Metro Detroit lawmaker proposes bill that would ban weight loss pills for minors

Bill would ban weight loss pills, supplements for minors

Diet pills and muscle supplements have been around for decades, but what is becoming a trend, according to this local lawmaker, is manufacturers targeting younger people through marketing or social media. She wants to require anyone who wants to buy these products to be an adult and show their ID before making a purchase.

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - A new bill introduced by a Metro Detroit lawmaker aims to protect minors from what she says are hidden dangers connected to weight-loss pills and muscle-building supplements.

Representative Erin Byrnes introduced the Weight Loss Product and Minor Act days prior.

Big picture view:

Diet pills and muscle supplements have been around for decades, but what is becoming a trend, according to this local lawmaker, is manufacturers targeting younger people through marketing or social media. She wants to require anyone who wants to buy these products to be an adult and show their ID before making a purchase.

The Weight Loss Product and Minor Act was introduced in Lansing a few days ago by Representative Erin Byrnes from Dearborn. She got the idea from a Harvard group that successfully passed a similar law in New York.

She says diet pills and creatine gummies, for example, are often unregulated and treated as food items rather than drugs. With that, she claims, no one needs to prove they work, and no one is really paying close attention to what's in the supplements.

Dig deeper:

In the representative's study, she found that some of these items contained lead and additives that can become habit-forming, all of which can be harmful to young people. She wants to give the Board of Pharmacy more power to regulate these items and require anyone who wants to buy them in Michigan to show an ID to confirm they are over 18 years old.

"These products are marketed in a way to encourage our young people to pursue an unrealistic and unhealthy standard for body image," Byrnes said. "There are many products that fall under that umbrella. Ultimately, the board will decide what that looks like."

Rep. Byrnes says they are in the early stages of this bill, but it does have bipartisan support.

The other side:

Not everyone is in favor of the legislation. A trade association that represents the manufacturers of dietary supplements says the industry is regulated by the federal government and that manufacturers adhere to the same standards the FDA upholds for food safety.

"Contrary to the claim that "we don’t know what’s in these products," responsible companies routinely test for identity, purity, and potency using third-party certifications such as USP, NSF, and ConsumerLab. Supplement labeling requirements are strictly defined by FDA, and ingredients must be declared," read a statement from the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

The trade group also cited surveys showing a majority of Americans taking dietary supplements each year. 

They also argued the bill "mischaracterizes" the issue because it appears to be modeled off of a different state's law that restricts access to supplements, despite research not showing any "causal link between dietary supplement use and eating disorders in youth."