Banning Diet Supplements Won’t Stop Teen Eating Disorders
Last year, New York became the first state to ban the sale of dietary and muscle-building supplements to minors. Despite ongoing implementation hurdles and legal challenges, several states—including Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington—have followed suit by introducing and advancing similar legislation in 2025.Â
New York’s ban, which was passed under the guise of protecting minors from adverse health effects and eating disorders, requires retailers to verify a consumer is over the age of 18 before selling over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle-building. Such supplements are defined as products “labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented for the purpose of achieving weight loss or muscle building.” They include creatine, green tea extract, steroids, and raspberry ketone (a metabolism booster). Additional products encompass ones that state or imply they will help maintain or reduce body weight or increase strength and metabolism. Protein powders, drinks, and foods are not subject unless they contain ingredients that “would, considered alone, constitute a dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building.”Â
Beyond a manufacturer’s intended marketing, a retailer’s product placement among other dietary supplements must also be considered. This means a product’s location in a retail store could serve as the kind of marketing necessary to deem a product a dietary supplement and therefore banned
Article from Reason.com
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