.
“We’re going to have to move quickly,” he said, “and work to explain why this shouldn’t be an issue for the Texas legislature.”
STRIPED
The restrictive efforts reportedly originate from the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), launched as a “public health incubator” based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Proponents of the restrictions cite a purported link between the use of such products and the worsening of eating disorders, even though a review of the scientific literature funded by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) concluded that 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,” wrote Susan Hewlings, PhD, RD, the author of the review, which was published in Nutrients.
CRN: Significant concerns
In a statement, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) expressed significant concerns with the bill as currently written.
“While we share lawmakers’ commitment to promoting consumer safety, we believe the proposed legislation takes an overly broad approach that could inadvertently impact legitimate dietary supplements without addressing the root causes of public health concerns,” said the statement.
“There is no causal connection between dietary supplements and eating disorders, and we caution against policy measures that perpetuate this misconception.
“The dietary supplement industry is committed to the responsible manufacturing and marketing of products that support health and wellness. H.B. 1474’s provisions, including the requirement to restrict access to certain products by placing them behind the counter or in locked cases, raise serious questions about the practical and economic impacts on retailers and manufacturers, as well as the availability of legitimate products to consumers.”
CRN added that it is assessing the potential consequences of this proposed legislation and will engage with stakeholders in Austin “to ensure that public health measures are guided by sound science and a balanced understanding of the issues at hand”.
Elsewhere…
Earlier this year, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the Natural Products Association (NPA) and the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) 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.
A similar bill passed the New Jersey Assembly in October (A1848). The bill was received in the New Jersey Senate yesterday (Dec. 5) and referred to the Senate’s Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. However, there is currently no accompanying Senate bill to AB1848.
NPA’s Turk added that a pre-file has been submitted in New Hampshire indicating that a similar bill is expected to be filed in the Granite State in 2025.
Over the last 10 years, similar proposals have been defeated in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri and Rhode Island.
