¹Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Correspondence: JD Morrow, jason.morrow@vanderbilt.edu

Note from Guest Editor: One of the most difficult issues facing the Food and Drug Administration is how best to regulate natural health products and herbal medicines. In this Point/Counterpoint, two experts with different points of view were asked to address the same four questions regarding the regulation of these widely used products.

Abstract

It has been 3 years since the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) issued a position statement regarding dietary supplement safety and regulation.¹ I was the Chair of the ASCPT task force charged with issuing the statement. At the time, after careful review of available data, the other members and I concluded that dietary supplement legislation in the United States was lacking and that enhanced oversight was essential to increase the safety of these products for the American consumer.