Celiac Disease has increased as much as four times in the past decade. The only treatment for Celiac Disease is a life-long adherence to a Gluten Free diet. For some individuals, exposure to Gluten can be life threatening.
On representative Ryan's webpage, he discusses his vision for this legislation:
“Celiac disease is a growing issue for our country and as elected officials it is our duty to give those affected all the resources they need to treat their disease. The United States already mandates that food products containing wheat are adequately labeled and there is no reason why we shouldn’t do the same for our medications. I am proud to introduce legislation that can help avert the serious health risk millions of Americans are forced to endure every day while taking unlabeled, potentially harmful medications." -Congressman Tim Ryan (OH).
Lowey also made a statement about the new legislation proposal:
“For millions of Americans, avoiding gluten is a medical necessity. Just as consumers deserve to know if their food contains gluten, it is critical that consumers know if medications contain gluten. This legislation would help protect Americans’ health by giving them information on the label to ensure their medications help -- not hurt – them.” -Congresswoman Nita Lowey (NY).
This legislation would be a welcome to those of us in the Celiac community. It is bad enough to have hidden Gluten in food, the last thing we need is to be "glutened" from medication.
Source:
http://timryan.house.gov/press-release/representatives-tim-ryan-oh-13-and-nita-lowey-ny-17-introduce-gluten-medicine
(photo courtesy of: http://eatgfcf.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/medication.jpg)
