Does Regulating Dietary Supplements as Food in a World of Social Media Influencers Promote Public Safety?
Joshua J. Klein, Scott J. Schweikart · The AMA Journal of Ethic · 2022
Social media influencers promote a wide variety of products, including dietary supplements.Dietary supplements are regulated as foods, not drugs, by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.This article details weaknesses in administrative and common law regulatory approaches to addressing some influencers' negligent misrepresentation claims about dietary supplements.The American Medical Association designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ available through the AMA Ed Hub TM .Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Paid InfluenceRecent years have seen the rise of influencers-"social media personalities paid to leverage their popularity to market products" 1 -marketing dietary supplements.These supplements, often created and marketed to stimulate weight loss, 2 include "vitamins, essential minerals, protein, amino acids, and herbs." 3 Influencers' foray into the realm of dietary supplements has had a significant impact on the marketing industry, as demonstrated by their enormous advertising revenue, with estimates that influencer marketing would reach "$10-20 billion in 2020, with close to 80% of brands participating." 1 With regard to the regulation of this industry, the federal government plays a role via both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which "both serve to protect consumers by ensuring safe, effective products and accurate marketing to consumers." 2 However, the regulatory environment for dietary supplements, which has been criticized as being inadequate in the face of hazards, 4 has serious pitfalls when confronting promotion of these supplements by social media influencers.This article explores the federal regulatory mechanisms in place to govern dietary supplements and proposes strategies for how US law-both administrative regulation and common law-can strengthen the regulation of dietary supplements in the new era of influencers.FDA and FTC Liaison Agreement In the United States, the 2 agencies responsible for regulating dietary supplements, the FDA and FTC, are subject to a "liaison agreement" to divide enforcement duties.The