Poison Pills

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The image at right is from a recent flyer campaign launched by the Nutritional Health Alliance (NHA) depicting Senator Durbin wearing a turban with the words, “Keep Congressional Terrorism at Bay.” What is this all about? Believe it or not, this flyer was put out by a lobbying group for the makers of dietary supplements, i.e.vitamin pills, who are upset over recent legislation proposed by Durbin to make manufacturers of supplements report serious side effects of their products.

Hate mongering is the last refuge of scoundrels

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p>The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and over 100 other groups have come together to protest this odious flier. In their response, SALDEF states:

We are outraged that the Nutritional Health Alliance (NHA) would be engaged in the production of such a racist flyer that serves to perpetuate an increased environment of prejudice and hate against the Sikh, Muslim and Arab American communities…The depiction of the turban as a terrorist symbol, or individuals who wear turbans as terrorists, as your flyer explicitly shows, is baseless and reprehensible…The flyer serves as nothing more than hatemongering [Link (pdf)]

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p>SALDEF and its allies call for:

NHA to remove the flyer from any further distribution immediately. We further ask that a public apology be made and posted on the NHA’s website. Legitimate public debate must not be tainted with images that continue to create a dangerous environment of xenophobia and hate against innocent Sikh, Muslim, Arab and South Asian Americans. [Link]

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p>The NHA has a little shame, but not much. They’ve replaced the flyer with one that talks directly about their opposition to the legislation, but they defend their right to use xenophobic lies to make their point: If I sound to you like a hate-monger, then I can’t help it

Even Jerry Kessler, director of the Nutritional Health Alliance, chief executive officer of N.Y.-based Natural Organics and designer of the circular, said it was a purely political response to regulations proposed by Durbin. He also agreed the flier was “not fair” and “in bad taste.”

“Desperate times require desperate actions,” Kessler said. “I’m certainly going to do what’s necessary to call attention to our cause. If I sound to you like a hate-monger, then I can’t help it.”

More than a million copies of the flier were sent to vitamin and supplement buyers, and Kessler said he’s responded personally to phone calls and letters from people he has offended. [Link]

Jerry Kessler, hate monger

It doesn’t look like he’s going to apologize any time soon. You can contact Kessler in the following ways:

Via email, via his company’s Contact Us web page, or via snail-mail:

NHA

PO BOX 649

Melville, NY 11747 – 9806

Personally, I’m also going to boycott vitamins with the “Nature’s Plus Brand.” While I normally would not boycott a company or complain to its officers about the political actions of its CEO, this case is different because these actions were taken in large part in pursuit of the company’s overall financial interests. I’m protesting how he lobbied for his vitamins in letters to his customers, not his personal political beliefs, and as such I think the company is the appropriate locus of action. There is just no excuse for such behavior.

125 thoughts on “Poison Pills”

  1. Ephedra? How can you seriously say ANY industry is murkier then big pharma??? Come on guy, thats ridiculous. Obviously, things like Ephedra are bad, but prescription drugs have alot worse things in them then Ephedra. Durbin wants to pass with bill so they will have a reason to extort money from the supplement industry. “Dont want us to ban your supplement, ok send a contribution to us”. Why not regulate artifical sweetners like aspartame? Its in almost everything people drink or eat these days, thats why! But its poison and should warn people, just like ephedra. By the way, i read a print version of the article you posted on Kessler. It says nothing about him admitting he’s a hatemonger and he even apologizes to anyone he has offended. Any reason for mis-quoting ennis?

  2. I agree that suppliments by themselves are not all bad, but a lot of nonsense is out there about percieved benifits of certain suppliments. (and what counts as suppliment a lot of them are essentialy chemicaly altered compounds, not natural uccoring stuff) and looking at this kessler fellow in particular, It looks like he is a lying unethical salesman type ADD is a problem for the parents, to play on parents emotions(particularly those who dont have the time to research issues) is EVIL.
    Then turban tactic used by kessler is wrong by all standards of decency. I’ve read durbins stance and i find my self more on agreement with him. In general i am not a fan of regulations b/c they lead to inefficencies nor am i a fan of liars. This regulation will not effect me either way, b/c i am careful about what i put in my mouth, food, pharmaceuticals and suppliments and its a path i recomend to every one, but i know that a lot of people are swayed by whats on the label without finding out if it was studied or the underlying biological mechanisms are explained. So these 2 observations have helped me make a stance on the issues. Arjun the only one else that gave me the suppliment industry is better than big pharma talk was a gnc salesman Later the fellow tried to sell me gnc mega vitamin over cheaper centrum saying its more effective. i said did u check blood, long term overall health questionares, urine analysis, how can you make the claim its more effective. what conributes a metric on effectiveness, the fellow had no answer. Needless to say i did my window shopping and left.

  3. By the way, i read a print version of the article you posted on Kessler. It says nothing about him admitting he’s a hatemonger and he even apologizes to anyone he has offended.

    Arjuna/Bin Bajwa, where’s your link, scan or quote?

    Any reason for mis-quoting ennis?

    Any reason for omitting your source material, Arjuna? Ennis quoted what he had.

    Btw, if you keep pretending to be multiple people in the same thread, you will be banned.

  4. Bin Bajwa – you’ve repeated your accusation of mis-quoting twice, yet you haven’t had the decency to click on the citation link at the end of each quote. Do so and you will see that each quote is fair and entirely taken from the source in question.

  5. Arjuna – you’re engaging in a means / end conflation. Even if you agree with his ends, these were odious means which he used and then defends. It was not necessary for him to use these means, in fact it detracts and distracts from his main point.

  6. Manish, that was my post, not arjuna. I would love to give you a link to the article, but its PRINT. I’m not that knowledgable of the internet, but I’ve yet to figure out how to link a physical newspaper article to a web post. I’m not meaning to jump on ennis (sorry about that) but when I first read those postings I was so mad at this kessler guy. It makes him really sound racist, which the flyer looks to me like it is, but everyone is asking for an apology. According to this article, which seems to be the same from the postings here, he does actually apologize and never says that he’s a hatemonger.

  7. Ephedra? How can you seriously say ANY industry is murkier then big pharma??? Come on guy, thats ridiculous. Obviously, things like Ephedra are bad, but prescription drugs have alot worse things in them then Ephedra. Durbin wants to pass with bill so they will have a reason to extort money from the supplement industry. “Dont want us to ban your supplement, ok send a contribution to us”. Why not regulate artifical sweetners like aspartame? Its in almost everything people drink or eat these days, thats why! But its poison and should warn people, just like ephedra. By the way, i read a print version of the article you posted on Kessler. It says nothing about him admitting he’s a hatemonger and he even apologizes to anyone he has offended. Any reason for mis-quoting ennis?

    Bin Bajwa, I dont take any artificial sweetner(and limit my natural sweet consumption to festivals) And that aspartame is not produced by big pharma, No its not a prescription drug. IT was not prescribed by doctors. Prove it that its a poison. I am aware of the folks with PKU(hell thats wahat the label is for) but its not going to be poisnous. The amount of diet soda that has been consumed in US without killing any one has offered that stat. Ephedra is not a poison either, it is a stimulant it will increase your body temprature slightly and heart rate, and dopamine level(this is why its addictive). Kessler is an asshole that has been proven. Suppliments the issue is are good and bad both(so you may still oppose regulation but you have to consider that the average joe blow does tend to buy into these things in the first place).

  8. I wrote this SOB on his website and told him that as a physician in New York, I will certainly be boycotting his products. I would recommend everybody to write in – it takes 1 minute. Even if you just write, “I will be boycotting your products,” it may be quite effective.

  9. I have to wonder what the vitamin buyers he sent this flyer to thought about this garbage.

    Most of the people who buy this stuff are and not really the sort of people dumb enough to appreciate this pathetic crap.

  10. According to this article, which seems to be the same from the postings here, he does actually apologize and never says that he’s a hatemonger.

    That has been kesslers strategy, he knew it would create a controversy and give him publicity. The apoloy is not valid. Also i find your claims of an alternative statement dubious. May be i should conflate you with kessler.

  11. I have NO IDEA who bin bajwa is but I’m grateful somebody’s backing me! I told you; my source material is JAMA for the pharmaceutical side-effect deaths. The Ephedra stat I just got off the internet . . . i checked again and that was from the FDA. Everything else is just my opinion: Big Pharma is an evil entity that wants us to be sick.

    I’m torn, don’t take me wrong. I don’t like Kessler’s racist tactics. But I like that he’s fighting Durbin. I just want to keep taking vitamins.

    Respectfully,

    ~ A

    P.S., ban me if you want, but denying my Freedom of Speech will make you a hypocrite.

  12. Guru, here’s an article about aspartame. http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.htm

    I agree with you that over consumption of anything can be harmful and people should be made aware of any dangers that a product may cause, but unfortunately, I feel like today we deal with politcal corruption in everything we do. Dont get me started on the Patriot Act LOL!

  13. I have NO IDEA who bin bajwa is..

    Sorry. Our software reports that you two have identical IP addresses, so either it’s a Movable Type bug, you two live/work together, or this is an extremely convincing forgery of disparate writing styles.

    P.S., ban me if you want, but denying my Freedom of Speech will make you a hypocrite.

    Man, that is one half-baked idea of constitutional law. Try property rights. You have no right to put a bumper sticker (or comment spam) on my car, only on yours.

  15. Arjun how many JAMA articles results of studies funded by suppliment industry? most of studies are coming from research universities(which get their money for the most part from govt) and industry funded studies(big pharma)

  16. Man, that is one half-baked idea of constitutional law. Try property rights. You have no right to put a bumper sticker (or comment spam) on my car, only on yours.

    Hypothetical question can i put a sticker on a government vehicle. I will choose airforce 1 for that if i can

  17. … can i put a sticker on a government vehicle. I will choose airforce 1…

    When you try slapping a bumper sticker on Air Force One, can I film it? 😉

  18. P.S., ban me if you want, but denying my Freedom of Speech will make you a hypocrite.

    This is their private website, dude. You just dont go into anyone’s home, take a dump on their couch and not expect to get kicked out. You seem to have a warped sense of Freedom of Speech.

  19. All I’m sayin’ is you can either believe in free and open discourse, Or play mini-dictator and make silly megalomaniacal threats like “I’m gonna BAN you.” After all, opinions that don’t match yours are invalid, or must be “spam” . . . right? I’m hearing “This site is MINE! What I say goes! You’re with us or against us!” You sound like George Bush. I think I’ll take my discussion to a more evolved arena now. Good day.

    ~ A

  21. Or play mini-dictator and make silly megalomaniacal threats like “I’m gonna BAN you.”

    What part of comment spam (one user/multiple ID’s in a single thread) do you not understand?

    I think I’ll take my discussion to a more evolved arena now.

    Hope they use short words.

  23. pshhht, some “apology”.

    i hope the huge number of e-mails Kessler and the NHA will receive start crashing their servers.

  24. Pattie Kaur ~ this probably isn’t the type of sardar post you were hoping for =)

    ackk….pattie’s been gone for awhile! lol! no…..i was hoping for more various nice sardar bits like that monty bit posted sometime back!

  25. It appears the AMA or the pharmaceutical companys are not getting their cut (moneys)hence, they go after alternitive medicine, and of course our illustrous politicians,hence Sen. Durbin,too is not getting his cut, and is in the back pocket of the these lobbist, so he proposes a bill to stop that industry, that has been in business since before Jesus..

    All of you people who have written, take a good look at what is really going one here..another gov. telling us what is good for us and what is not, control people, that is what this is all about..Wake up