FDA Warning Letter to doTerra

[Cindy2428]

I think it all comes down to the human condition. In general we are a lazy species. We have a tendency to look for the quickest, easiest way for everything, i.e., tv remote control. (Sorry I'm of the age where I was the remote control growing up )Many go to the Dr. and if they don't get a prescription, they feel cheated. Companies like doTerra feed upon those feelings all the way to the bank. They spend lots of money with a snake oil marketing strategy which obviously their distributors buy hook, line and sinker. Politics aside, and I have ALOT of opinions on those..... ultimately we each have an individual choice and responsibility to educate ourselves. That's why we are here on the forum. The only thing that surprises me is that I haven't seen a law firm looking for patients for a class action against doTerra - Maybe all the lawyers work for them?!

 

[shunt2011]

doTerra and Young Living have responded to the FDA warning. However, the companies are placing the false statements on the folks selling the product and not accepting the responsibility for being the ones who had to give them the information in the first place. I find it hard to believe they were all spouting the same claims on their own. They are throwing the consultants under the bus.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=31702513&pid=1

 

[bodhi]

If I am caught growing poppies can't I end up in prison?

I wouldnt advertise it but ive known people who have been growing poppies for decades and no one has paid it any notice.

 

[pamielynn]

For pete's sake. They contacted the distributors mentioned in the letter? Big deal. They need to clamp down on ALL their distributors; I'm going with most of them don't even know this happened. And who cares if 18,000 people attended their conference? There's 18,000 people who need to change their marketing techniques - it is no way "just a select few" who are marketing essential oils as medicine.

And the websites the FDA posted are all doterra.com/somethingsomething. Not personal sites. This needs to be all over the corporate doterra sites.

And here's the saving grace for all the reps out there:

http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/fda-targets-essentials-oils-see-eos-as-threat-to-new-ebola-drugs/

I'd like to meet the DT/YL sales person who is honestly and truly willing to dab some oregano oil on themselves and head into West Africa without a suit.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

..................I'd like to meet the DT/YL sales person who is honestly and truly willing to dab some oregano oil on themselves and head into West Africa without a suit.

I'd only like to meet them before they go

 

[pamielynn]

I'd only like to meet them before they go

Good point

 

[goji_fries]

And here's the saving grace for all the reps out there:

http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/fda-targets-essentials-oils-see-eos-as-threat-to-new-ebola-drugs/

I'd like to meet the DT/YL sales person who is honestly and truly willing to dab some oregano oil on themselves and head into West Africa without a suit.

At $44/15ml(1/2oz) for patchouli, it's problee cheaper to go with pharmaceuticals.

 

[Dahila]

I have to admit that I enjoyed that conversation so much It is good we can have it here on this forum. This is probably why people never leave this place. Good thing

 

[marilynmac]

That link ( ealthimpactnews.com /2014/fda-targets-essentials-oils-see-eos-as-threat-to-new-ebola-drugs/ ) seems to be some sort of rationalization for those companys to be exempt from FDA rules.

The stat they are missing is: How many deaths due to misinformation about EOs.

Also, what's wrong with getting the stuff approved by the FDA? It's expensive, but these companies are huge and have plenty of bucks.

 

[pamielynn]

That link ( ealthimpactnews.com /2014/fda-targets-essentials-oils-see-eos-as-threat-to-new-ebola-drugs/ ) seems to be some sort of rationalization for those companys to be exempt from FDA rules.

The stat they are missing is: How many deaths due to misinformation about EOs.

That's what my DH said, too. "How many have died from putting off treatment". And I'm not against EOs. I use them every day. I soap with them because I feel they are "cleaner" than FOs (I do use a ton of FO, though, for my customers). I sell my EOs. Not a huge fan of the FDA, either. And I've got some copy that's probably REALLY close to the line in terms of labeling.

I am, however, against anyone diagnosing or practicing medicine without a license. And to me, that's the whole point here.

One simple example is Keratosis Pilaris. My husband has it, my friends have it, I sort of know what it looks like. BUT I am not a diagnostician. When customers ask me if my soap will cure that, I say no - and I can't tell you if that's what you really have. It could be necrotizing fasciitis for all I know -so I'm not selling you anything with the promise that it will go away. So, I just wish these EO fanatics would have the same respect for other people. Phew...

****END OF RANT*****

 

[pecorasfigs]

They also got Dr. Bonner

 

[TeresaT]

The ebola claim was crazy.... Ebola cannot live in cinnamon and oregano oil. <paraphrase>

But it thrives everywhere else!

you can drive a car regulated to a standard of safety unless it is a gm car.

Hilarious. Unfortunately, also true.

 

[CookbookChef]

I have to say I sometimes find it insulting the way doTerra sellers have made me feel over the last year. I have been approached by 4 different sellers of doTerra because I make soap. When I tell them in a polite manner that I buy from a trusted source, one that I have researched and have personal experience with, and right away, like the person is programmed, they tell me that in no way can I trust where I buy my essential oils. That its a "fact" that the oil I buy elsewhere is tainted and watered down. That if I buy from doTerra its always going to be the best I can get hands down.

How insulting!!! Sorry, but all of the doTerra sellers in my area have said the same thing in the SAME Forceful and demeaning manner. Its like what, I do not have a brain in my head and I can not possibly do the right homework and can not possibly be able to choose all on my own and if I do not buy from That seller, then something is just wrong with me. That I care more about money then I do Perfect Health!!!
Boy oh boy do I get tired of doTerra sellers. They are programmed to make me feel down right horrible for making a choice that is any other than what they are selling. If you dont choose doTerra then you have just chosen to hurt your clients and your family by the essential oils that I buy from filthy 3rd world places. Thats about how they make me feel. That my choice is the wrong choice if I buy elsewhere. So ya, I am not happy they got into trouble, but I have to say that it gives me something else now to talk about when I get brow beaten by a doTerra seller for not buying from them. no,not happy for anybody that gets into trouble. I just want to be able to make my own mind up, like the Adult that I am. I choose to buy who I buy from ...why? because I choose it. Plain and simple. I get tired of having to explain WHY I did not choose doTerra and why I choose another company. ITS MY RIGHT...SIMPLE

 

[kdaniels8811]

I told the multiple DoTerra and YL reps that if I used thier oils, I would have to charge $25 per bar of soap and I would be happy to make them some soaps if they supplied me with the EO! Once they found out how much it took for a loaf, they changed their mind about wanting some. One way to shut them up...

 

[Spice]

Personally I think this is typical FDA stupid behavior. Its quite simple that they dont want ppl to use EO's for medical purposes as it takes away money from the big pharmaceutical companies. They dont want ppl to be healthy, sick ppl make them more money.

And where you are right that there are no 'grades' in eo's, most companies do not sell pure eo's. most are diluted or even just a mixture of chemicals to make them smell like eo's. Iv spent a very long time and lots of money trying to find genuine eo's. In the UK I'v only found 4 sellers, and 2 of them are do terra and forever living. (no im not a rep lol)

Its not stupid behavior, its very smart. Keep people in a panic mode and they make trillions per day. There is no bank in the USA big enough to hold the RX's money, so they use banks all over the world. I use peppermint when my muscles hurt...and it works. I use Lavender at night for a better sleep....and that works too. So either we as soapers are lying to our customers about a healthy bar of soap, or we arent making a healthy bar of soap, just sent our customers to Wal-Mart. FDA/RX stands to make tons of money from vitamin C if it goes into research on claims that it helps allergies, an anti-histamine. People are living longer not because of the junk of side affects we take because we are taking better care of ourselves. Back 200 years people didnt die of cancer, it was due to some farm accidents, being mauled by wild animals, injuries that never healed properly, snake bites or just over worked. Today its a job just getting off the couch. Just saying.

 

[Susie]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/davidjstokes/1800.htm

Life expectancy in the early 1800's was 40 years. This was pre-FDA, pre-real medicine, pre-all of the things you are complaining about. It was NOT pre-essential oils. Just saying.

http://www.slate.com/articles/healt...health_and_medical_advances_that_lead_to.html

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US39-01.html

 

[kumudini]

Its not stupid behavior, its very smart. Keep people in a panic mode and they make trillions per day. There is no bank in the USA big enough to hold the RX's money, so they use banks all over the world. I use peppermint when my muscles hurt...and it works. I use Lavender at night for a better sleep....and that works too. So either we as soapers are lying to our customers about a healthy bar of soap, or we arent making a healthy bar of soap, just sent our customers to Wal-Mart.

I didn't know if you were saying that soaps with those EOs will be just as effective as the EOs themselves. I use those two oils for similar issues and they work very well for me as well. I would be cautious in claiming the same thing about the soaps though, as I couldn't possibly know how much of the beneficial effects actually survived the lye and soap is a wash off product.

Btw, I thought of using them because of the anecdotal references I read, not because I researched for and assured by any medical evidence, I also use turmeric in steam therapy when I have a cold coming, it stops them in their tracks 9 times out of 10, so I beleive that information even if it is only anecdotal, needs to be available and not stomped out. Why because, when used properly it will keep you from dousing on OTC meds with their possible side effects which are several.
Also, I keep seeing this advice, not to make claims, it makes you essentially a liar kind of thing, but I wonder how many would actually take up soaping if nobody ever said anything about handmade soaps except that it cleans and how many would have missed out on this beautiful, sometimes life changing experience. So yeah, if something works one shouldn't be afraid to say so, not everything needs to be proved scientifically through a huge double blind randomized clinical trial. They didn't exist a century ago but the field of medicine has been evolving for millennia. Beleive it or not doctors existed for just as long and they cured many ailments. And beleive me when I say Ayurveda is not a sham.
I guess the essence of my post here is that not everything needs to be so strictly regulated that the valuable information gathered over thousands of years of human existence is lost behind EBM ( evidence based medicine) and that us home crafters are afraid to say our wonderful soaps moisturize or to use our 20% zinc oxide creams as sunscreens.

 

[MorpheusPA]

It's mostly that, once proved by double-blind testing, it becomes evidence-based medicine. Which is covered by the FDA, as are unsubstantiated claims.

The FDA is not happy in the slightest when somebody makes a medical claim (founded or unfounded) in a product NOT labeled as a medication. Nor if somebody makes an unfounded claim with a medication. You can sort of see why if you look up 19th century medicine shows and snake oil salesmen. Some regulation was clearly required, and very clearly still is. For obvious reasons.

 

[MorpheusPA]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/davidjstokes/1800.htm

Life expectancy in the early 1800's was 40 years. This was pre-FDA, pre-real medicine, pre-all of the things you are complaining about. It was NOT pre-essential oils. Just saying.

http://www.slate.com/articles/healt...health_and_medical_advances_that_lead_to.html

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US39-01.html

True, but devil's advocate here. A lot of that was absolutely abysmal infant mortality rates. If you made it to age 21, you had an excellent chance of living a pretty long life. Sidenote: The USA still has abysmal infant mortality rates compared to the first or second world, so our life expectancy is still rather depressed.

Mostly, vaccination (and the resulting herd immunity) helped protect infants. Simple disinfection helped save a lot of lives and similarly reduced infant (and mother!) mortality.

Dying at age 0.05 throws the average down more than somebody who manages to live to 80 lifts it.

Un-devil's advocating, essential oils certainly existed. They didn't help. What did help was the wide synthesis of carbolic acid (for disinfection) and the discovery that people who got cowpox didn't get the Great Pox.

 

[Spice]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/davidjstokes/1800.htm

Life expectancy in the early 1800's was 40 years. This was pre-FDA, pre-real medicine, pre-all of the things you are complaining about. It was NOT pre-essential oils. Just saying.

http://www.slate.com/articles/healt...health_and_medical_advances_that_lead_to.html

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US39-01.html

Peppermint eo has been around for like 5000 years.