A New Jersey (NJ) lawmaker has introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of certain dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to minors, joining other states in their restrictive efforts to curb access to supplements.
NJ Assemblywoman Shanique Speight’s bill, NJ A5487, would prohibit retailers from selling these types of supplements to minors unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. For online retailers, the bill would require an adult’s signature upon delivery.
READ MORE: Defend our access to supplements, functional foods
State-by-state efforts
The bill, currently in committee in the Garden State’s legislature, joins the patchwork of state-by-state regulations introduced purportedly to curb the increase in eating disorders in young people. Speight’s proposal is like other bills in Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, Rhode Island, Colorado, Texas, Connecticut, and one in New York State; industry trade groups have appealed the New York law.
Trade groups have repeatedly pointed to a peer-reviewed study from 2023 which debunks the eating disorder theory. (See the industry group, Council for Responsible Nutrition’s video covering the findings.)
Supplements are federally regulated. The introduction of state-wide regulations like NJ’s A5487 and others cause confusion in the marketplace and undermines consumer choice. Further, the New Jersey bill harms retailers with the possibility of civil penalties up to $750 per violation.
How to make your voice heard
Citizens for Health joins the Natural Products Association in objecting to New Jersey’s restrictive and counterproductive bill. We urge you to tell NJ lawmakers to vote no on NJ A5487. Restricting access to supplements is unreasonable and counterintuitive to supporting a healthy lifestyle.
