Int. No. 583
Introduced by the Speaker (Council Member Vallone) and Council Members Koslowitz, Robles, Povman, Freed and Michels; also Council Members Eisland, Fisher, O'Donovan and Robinson-read and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs.
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to restrictions on the sale of ephedrine and the posting of warnings relating to dietary supplements.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. The Council hereby finds that the laws relating to the sale of dietary supplements are lacking in protections for consumers. Health care professionals agree that herbs that are currently being sold could pose serious risks to consumers. Moreover, these herbs are sometimes sold without any warnings of those risks. Although labeling and safety testing of these products, many of which are manufactured outside of the city, should be a federal responsibility, recent federal law in this area has weakened the authority of the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to regulate these herbal products. The Council finds that products which contain substances which are the subject of FDA warnings (such as botanical ephedrine and chaparral) are being sold, in some instances without any information concerning their risks, and in other instances in a manner inconsistent with those risks. Thus, it is the Council's intent to protect the health of its residents by requiring stores in the city which sell such products which could pose serious risks, to provide customers with notice of such FDA warnings by means of signage in the stores.
The Council further finds that the availability of products containing the stimulant ephedrine, also known as ephedra or ma huang, in non-prescription products which have not gone through the FDA's over-the-counter approval process, poses a serious threat to the lives and well-being of New York City consumers. These products, which are marketed by health food stores and stores which sell herbal and homeopathic remedies, are often marketed as energy boosters or diet aids. However, this amphetamine-like stimulant can cause heart attacks and strokes, and is thought to be responsible for numerous deaths, including the recent death of a woman who allegedly fell ill while working out after taking an ephedrine-containing dietary supplement. Therefore, it is the Council's intent to ban the sale to minors, of dietary supplements containing ephedrine. It is also the Council's intent to completely prohibit the sale of any ephedrine-containing products marketed for the purpose of achieving a "high" or effect similar to that caused by some illegal street drugs.
Finally, because many people assume that the fact that many dietary supplements are natural makes them "safe", they are often taken in excessive dosages, by persons with conditions which contraindicate their use, or in combination with other supplements or drugs with they should not be sued. Therefore, the Council further finds that all retail establishments in the City of New York that sell such dietary supplements should post signage cautioning consumers to consult a medical professional when taking dietary supplements.
§2. Chapter one of title seventeen of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-179 to read as follows:
§ 17-179 a. Definitions. For purposes of this section the phrase "dietary supplement" shall mean those products defined as dietary supplements pursuant to the federal Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, 21 U.S.C. 321 as amended.
b. Restrictions on sale of ephedrine, ephedra and ma huang. 1. No person shall sell any dietary supplement that contains any quantity of ephedrine, ephedra or ma huang to any individual under eighteen years of age.
2. No person shall sell any dietary supplement that contains any quantity of ephedrine, ephedra or ma huang, the packing, labeling or name of which states, implies or claims that such product produces such effects or sensations as euphoria, ecstasy, "highs" or other similar effects or sensations.
c. Posting of warnings of risks associated with dietary supplements. 1. The department shall issue rules requiring warnings to be posted in all retail establishments which sell or offer for sale dietary supplements which (i) have been linked in published literature, statements or reports of the food and drug administration warnings against their consumption. Such warnings shall consist of either the statement by the food and drug administration warning against such consumption in its entirety or excerpts of such statement. Such rules shall also prescribe the manner in which such warnings shall be posted at the point of display of the dietary supplements which are the subject of such warnings.
2. The department shall issue rules requiring a general warning to be posted in all retail establishments which sell or offer for sale dietary supplements stating that consumers should discuss any dietary supplements including concentrations, amounts and possible interactions with medications, with a health care professional. Such rules shall prescribe the wording of such warning as well as the manner in which such warning shall be posted.
d. Violations; penalties. 1. Any person who violates any provision of subdivision b of this section, or any of the rules promulgated thereunder, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment of not more than ninety days or both.
2. In addition to the penalties prescribed by subparagraph one of this subdivision, any person who violates any of the provisions of this section or any of the rules promulgated hereunder shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation.
3. In addition to employees of the department, employees of the department of consumer affairs shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this section and may issue notices of violation, appearance tickets or summonses for violations thereof.
e. Rules. The commissioner shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of this section and such other rules as may be necessary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section.
§ 3. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law.
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Note: Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] to be omitted.