A European Directive, the Food Supplements Directive, came into UK law on 1 August. Although there are exemptions until 2009, the Directive will introduce a huge regulatory burden on the selling of food supplements, and it is likely that many supplements will disappear off shelves. In practice this means:

The vitamin & mineral tablets used by millions of British people are under threat. Products such as 1gram Vitamin C tablets that are frequently used in the cold season, and the mineral Boron, important for strong bones and teeth, are set to become illegal once recently passed European laws are fully introduced.

Many more specialist vitamins that have been used safely by UK consumers for many years will also disappear. Almost every multi-vitamin tablet sold in Britain will have to be reformulated to avoid breaking the law.

So why is the EU doing this? In part it is caused by an over-zealous appreciation of regulation. But, there is another, more significant reason for this Directive: the lobbying by pharmaceutical companies. Diet supplements - as sold in health food stores like Holland & Barratt - are cheap and not covered by patents. By discouraging their use or getting them banned, Big Pharma is able to force consumers onto patented drugs, increasing their profits and tightening their pharmopoly.