CMG partner Rick Collins is heading to Colorado Springs this week for the 10th Annual International Society of Sports Nutrition Conference – being held on June 14th and 15th [...]
Read moreFollowing several stories in the media which discussed the safety of DMAA and prior to Rock Center’s report on Friday evening, FDA issued an official statement warning consumers about DMAA. For more information check out FDA’s article here.
As always, if you are in need of legal counsel when it comes to how to ensure that you are best complying with all current and reasonably anticipated future regulations in the dietary supplement industry, call us anytime at 516-294-0300.
Photo by: by David Heasley
For the 11th consecutive year, Collins, McDonald & Gann will be playing a major role at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio (www.arnoldsportsfestival.com) – which has grown to be the largest multi-sport event in the nation. The event, which attracts more than 175,000 fitness enthusiasts and industry professionals each year, is marking an important milestone this year – as The Arnold Classic celebrates its 25th Anniversary by honoring all former past winners of the men’s professional bodybuilding championships named in honor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the sport’s greatest champion. The 2013 Arnold Sports Festival is taking place this year from February 28th through March 3rd .
Once again, CMG is sponsoring the Arnold Amateur competitions – where CMG partner Rick Collins (a former competitive bodybuilder himself) will be presenting awards and handing out trophies for a number of the competitions, both at Veterans Memorial and on the Expo Stage. Joining him in the presentation of awards this year will be new associate Katie Weitzman, attending The Arnold for the first time this year, and presenting awards in the Master Women’s Fitness category. As in previous years, in addition to sponsoring the amateur contests, CMG will also be sponsoring the Arm Wrestling Competition – noted to be the premier arm sport event in the world.
We’re excited to once again be playing an important role at this major event and are looking forward to meeting with fellow fitness enthusiasts throughout the country who gather each year to experience thrilling moments of sports competition and fitness entertainment. In addition to the competitions, the event also gives attendees the opportunity to experience the Arnold Fitness EXPO – where more than 700 booths will showcase the biggest names in health and fitness presenting the latest trends in fitness apparel, supplements and training equipment.
Throughout the weekend, we’re looking forward to meeting with clients and others in the industry (including readers of Rick’s Muscular Development column) – and welcome the opportunity to meet with all those attending. Please seek us out to say hello – we’d love to talk to you about some of today’s key issues in the health/fitness industry. With so many new and continuing developments in the health/sports/fitness arena, we have some important insight in this area – and would love to meet with you.
We extend our best wishes to all of the athletes competing at this year’s events and wish all of the competitors good luck. Again, with our personal experience in the world of bodybuilding and fitness, we know first-hand of the demands of this competitive sport — and we greatly admire and respect each participant in this year’s events.
Check back on our website and Facebook pages for photos and updates from this year’s 2013 Arnold Sports Festival – we’ll be sure to keep you updated with news from this year’s competitive events … as well as other important information in the health/fitness/supplement industry!
For more information about the 2013 Arnold Sports Festival, including a complete schedule of all events and competitions, visit www.arnoldsportsfestival.com.
When a high-profile athlete commits an act of tragic violence, thoughts quickly turn to the possibility that steroid-induced rage was the cause. Such was the kneejerk assumption of media pundits regarding the double murder and suicide of former WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, and many still believe it, notwithstanding evidence of massive alcohol consumption and the degenerative brain condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (which can cause confusion, impaired judgment, paranoia, poor impulse control, aggression, depression, memory loss and dementia). In the murder case against “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius for the death of law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp, the “roid rage” assumption received initial validation by reports that “boxes and boxes” of anabolic steroids and hypodermic syringes were found in his bedroom at the scene of the crime.
Identifying a simple, solitary cause for incomprehensible brutality may be both easier for journalists to report and more comforting for the public to accept than that the roots of such behavior lie in the human heart. But it doesn’t make it true. Research suggests an association between steroids and aggression, but that doesn’t mean a cause and effect relationship exists. The notion that anabolic steroid use typically induces uncontrollable fits of rage is a myth. Like many myths, it has a kernel of truth at its core but has been distorted into something having little to do with fact. The vast, overwhelming majority of anabolic steroid users aren’t committing murder and mayhem. Studies administering moderate dosages of the substances have resulted in no discernible psychiatric problems. While in a very small percentage of possibly “predisposed” individuals, steroids can lead to varying psychiatric symptoms, the appearance of these symptoms is generally correlated to dosage (1,000 mg. per week) and may also be rooted in previous mental illness or abuse of other drugs. While it’s convenient to assume simple explanations for unfathomable conduct, the truth is that human behavior is extremely complicated and rarely, if ever, can it be simplified down to a single causal factor.
Read the full post at the Huffington Post>
Check out an article in today’s Daily News where our own Rick Collins is quoted in a story on “Roid Rage” and Oscar Pistorius ….
http://www.nydailynews.com/
What’s the truth about energy drinks? Safe? Dangerous? Effective? A multidisciplinary team including CMG partner Rick Collins have researched and issued the Position Stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
In 2012, FDA warned numerous companies that synthetic DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine) is not a dietary ingredient, and now state lawmakers have submitted proposals to regulate the ingredient at the state level. For example, on January 17, 2013, New York State Senate Co-Leader Sen. Jeff Klein submitted legislation to ban sales of products containing DMAA in New York.
This proposed legislation follows recent class action settlements in lawsuits involving DMAA. In December, USP Labs agreed to reserve $2 million for consumer redress in a class action lawsuit alleging that two of its supplements made false claims about the ingredient’s safety and effectiveness. A class action lawsuit against GNC alleging similar claims as the one against USP has yet to be resolved.
A story in yesterday’s Guardian also noted that consumers in the UK can still purchase DMAA online even though the UK banned the sale of the ingredient four months after DMAA contributed to a marathon runner’s death at the London marathon last year.
On January 8, 2013 the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reversed a statement it previously made in a December 19, 2012 article regarding the adverse effects of energy drinks. In the December article, JAMA misrepresented FDA’s regulatory control over the energy drink market by claiming that FDA does not regulate energy drinks. JAMA has now corrected its position to concede that “energy drinks are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration.” Although JAMA revised its position, it did not specifically point out the correction to its readership.
This example represents one of the many ways in which media sources tend to misrepresent the regulatory framework regarding dietary supplements to make it appear as if FDA has no oversight in the industry. With the passage of DSHEA almost 20 years ago, it is clear that this is not the case. We hope that other media outlets will use JAMA’s mistake to ensure that their stories are thoroughly researched before publication to ensure truthful reporting of news in the dietary supplement and functional food industries.
Check out the November 2012-January 2013 issue of HERBALGRAM, The Journal of the American Botanical Council in which Rick Collins is quoted in the featured article about the use of dietary supplements in the sports industry.
The article, titled Dietary Supplements and Botanicals in Sports: Evidence, Regulation, and Doping Controversies describes the relationship between professional athletes and dietary supplements, noting specific cases when adulterated dietary supplements have resulted in athletes failing doping tests. The article also covers the legislative framework that is currently in place. In describing the proposed Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012, sponsored by U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in July 2012, Rick Collins stated:
“The bill corrects the terrible design and drafting of the previous anti-steroid legislation from 1990-2004…The new bill, if passed, is structured to accomplish what Congress likely intended in its prior botched efforts: to criminalize a long list of specific compounds as well as unlisted steroidal substances that are similar to them.”
The article concludes by stating what the author believes is necessary to make progress in the industry. “In order to progress toward resolving these issues, responsible parts of the dietary supplements industry, analysis labs, sports and anti-doping organizations, and the media must collaborate to support athletes through education, vigilance, and open-mindedness toward the reality of the situation.”[1]
[1] Lindsay Stafford Mader, Dietary Supplements and Botanicals in Sports: Evidence, Regulation, and Doping Controversies, HERBALGRAM, Number 96 (2012).
The National Advertising Division (NAD) has been keeping busy following its annual conference earlier this month. Here is a summary of its recent decisions and policy updates that will affect dietary supplement and sports nutrition product manufacturers*:
In response to advertisers facing an increase in class action suits after NAD review, the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC) updated NAD’s policies to clarify that NAD decisions “do not constitute a finding that the law has been violated.” This policy change will be helpful to supplement companies should a NAD decision heighten attention surrounding a specific product, causing an increase in class action litigation.
NAD has also provided guidance to advertisers making bioavailable and natural claims—two areas important to the supplement category where government regulators have yet to provide official guidance. In addressing a bioavailability claim, NAD advised Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. to stop making certain bioavailability claims due to a lack of scientific evidence. At NAD’s annual conference, NAD senior staff attorney Kat Dunnigan noted that to make a substantiated claim, the testing provided to NAD must “prove the thing you are trying to prove.” For this reason, NAD based its suggestions to Vital Pharmaceuticals on its finding that in vitro tests cannot tell a manufacturer about actual human absorption when making a bioavailability claim. READ MORE »
Q: What is the “2012 Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act Draft Bill”?
A: It’s a Senate Bill (SB 3431) introduced by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and referred to the Judiciary Committee. If passed by Congress, it will amend the Controlled Substances Act to more aggressively regulate steroidal substances being sold as dietary supplement ingredients. The clear intent is to remove remaining “prohormone” products from the market and prevent new ones from being introduced. The bill would take such past or present supplement products as ATD, 6-oxo, 6-bromo, Furazadrol, Halodrol, Havoc, and Tren and legally classify them as anabolic steroids and Controlled Substances. Here’s what Sen. Whitehouse said in introducing the bill on July 25th, 2012:
“… I am pleased to join Senator Hatch in introducing the bipartisan Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012. This measure will help keep American children and families safe from dangerous designer drugs that masquerade as healthy dietary supplements. This legislation is based on Senator Specter’s work in the previous Congress, and I thank him for his leadership on this issue.
Doctors and scientists have long recognized the health hazards of non-medical use of anabolic steroids. For that reason, Congress has previously acted to ensure that these drugs are listed as controlled substances. Nonetheless, according to investigative reporting and Congressional testimony, a loophole in current law allows for designer anabolic steroids to easily be found on the Internet, in gyms, and even in retail stores. READ MORE »
