NY State Senate Bill 2019-S8089

Senate Bill S8089

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to establishing restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 17, 2020	referred to consumer protection

2019-S8089 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10138
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §391-oo, amd §391-o, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S16, A431
2023-2024: S5823, A5610

2019-S8089 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to establishing restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building; prohibits the sale of over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to people under 18; increases the penalty amount for the sale or promotional distribution of dietary supplements containing ephedra.

2019-S8089 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8089

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing
restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary
supplements for weight loss or muscle building and increasing civil
penalties for the sale or promotional distribution of dietary supple-
ments containing ephedra

 
PURPOSE:

To ban the sale of diet pills and muscle building supplements to minors.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds new section 391-0o to the general business law which:

1) Prohibits the sale of over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supple-
ments for weight loss or muscle building to minors;

2) Defines the following terms:

a) Dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building, and

b) Over-the-counter diet pills;

3) Establishes the civil penalty for violation to be not more than
$2,000 per violation; and

4) Provides that a violation constitutes a deceptive act or practice.

Section 2 sets the penalty for the sale of ephedrine alkaloids to be not
more than $2,000 per violation.

Section 3 requires that the Department of Health, in consultation with
other appropriate stakeholders, determine which over the counter diet
pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building should
be subject to the prohibition.

Section 4 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Eating disorders are a serious public health problem affecting youth and
adults of all races, ages, and genders. The most common eating disorder,
anorexia nervosa, has the 2nd highest mortality rate of all mental
health conditions. Eating disorders are diagnosed based on a number of
criteria, including the presence of what clinicians call unhealthy
weight control behaviors (UWCBs). One UWCB of particular concern is the
use of pills or powders to lose weight or build muscle, which are often
sold as dietary supplements.

Although they are sold alongside multivitamins and other supplements
largely regarded as safe, these products often contain unlisted, illegal
pharmaceutical ingredients that pose serious risks(1). Under the Dietary
Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to require proof
of safety or efficacy prior to the sale of these products(2). While some
voluntary certifications exist, there is no guarantee that a supplement
contains the listed ingredients. These products have been linked to
outbreaks of liver damage, some severe enough to require transplanta-
tion, and have even caused several high-profile deaths in recent
years(3)'(4). Despite the harms these products can cause, the perception
of risk associated with them is still low.

By implementing an age-based restriction on sales, we can draw attention
to the serious health risks of using these products.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 180 days after it becomes law.
1 Cohen PA, Mailer G, DeSouza R, NealKababick J. Presence of banned
drugs in dietary supplements following FDA recalls. J Am Med Assoc.
2014;312(16): 1691-1693. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.10308.
2 Cohen PA, Goday A, Swann JP. The Return of Rainbow Diet Pills. Am J
Public Health. 2012;102(9):1676-1686
3 Morris S. Woman died after accidental overdose of highly toxic diet
pills. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/
society/2015/jul/23/womandiedaccidentaloverdose-highly-toxic- dietpill-
seloise-parry. Published July 23, 2015
4 Singer N, Lattman P. A Workout Booster, and a Lawsuit. The New York
Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/
business/death-after-use-ofjack3dshowsgap-in-regulation.html.  Published
February 14, 2013.

2019-S8089 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8089
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 17, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in  relation  to  establishing
   restrictions  on  the  sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary
   supplements for weight loss or muscle building  and  increasing  civil
   penalties  for the sale or promotional distribution of dietary supple-
   ments containing ephedra
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 391-oo to read as follows:
   §  391-OO. SALE OF OVER-THE-COUNTER DIET PILLS AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
 FOR WEIGHT LOSS OR MUSCLE BUILDING. 1.  NO  PERSON,  FIRM,  CORPORATION,
 PARTNERSHIP,  ASSOCIATION,  LIMITED  LIABILITY  COMPANY, OR OTHER ENTITY
 SHALL SELL OR OFFER TO SELL OR GIVE AWAY, AS EITHER A RETAIL  OR  WHOLE-
 SALE  PROMOTION, AN OVER-THE-COUNTER DIET PILL OR DIETARY SUPPLEMENT FOR
 WEIGHT LOSS OR MUSCLE BUILDING WITHIN NEW YORK STATE TO ANY PERSON UNDER
 EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE.
   2. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION THE FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL  HAVE  THE
 FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "DIETARY  SUPPLEMENTS FOR WEIGHT LOSS OR MUSCLE BUILDING" MEANS A
 CLASS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENT AS DEFINED IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED  NINETY-
 ONE-O OF THIS ARTICLE SOLD FOR OR USED WITH THE INTENT TO ACHIEVE WEIGHT
 LOSS OR BUILD MUSCLE;
   (B)  "OVER-THE-COUNTER DIET PILLS" MEANS A CLASS OF DRUGS, SOLD FOR OR
 USED WITH THE INTENT TO ACHIEVE WEIGHT LOSS OR  BUILD  MUSCLE  THAT  ARE
 LAWFULLY  SOLD, TRANSFERRED, OR FURNISHED OVER-THE-COUNTER WITH OR WITH-
 OUT A PRESCRIPTION PURSUANT TO THE FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT,
 21 U.S.C. SECTION 301 ET. SEQ., OR REGULATIONS ADOPTED THEREUNDER; AND
   (C) "DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR  WEIGHT  LOSS  OR  MUSCLE  BUILDING"  AND
 "OVER-THE-COUNTER DIET PILLS" MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THER-
 MOGENS,  WHICH  ARE SUBSTANCES THAT PRODUCE HEAT IN THE BODY AND PROMOTE
 MORE CALORIE BURNING, LIPOTROPICS, WHICH ARE COMPOUNDS THAT  HELP  BREAK
 DOWN  FAT DURING BODY METABOLISM, HORMONES, INCLUDING HORMONE MODULATORS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15229-04-0

 S. 8089                             2
 
 AND HORMONE MIMETICS, APPETITE SUPPRESSANTS, OR INGREDIENTS DEEMED ADUL-
 TERATED UNDER 21 U.S.C.A § 342.
   3.  ANY  PERSON,  FIRM, CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION, LIMITED
 LIABILITY COMPANY, OR OTHER ENTITY THAT THAT VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS  OF
 THIS  SECTION  BY  SELLING, OFFERING TO SELL, OR GIVING AWAY AS EITHER A
 RETAIL OR WHOLESALE PROMOTION, AN OVER-THE-COUNTER DIET PILL OR  DIETARY
 SUPPLEMENT FOR WEIGHT LOSS OR MUSCLE BUILDING TO A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN
 YEARS  OF  AGE  SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A CIVIL PENALTY OR NOT MORE THAN TWO
 THOUSAND DOLLARS PER VIOLATION, RECOVERABLE IN AN ACTION BY ANY ENFORCE-
 MENT AUTHORITY DESIGNATED BY ANY MUNICIPALITY OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.
   4. ANY VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION SHALL CONSTITUTE A DECEPTIVE  ACT  OR
 PRACTICE PURSUANT TO ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO-A OF THIS CHAPTER.
   §  2.  Subdivision  4 of section 391-o of the general business law, as
 added by chapter 385 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
   4. Any person, firm, corporation,  partnership,  association,  limited
 liability  company, or other entity that violates the provisions of this
 section by selling, offering to sell, or giving away as either a  retail
 or  wholesale promotion, a dietary supplement containing any quantity of
 ephedrine alkaloids shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than
 [five hundred] TWO THOUSAND dollars per  violation,  recoverable  in  an
 action  by  any  enforcement authority designated by any municipality or
 political subdivision.
   § 3. The department of health, in consultation with  other  state  and
 federal  agencies,  as appropriate, and relevant stakeholders including,
 but not limited to, the eating disorders community, shall determine what
 products constitute over-the-counter diet pills, or dietary  supplements
 for weight loss or muscle building shall have limited accessibility.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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