![Assorted pills, tablets and capsules](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2022/08/n21109216/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1660744836498.jpg)
WVXU: Exploring the under-regulated dietary supplements industry
Dietary supplements have become a $40 billion a year industry, but it is largely under-regulated.
Michael A. Hegener, PharmD, director of the Wuest Family Pharmacy Practice Skills Center and associate professor of pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, joined WVXU's Cincinnati Edition to discuss how the dietary supplement industry is regulated, which varies greatly compared to drug regulation.
"Over the counter and prescription drugs are actually approved by the FDA before they hit the market for both safety and efficacy or effectiveness, whereas dietary supplements are actually regulated as a type of food, not drugs," Hegener said. "And they are put on the market without having to prove safety or efficacy to the FDA. So the way they’re mainly regulated is after the fact."
Hegener said patients and consumers can look at product labels to see whether products are regulated as drugs or supplements.
"If it has a drug facts panel, then it’s regulated as a drug. If it says supplement facts, it’s regulated as a dietary supplement," he said. "So that’s one area where the everyday patient or consumer can help make more informed decisions and know what their purchasing."
Listen to the Cincinnati Edition segment.
Featured photo at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
A year after Niger's dramatic coup
![ABC News logo](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/abc-news.png)
July 26, 2024
UC School of Public and International Affairs Associate Professor Alexander Thurston tells ABC News that Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will face difficult times in the wake of armed conflicts.
UC global health expert hones leadership skills as Fulbright...
July 26, 2024
The University of Cincinnati’s Michelle Burbage worked as a Fulbright Specialist in Tbilisi, Georgia, leading workshops and hands-on activities to build public global health research programs.
Advocates working to get ‘PICS’ named a public health crisis
![Spectrum News logo](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/spectrum-news.png)
July 26, 2024
Spectrum News and WVXU highlighted the research partnership of the University of Cincinnati's Rachael Nolan and community advocate Chazidy Robinson who are working to raise awareness and recognition of post-incarceration syndrome.