We recently did a survey to find out how many people are interested in receiving information on nutritional supplements and natural, non-drug treatments that help prevent or treat disease. No surprise – we got some very big numbers! Unfortunately, FTC censorship of supplements and non-drug treatments may prevent people from getting the information they need.

Just to give you an idea of what people are specifically interested in, here is a sampling of the topics of interest. The second column is the percentage of respondents who had a strong interest in finding out what natural means can help prevent and treat these conditions or related problems.

Topic of Interest	Percentage with Strong Interest
Aging	39
Arthritis	34
Cancer	30
Diabetes	52
Digestion	31
Healthy heart	50
Hormones	30
Joint Support	33
Weight loss	34

A few of these items are also at the top of the list of killers in the U.S. Specifically, cancer, diabetes and heart problems. They’ve been at the top of the list for years. No matter how many apparent advances we see in the medical profession, no matter how many new drugs are invented and prescribed, these conditions remain at or near the top of the list.

Does that make you wonder what all those billions of research dollars are being spent on? It should. But that’s another story.

One thing is clear, however, the solutions to these problems are not really working – otherwise we would see a significant decrease. So … people want solutions.

Should the FTC, or any government agency, have the right to tell people who have found natural solutions to these problems that they can’t tell others about them? Absolutely not. Do you have right to know about them? Absolutely.

Right now, you have access to much of this type of information. But if FTC censorship continues, that will change. Anyone with solutions that aren’t drug will be squeezed out.

As with many other freedoms in life, if you want your freedom to determine the fate and direction of your own health, you have to protect it. How do you do that?

One of the most effective actions is contacting your congressman about pending legislation to make sure he or she pushes through the right stuff and stops the wrong stuff.

One piece of legislation you want to watch out for is HR 3394, Freedom of Health Speech Act. It was introduced by Ron Paul in July 2009 and would pretty much put an end to FTC censorship of legitimate products. Here is a summary of the bill, written by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of the Library of Congress:

7/29/2009–Introduced.

Freedom of Health Speech Act – Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to prohibit considering the content of any publication as advertising regulable under the Act unless the content is intended by a product seller to promote that product’s sale and the content includes the name of the product, an express offer to sell, and a purchase price. Prohibits considering any content excerpted in whole or part from a peer-reviewed scientific publication as advertising regulable under the Act. Prohibits the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from beginning an investigation of possible false advertising regarding a dietary supplement or a dietary ingredient unless the FTC already possesses clear and convincing evidence that the advertisement is false and misleading. Places the burden of proof on the FTC to show, by clear and convincing evidence, that an advertisement for a dietary supplement or dietary ingredient is false, that the advertisement actually caused consumers to be misled into believing to be true that which is false, and that, but for the false advertising content, the consumer would not have made the purchase at the price paid. Requires the FTC, if a claimed health benefit is alleged to be false advertising, to additionally establish, based on expert scientific opinion and published peer-reviewed scientific evidence, that the claim is false.

Just what the doctor ordered!

The Bill was referred to one or more committees; see Committee Assignments for more info. Once the bill has been reviewed, further action will be taken.

Unless you’re familiar with this process, it can be a bit difficult to figure out exactly what’s going on. However, you can bet that Ron Paul, who introduced the bill, is all over it. You can contact his office through his website, and find out more information. He may also know of other related pending legislation.

Three other Congressmen are co-sponsors: Dan Burton [R-IN5], Jason Chaffetz [R-UT3], Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA46]. You could also contact them.

Once you have the information you need, call your congressman. Make sure he or she knows of the pending legislation and how you feel about it. Also, spread the word – get friends and family to do the same. If you have a blog, Facebook page, or are a twitterer, get the message out there too.

Don’t bother with petitions. Research shows they pretty much get tossed in the round file. But phone calls are great. It’s hard to ignore the phone ringing all day.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. So, start squeaking! Protect your rights and freedoms – end FTC censorship now.

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