Health Highlights: April 2, 2015

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

State Attorneys General Want Tighter Controls on Herbal Supplements

Congress should investigate the herbal supplements industry and consider giving the Food and Drug Administration stronger oversight of the sector, says a letter from a group of 14 state attorneys general.

“When consumers take an herbal supplement, they should be able to do so with full knowledge of what is in that product and confidence that every precaution was taken to ensure its authenticity and purity,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

“The FDA has long been aware of problems in the dietary and herbal supplement supply chain, from dubious ingredient sourcing to a failure to carry out proper testing on finished products,” the letter says.

Federal controls on herbal supplements, vitamins and other dietary supplements are much weaker than on pharmaceutical products, the AP reported.

Along with Schneiderman, the letter is signed by the attorneys general of Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Northern Mariana Islands, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

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