Selling weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in New York is now illegal

ALBANY, NY – It is now illegal to sell weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in New York under a first-of-its-kind law that took effect this week.

Experts say lax federal regulation of dietary supplements has caused these products to sometimes include unapproved ingredients such as steroids and heavy metals, putting children at risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversees the market but does not test products before they are sold.

“The law we drafted reflects the lack of regulation by the FDA and the lack of regulation in the industry,” said Jensen Jose, a regulatory board member at the Center for Science in the Public Interest who worked on the legislation.

State lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering a similar measure. The California State House previously passed a ban on selling weight-loss supplements to minors, which was vetoed by the governor, but lawmakers are considering a new version. A Colorado law banning the sale of diet pills to minors takes effect in July.

New York law allows the state to fine companies that sell diet pills or supplements to children that promote themselves as helping to build muscle or burn fat. Protein supplements and shakes are exempt unless they contain another weight-loss or muscle-building ingredient.

Although specific products are not banned, the law states that judges applying the measure can consider the inclusion of ingredients such as creatine, green tea extract and raspberry ketone.

The project’s creators point to studies that found some supplements secretly contaminated with banned anabolic steroids and stimulants. That makes the products especially harmful to children, who are still growing, said Theresa Gentile, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

At Natural Body Astoria, a vitamin and supplement store in Queens, worker Nick Kubler said the company was already policing itself before the law took effect this week.

“We’ve never sold anything like this to kids anyway, but we’re definitely more aware now,” Kubler said.

Dhriti Rathod, a 17-year-old model and student at the New York Institute of Technology, said she was in favor of the restrictions.

“People my age don’t look at that kind of thing, they do it based on what they see online,” Rathod said. “They see that people are using it, so they jump right in and start using it, but they don’t know the dangers.”

But the new regulations have been met with resistance from the wider industry, with some retailers saying the definition of what can and cannot be sold to children is unclear.

“The actual definition of what is illegal to sell to a minor is incredibly vague,” said Lee Wright, CEO of national chain The Vitamin Shoppe.

He says the company spent “an inordinate amount of time” figuring out how to implement the new rules. Its computer systems now show a pop-up screen when the type of products targeted by the law are being sold.

The law was also challenged by at least two lawsuits from industry groups who argued that it was too vague and that regulation was the FDA’s responsibility.

In one such case, a Manhattan federal judge last Friday denied a motion by the Council for Responsible Nutrition to block the law from going into effect, finding it “uncompromisingly clear” and saying the organization’s fears of potential fines and loss of income were “pale”. compared” to the state’s goal of protecting young people from “unrestricted access to dietary supplements.”

Spokespeople for the FDA did not respond to email messages seeking comment.

State Sen. Shelley Mayer, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said implementation shouldn’t be so difficult for companies since some of them already classify their supplements into categories for weight loss or muscle building.

It’s unclear how large online retailers like Amazon will ensure they don’t ship the supplements to minors in the Empire State. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Certain products in The Vitamin Shoppe’s online store note that buyers in New York will need to present identification upon delivery.

Maxim Abramciuc, an 18-year-old who has used muscle-building supplements in the past, said that while he understands the restriction, he doesn’t completely agree with it.

“They should be able to buy some of these products,” he said while browsing a vitamin and supplement store in Albany. “If it has few side effects, why shouldn’t children take it?”

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Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover undercovered issues.