04.20.23
Two identical bills have been introduced to the New York State Assembly and Senate to restrict minors from purchasing dietary supplements marketed to support weight management and muscle building.
These bills are an updated version of previous bills that were vetoed by Governor Kathy Hochul in January, who said the bill would require the Department of Health (DOH) to determine what products should be limited under this new law. She furthered stated that DOH lacked the expertise to analyze ingredients used in countless products, a job for the Food and Drug Administration. She said it would be unfair to place the burden on retailers to determine which products are suitable for sale over the counter to minors in the face of threats to civil penalties.
The legislation provides specific examples of the types of marketing these products may contain, such as expressing or implying that a product will do any of the following:
“modify, maintain, or reduce body weight, fat, appetite, overall metabolism, or the process by which nutrients are metabolized; or
maintain or increase muscle or strength;
“whether the product or its ingredients are otherwise represented for the purpose of achieving weight loss or building muscle.”
Likewise, the legislation also provides examples of how retailers might categorize or place items that would qualify them as “weight loss or muscle building” products, namely:
placing signs, categorizing, or tagging the supplement with statements described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision;
grouping the supplements with other weight loss or muscle building products in a display, advertisement, webpage, or area of the store; or
otherwise representing that the product is for weight loss or muscle building.
Additionally, the legislation more specifically defines retail establishments, incorporating other means of purchasing weight loss or muscle building products.
A Continued Push to Ban Sale of Weight Management Products to Minors
Similar bills have been introduced throughout the country, and industry has largely succeeded in defeating them, but lawmakers continue to push for banning the sale of weight management and sports nutrition products to minors, citing a relationship between dietary supplements and eating disorders. Industry flatly rejects this claim, and the Natural Products Association (NPA) found no adverse event reporting that would demonstrate a relationship between dietary supplements and eating disorders after filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Additionally, ingredients explicitly named in the legislation, such as creatine, have an established history of safe use. Beyond that, industry advocates argue that the overwhelming burden of the legislation will fall squarely on brick-and-mortar retailers, even if the law applies to e-commerce and other avenues.
Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA calls the legislation “a full assault on brick-and-mortar without any justification or scientific basis behind it.”