The supplement industry was unanimous in its opposition to a bill in Maryland with 12 co-sponsors that would restrict sales of “diet pills” and require dire warnings to be posted. 

Dietary supplement stakeholder groups have teamed up to oppose a Maryland bill that would restrict sales of “diet pills” to underage consumers to protect eating disorder sufferers. The groups claimed there is no evidence that links supplements to these disorders, among raising other objections.

House Bill 634 would require dietary supplements aimed at weight management—referred to as “diet pills” in the legislation—to be placed behind a counter and sold only to those consumers who can prove they are at least 18. 

In addition, the bill would require retailers to post a warning that, “Specified diet pills may contribute to gastrointestinal [GI] impairment, tachycardia, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, organ failure, severe liver injury sometimes requiring a transplant or leading to death, or other serious injuries or death.”

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Cailey Locklair of the Maryland Retailers Association testified that if some of her organization’s concerns were addressed, the group would be neutral on the bill. She said retailers could conceivably be able to ask for identification when selling the products, but Locklair said sequestering them was unrealistic because of the hundreds of products potentially covered by the bill. 

Also, she said the health warnings called for in the bill didn’t make much sense either, since many over-the-counter products that carry risks are sold without such prominent signage and make do with warnings on labels.

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