NH HB678 is sponsored by five Democrats and one Republican. Unlike bills in other states, the bill in the Granite State defines dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building as products that may include specific ingredient classes, such as thermogens, lipotropics, hormones and appetite suppressants. The bill does not list specific ingredients in each of these classes.
The bill also states that it would require pharmacies to “post a notice, that is provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, clearly communicating that certain over-the-counter diet pills, or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building are known to cause gastrointestinal impairment, tachycardia, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, severe liver injury sometimes requiring transplant or leading to death, organ failure, other serious injury and death; and imposes penalties on retail establishments that sell the supplements to minors.”
Commenting on the new bill, Kyle Turk, vice president of government affairs for the Natural Products Association, told NutraIngredients-USA: “Legislators in New Hampshire are taking a step backward in personal health. Consumers across the state rely on these products to maintain their well-being and take proactive control of their health. Consumers deserve the right to make informed choices, not to have those choices taken away.
“HB 678 threatens access to safe, effective and affordable dietary supplements that empower individuals to live healthier lives.”
Other states…
As reported by NutraIngredients-USA, state legislators in Virginia and Massachusetts introduced prohibitive bills this month. Those two bills were very similar and specifically mention creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, Garcinia cambogia and coffee bean extract. The New Hampshire bill does not.
One such bill already became law in New York when Governor Kathy Hochul put her signature to it in 2023.
The Natural Products Association and the Council for Responsible Nutrition filed separate lawsuits against that law.
CRN said this week that the Massachusetts bill is even more prohibitive than the New York law.
“The Massachusetts bill takes the regulatory overreach we saw in New York and amplifies it to a whole new level,” said Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN, in a press release. “The Massachusetts proposal directly targets retailers with burdensome requirements that prevent comparison shopping and create barriers to purchase that threaten to dismantle the industry’s ability to operate in the state.”
“By penalizing consumers and retailers rather than addressing the root causes of eating disorders among young people, Massachusetts is effectively punishing the very entities that ensure consumers have access to safe and high-quality products,” added Julia Gustafson, vice president of government relations at CRN.
“This overreach would lead to reduced choices and higher costs for consumers, all while undermining an industry that contributes significantly to the state’s economy.”
CRN also provided an update on its efforts in New York, noting that counsel for the association will argue in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the lower court erred by not granting a preliminary injunction last spring that would have halted enforcement of the New York law during the litigation.
The court hearing is scheduled for January 24, 2025 at 10 AM EST. It can be watched here.
