The Natural Products Association (NPA) is calling for the New York state legislature to reject a proposal that would prohibit the sale of popular nutritional supplements like protein powder. NPA has led successful efforts to block similar proposals in Massachusetts and Illinois.

“Prohibition of popular consumer products almost never works. Prohibiting the sale of products by licensed retailers in New York will only make consumers more vulnerable to fly-by-night outfits selling fake products and illegal drugs masquerading as supplements. Now is not the time to introduce proposals that harm brick and mortar retailers, especially small businesses. We urge the legislature to reject this dangerous proposal,” said Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA.

This legislation targets lipotropics, which are found in healthy and recommended foods, including lean cuts of beef, chicken, turkey and fish, thermogens, which are found in products containing caffeine, and muscle-building supplements such as amino acids and vitamin D. The bill’s sponsors claim that the legislation is necessary because of an association between dietary supplements and eating disorders, yet no such association has been proven by a review of the most authoritative publicly available data. In fact, NPA’s professional staff was so interested in the allegation that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine if any such association existed; it found no adverse events or reporting associated with dietary supplements and eating disorders. There was no linkage whatsoever, according to the association.

The proposal was introduced and referred to the New York Assembly’s Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee on March 12, and a hearing has yet to be scheduled. NPA launched a new grassroots campaign urging its thousands of members to contact New York lawmakers and ask them to reject this  proposal. NPA’s grassroots campaign can be viewed here.