FDA Sought To Ban CoQ10
What is truly ironic is that from 1985 to 1994, the FDA made a concerted effort to completely outlaw coenzyme Q10. One of the FDA’s arguments was that because coenzyme Q10 is sold as a prescription drug in Japan, it should not be freely available to Americans as a dietary supplement.
The FDA tried to embargo imports of coenzyme Q10 from Japan and launched criminal investigations against those who promoted it in the United States.
Life Extension’s CoQ10 supplements were seized twice (and won back both times in legal actions). The FDA’s excuse for the first seizure was that the cardiovascular health claims made by Life Extension turned the coenzyme Q10 into an illegal “drug.” During the second seizure, the FDA claimed that coenzyme Q10 was so “dangerous” that it posed an “imminent threat” to the health of the American public. These allegations were of course baseless, and fortunately federal judges eventually saw through the FDA’s charade.
The sad facts were that statin drugs (approved by the FDA) were killing Americans by causing lethal coenzyme Q10 deficiencies. Instead of addressing the statin drug issue, the
FDA sought to ban CoQ10—the best antidote for statin drug toxicity.
The FDA continues to proclaim that it “protects” the health of Americans by denying “unproven” therapies. The FDA’s statements about “protecting” consumers’ health may go down in history as one of the greatest medical hoaxes of all time.
It took an enormous amount of effort by health freedom activists to derail the FDA’s efforts to deny Americans free access to CoQ10.
http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2004/2/awsi/page-01?p=1
