FDA Loses Landmark First Amendment Case

The cover of Life Extension Magazine (July 2012) free issue available in healthfood stores announces:

Legal Victory!
FDA Loses Landmark First Amendment Case.

Another Victory against FDA Censorship.

“A federal judge has again ruled the FDA violated the First Amendment to the US constitution when it tried to censor a health claim about the anti-cancer effects of a dietary supplement.

Details [www.lef.org]

LE Magazine July 2012 [www.lef.org]

Another Victory Against FDA Censorship
By William Faloon

A federal judge has again ruled the FDA violated the First Amendment to the US constitution when it tried to censor a health claim about the anti-cancer effects of a dietary supplement.

In this case, a company selling green tea leaves wanted to state on their label that “green tea may prevent prostate and breast cancer.” The FDA insisted that the claim also contain the following statement:

“The FDA does not agree that green tea may reduce the risk because there is very little scientific evidence for the claim.”[1]

A US District Court ruled that by forcing the company to put this negative statement on their label, the ability of this health information to be communicated was effectively negated. The judge ordered the FDA to draft an accurate disclaimer that does not nullify the cancer prevention claim altogether.

In the November 2005 issue of this magazine, I wrote an article about the FDA’s absurd position on the green tea cancer debate. My argument back then was that the FDA had misinterpreted and overlooked substantial published evidence about green tea’s cancer preventive effects. Since then, a host of new studies has shown a protective effect of green tea against common cancers.[2-15] A 2009 study for example, showed that women who drank three cups of green tea a day reduced their risk of breast cancer by 37%.[16]

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