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  • Scott Adams
    Scott Adams

    Illinois Bill Moves to Protect Celiacs from Hidden Gluten in Drugs

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Illinois legislature approves a measure to require clear labeling of gluten in oral drugs and medicines.

    Illinois Bill Moves to Protect Celiacs from Hidden Gluten in Drugs - Image: CC BY 2.0--kkmarais
    Caption: Image: CC BY 2.0--kkmarais

    Celiac.com 06/21/2021 - In a move that could help to protect people with celiac disease who purchase oral drugs, a senator in the Illinois State Legislature has sponsored a measure to require oral drugs to carry proper warning labels to alert users to the presence of gluten or other allergens.

    “Restaurants and grocery stores have increased their gluten-free offerings and have become far better equipped to properly label and handle items for people with dietary restrictions,” Morrison said. “People with Celiac and other gluten intolerances should feel just as protected when visiting a pharmacy.”

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    Under the recently passed legislation, any prescription or over-the-counter drug that contains gluten that is not labeled would be considered misbranded. 

    The fact is that most oral drugs do not contain gluten, so many consumers assume that all are gluten-free, unless otherwise specified. However, that is not true. Currently, many oral drugs do contain gluten ingredients that are not labeled and not required to be labeled by law.

    Inadvertently consuming gluten can be harmful to with celiac disease or other gluten intolerance, and may interfere with the action of some medications.

    “The measure will make it easier and safer for people with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity to make informed purchases of necessary medications,” Morrison said. “We expect the food we purchase to be properly labeled, so why shouldn’t we expect the same from the medications we take?”

    Illinois House Bill 279 has now passed both chambers, and now goes to the Governor for approval.

    Read more at illinoissenatedemocrats.com.



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    Guest Scotty

    Posted

    This should be a federal requirement. But anything leading in that direction is a positive move. I hope other states take notice and follow suit. 

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    Mr.

    Wish this could be nationwide...

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    cristiana

    I spoke to a pharmacy about this in the UK and I was told we already have a system in that any medication with a product licence code on it has to be gluten free.   It's very helpful to know that, if there are any Brits reading.   The code will appear on the packaging and has the letters PL, followed by a serial number after those letters. 

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    Scott Adams

    This is great to hear, and I did not know this about prescriptions in the UK. I hope the USA can finally deal with this and disclose gluten on prescription meds.

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    Helen Vajk
    On 6/30/2021 at 3:17 PM, Scott Adams said:

    This is great to hear, and I did not know this about prescriptions in the UK. I hope the USA can finally deal with this and disclose gluten on prescription meds.

    It is preposterous that we PAY a pharmaceutical company for medications, while not knowing if it will make us sick.  And it would not cost a fortune for them to fix this.  

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    Scott Adams

    I agree that this situation could be fixed relatively easily, at least in comparison to the food industry. Simply requiring all pill form prescription meds to be gluten-free, and free of the top 8 allergens would be a good start. 

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    Scott Adams

    Scott Adams was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, and, due to the nearly total lack of information available at that time, was forced to become an expert on the disease in order to recover. In 1995 he launched the site that later became Celiac.com to help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives.  He is co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of the (formerly paper) newsletter Journal of Gluten Sensitivity. In 1998 he founded The Gluten-Free Mall which he sold in 2014. Celiac.com does not sell any products, and is 100% advertiser supported.


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