CRN and NPA decry New Jersey’s bid to ban weight loss and muscle-building supplements for minors

New Jersey bill A1848, which would prohibit the sale of supplements for weight loss or muscle-building to consumers under the age of 18, has advanced in a 6 to 2 vote by the New Jersey Legislature Assembly Health Committee.

As part of an ongoing slate of proposed legislation across the US, Steve Mister, the president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), and the Natural Products Association (NPA), both testified before the State’s legislature. The two organizations recently quashed similar legislation in California.

“Currently, there is no credible scientific data that the products identified in this bill lead to or cause body dysmorphia, eating disorders (EDs) or mental health issues,” says CRN’s Mister. “Let’s be absolutely clear about this — there is no medical literature that demonstrates a causal relationship between the use of these products and the onset or exacerbation of EDs.”

Daniel Fabricant, the president and CEO of NPA agrees, noting that while New Jersey’s assembly members have failed to pinpoint any dietary supplement as a cause of EDs, they are still pushing forward legislation that undermines public health. 

He also states that consumers should have the right to access products that “support their overall health and wellness.”

“Unfortunately, today in Trenton, the freedom of choice took a significant blow today,” he stresses. “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.”

Prohibiting a broad range of products

CRN and the NPA hold there is no scientific link between these categories of products and EDs.CRN points out that the legislation restricts access to products within two broad categories — namely, the weight management and sports nutrition categories. The main concern with legislatures is that the products could be linked to EDs, a hypothesis which both organizations say is unfounded.

CRN states it is concerned that, despite the intent to curb misuse, the legislation unnecessarily restricts access to safe, legal and regulated products and the health benefits that come from them. Moreover, the organization says that mandating age verification for purchases will inevitably reduce access across all platforms, including retailers, mail order and online distributors.

Additionally, CRN emphasizes that the legislation “casts an overly broad net” that catches many safe and beneficial sports nutrition supplements due to vague targeting of products intended for muscle-building. It attempts to restrict products based on their marketed claims, such as muscle support or weight management, rather than on the presence of illegal ingredients or proven harm.

The organization attests that this approach, which focuses on the content of product claims, violates the First Amendment. The organization is also suing the State of New York over a similar law it says unjustly targets product claims rather than harmful ingredients.

“Fraught with misunderstanding”

According to CRN, bill A1848 is “fraught with misunderstanding” and contains several issues and inconsistencies with federal law. CRN says it fails to effectively regulate online retailers, which will disproportionately impact New Jersey’s retail stores and potentially push young consumers to make online purchases instead. CRN says the bill will have follow-on effects, such as age verification checks and restricted access product placement.

It also says that — perhaps due to an error in drafting — the bill mistakenly does not address weight management supplements, only muscle-building ones, and only applies to one over-the-counter medicine. Additionally, while targeting supplements used for muscle support, like certain amino acids, it inexplicably excludes protein powders, which are commonly used for the same purpose.  

CRN spotlights that the bill overlooks various food products like bars and teas marketed for weight management, raising questions about whether there is a misunderstanding about the category of dietary supplements, which are regulated by the US FDA.

Follow on effects

CRN maintains that, if passed, the proposed legislation would impose significant compliance and economic burdens on local retailers and necessitate age verification for hundreds of products. In this way, the proposal could also hinder consumer access to safe and beneficial products and create an enormous enforcement burden on the State.

Inspecting thousands of venues, including drugstores, gyms and supermarkets, would entail substantial financial costs. The Department of Health would face increased responsibilities and financial burdens in regulating the sale of numerous existing and newly launched products.

However, CRN asserts that, most importantly, the proposal will not address the needs of adolescents with EDs, nor will it allocate the penalties collected for targeted mental health resources. Instead, the organization says that accrued penalties will be directed to general municipal funds.