- Статьи
- Society
- Food surcharges: doctors will be banned from uncontrolled prescribing of dietary supplements
Food surcharges: doctors will be banned from uncontrolled prescribing of dietary supplements
Doctors will be obliged to prescribe to patients only those dietary supplements which meet quality criteria. Such amendments by Rospotrebnadzor to the Government's draft law were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. Inaddition, the document retains a ban on the dissemination of information containing a proposal to retail banned dietarysupplements, including via the Internet. Uncontrolled use of dietary supplements can harm health, doctors say. At the same time, many supplements are ineffective, although manufacturers offer them under the guise of drugs for all diseases.
How dietary supplements will be regulated
Doctors will be restricted in prescribing biologically active supplements to patients. Dietary supplements will have to meet quality requirements, i.e. pass all examinations and prove their effectiveness. The corresponding amendments of Rospotrebnadzor to the draft law of the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday, December 16, approved the Pravkomissiya commission on legislative activity. This was reported to "Izvestia" by sources in the government. In addition, a list of dietary supplements and diseases in which they can be prescribed will be established.
The bill on biologically active supplements, which was adopted by the State Duma in the first reading in July 2024, continues to develop taking into account the amendments of various agencies, recalled Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia.
He explained that the provisions of the bill provide for the expansion of the use of biologically active supplements to protect the health of citizens and prevent the development of diseases or their complications. Particular attention is paid to the improvement of legal regulation in this area, as well as the prevention of improper quality dietary supplements on the market.
- One of the key initiatives proposed by Rospotrebnadzor was the introduction of special registration for Russian manufacturers. This will simplify the process of transferring the results of research (testing) of samples of dietary supplements to the federal body responsible for their state registration. Tests should be conducted only in accredited laboratories, - said Vladimir Gruzdev. - The amendments clarify the provisions concerning the establishment of quality criteria for dietary supplements and raw materials used for their production.
The Chairman of the Board of the UBA added that the lists of dietary supplements and diseases for which they can be prescribed will be formed on the basis of these criteria.
In addition, the updated version of the bill still proposes to restrict advertising of banned dietary supplements, including via the Internet.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health in its feedback (Izvestia has it) emphasized that the establishment of the principle of prescribing dietary supplements according to methodological recommendations ruins the basis of medical care - clinical recommendations - defined by the legislation.
"In this regard , the purpose of the regulation, which enshrines a peremptory norm that restricts the activities of medical workers and establishes a template approach to the use of dietary supplements, is unclear," the agency pointed out.- It seems appropriate to retain the established approach for medical activity, allowing the choice of treatment options by the medical worker on the basis of the principles of evidence-based medicine".
According to the document, the law will come into force on March 1, 2025, and some of its paragraphs - from September 1.
How dangerous are dietary supplements
Since 2022, the structure of dietary supplements sold in Russia has changed significantly, said Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets.
- The share of imports from Western countries is rapidly decreasing, while the share of domestic dietary supplements is growing, including through contract manufacturing in China," he said. - Thus, recently it has become popular for bloggers with a large audience to sell dietary supplements created in China with a similar composition of other brands, i.e. a kind of content monetization. The income from the sale of dietary supplements through their own online stores is difficult to calculate.
The tightening of the rules, according to the expert, will primarily affect legal businesses that comply with all legal requirements in terms of the production and sale of such supplements.
- Persons who sold harmful additives with the use of even psychotropic substances, as working in the gray zone, and will continue, - believes Igor Rastorguev. - If the requirements of marketplaces become stricter, they will simply flow into other channels, for example Telegram.
Dietary supplements are supplements that, according to the manufacturers' information, contain biologically active substances: vitamins and minerals, plant extracts, amino acids and proteins, probiotics. They come in a variety of forms - from the usual tablets and capsules to powders, cocktails, solutions and even desserts, reminded the expert physician of the laboratory "Gemotest" Ekaterina Demyanovskaya.
- If dietary supplements are taken as indicated and prescribed by a doctor, they can effectively supplement the diet, correct nutrient deficiencies and improve the work of certain systems and organs or the entire body, - she explained. - For example, to help strengthen immunity, reduce the severity of dizziness, enhance the effect of physical training, support the health of bones and joints.
The danger of dietary supplements, according to the specialist, is that they are not medicines, which means that the requirements for them are not so strict. This applies to production and certification, as well as distribution.
- For example, for their approval it is not necessary to conduct clinical trials, they can easily be bought at the checkout in a supermarket or on the marketplace, - emphasized the doctor. - Thus, people are much more tempted to "prescribe" their own dietary supplements. This means that the risk of complications from taking them is also higher.
The use of vitamins and minerals without indications can lead to their excess in the body. In the case of some substances, such as fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), overdose can cause disorders of the nervous, digestive, cardiovascular systems, and in severe cases - and death.
Dangerous can be the interaction of dietary supplements with drugs: supplements can affect the absorption of drugs and reduce their effectiveness. Therefore, their use should always be discussed with a doctor.
- It should be remembered that dietary supplements can cause allergic reactions - from a mild rash or itching to edema and even anaphylactic shock, - emphasized Ekaterina Demyanovskaya. - And one more important aspect: not all dietary supplements have clinically proven effectiveness. Therefore, their use may simply be useless.
In general, however, the use of such supplements prescribed by a doctor is usually justified and really helps to improve health. Sometimes manufacturers release their product as a dietary supplement solely to simplify the approval process to get it to market, the doctor explained.
If dietary supplements will be regulated, for example, labeled, it will be more difficult for manufacturers to disguise low-quality raw materials in the composition and mislead customers about the properties of the proposed product. However, as the expert pointed out, the responsibility for taking dietary supplements, as well as any other over-the-counter medicines, will still lie with the consumer. But the price of supplements may increase significantly.
