A new Ohio bill proves the threat to supplement access is spreading—and why Congress must pass the Dietary Supplement Regulatory Uniformity Act. Action Alert!
Listen to the audio version of this article:
THE TOPLINE
- Ohio is the latest state to introduce legislation restricting the sale of certain weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors.
- The Ohio bill is broad: it would prohibit sales to anyone under 18 of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements “for weight loss or muscle building.”
- The Dietary Supplement Regulatory Uniformity Act, H.R. 7366, introduced by Rep. Nick Langworthy, would reaffirm federal authority over supplements and prevent states from creating conflicting or additional supplement requirements.
Ohio Is the New Warning Sign
When Rep. Nick Langworthy introduced the Dietary Supplement Regulatory Uniformity Act (H.R. 7366) earlier this year, the need for federal action was already clear. New York’s restrictive supplement law had taken effect, other states were considering copycat measures, and consumers faced the prospect of losing access to safe, lawful products.
Now Ohio has joined the trend. This is exactly the kind of state-level overreach that H.R. 7366 is designed to stop.
What began as a campaign against “diet pills” is expanding into a nationwide effort to restrict access to broad categories of dietary supplements—many of which are common nutrition, sports, and wellness products used responsibly by millions of Americans. If Congress does not act, more states will follow, and consumers will be left with a confusing patchwork of rules.
What Ohio HB 943 Would Do
Ohio HB 943 is framed as a youth-protection bill, but its reach goes far beyond truly risky products. The bill defines a “dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building” as any dietary supplement, as defined under federal law, that is “labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented” for weight loss or muscle building, including complete proteins, leucine-rich essential amino acid blends, creatine and more. It might also catch a diverse range of other ingredients in supplements that support mitochondrial function, such as coenzyme Q10 and B vitamins. It would prohibit knowingly selling, offering, delivering, or otherwise providing any products targeting weight loss or muscle building, regardless of their function or safety, to anyone under 18.
The bill would also force retailers to require ID for certain in-store purchases unless the customer appears to be 25 or older. For delivery sales, retailers would have to collect a buyer’s full name, birth date, and address, verify that information using a commercially available database, and use shipping that requires a signature and photo ID at delivery.
To us, this seems more like a regulatory dragnet than a targeted response to a demonstrated safety crisis.
The Ohio bill directs regulators to consider whether a product contains ingredients such as creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, Garcinia cambogia, or green coffee bean extract; whether its labeling or marketing refers to body weight, fat, appetite, metabolism, nutrient metabolism, or muscle strength; and even whether a seller has grouped the product with other products in a display, advertisement, website, or store area.
That means a lawful supplement could be swept into the restricted category not because it is dangerous, but because of where it appears on a shelf, how a website organizes it, or whether its truthful marketing references basic structure-function support.
This is bad policy and bad precedent. Check out the list below to take action against these bills in your state:
Alaska
Supplements Are Already Federally Regulated
As we’ve stressed countless times, dietary supplements are not unregulated. The FDA regulates finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Manufacturers and distributors are prohibited from marketing adulterated or misbranded products, and the FDA has authority to take action against adulterated or misbranded supplements after they reach the market.
Federal law also requires manufacturers, packers, and holders of dietary supplements to follow current good manufacturing practices to help ensure identity, purity, quality, strength, and composition.
There is always room to improve enforcement against bad actors. ANH has long supported targeted, science-based action against adulterated products, illegal drugs masquerading as supplements, and fraudulent claims.
But that is not what these state bills do.
Instead of targeting adulteration, contamination, or false claims, they create broad sales restrictions based on vague categories, marketing language, and product presentation.
The Patchwork Problem Is Growing
If each state can create its own definitions, age-verification mandates, warning requirements, ingredient lists, retail-placement rules, delivery requirements, and penalties, the national supplement market will become unworkable. Small businesses will struggle to comply. Online retailers will face conflicting obligations. Consumers will encounter different rules depending on where they live. Products that are lawful and accessible in one state may be restricted in another.
Federal Uniformity Is the Solution
H.R. 7366, the Dietary Supplement Regulatory Uniformity Act, offers the common-sense fix.
The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to clarify that no state may establish or continue any requirement concerning a dietary supplement that is different from, in addition to, or not otherwise identical with federal requirements.
States should not be able to undermine a national market for lawful, FDA-regulated products through vague, duplicative, or fear-driven legislation. But if a state has a legitimate, evidence-based local concern, it can bring that concern through the appropriate federal process.
Protect Minors Without Restricting Everyone
Protecting children is a legitimate goal. But broad state bans are not the answer.
Ohio HB 943 would impose age checks, database verification, delivery burdens, and penalties on lawful supplement sales. Even if the stated target is minors, these laws inevitably affect adults, retailers, and consumers of all ages. Products hidden behind compliance barriers are less visible, less available, and more stigmatized. That reduces access not just for minors, but for everyone.
Worse, these bills risk discouraging responsible use of basic nutrition and fitness-support products at a time when Americans need more access to health-supporting tools, not less.
Congress Must Act Before the Patchwork Becomes Permanent
Ohio HB 943 is a fresh warning that state-level supplement restrictions are gaining momentum. If Congress waits, these laws will become entrenched, and consumers will be forced to navigate an ever-expanding maze of inconsistent rules.
ANH-USA strongly supports the Dietary Supplement Regulatory Uniformity Act. H.R. 7366 would restore clarity, protect consumer access, and reaffirm that dietary supplement policy should be guided by national, science-based standards—not by a state-by-state race to regulate lawful products out of reach.
Action Alert!
