<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

My hope is that I am incorrect about this.  My understanding is that 
there are currently no laws to regulate even the listing of wheat 
(let alone other gluten) on either prescription drugs or OTC drugs. 
In fact, despite its shortcoming of only listing of wheat and not all 
gluten, the current FDA law for FOOD labeling only (FALCPA 2004) is 
actually more restrictive than what is currently in place for 
prescriptions and OTC drugs.  All drugs (and other non-food items, 
such as cosmetics and hair care products, for that matter) must be 
verified as GF by a phone call to the manufacturer, consulting a 
reliable GF drug list (such as Thompson's list or 
www.glutenfreedrugs.com), or asking the pharmacist to research the 
item.  They are not required to list this information on the label.

I am concerned over the following information posted to this list:

At 10:29 PM -0500 3/16/08, a member wrote:

>Several have emailed me asking which vitamins I use.  By LAW, the 
>ingredients in vitamins must be listed on the label so you can 
>immediately tell if it is gf.

Not true, to my knowledge.  While some drug manufacturers (vitamins 
or otherwise) voluntarily list gluten on their labels (or even mark 
the label as "gluten free"), I do not believe there are any law 
regulating this, requiring them to do so.

Although it seems almost counterintuitive, current laws ONLY apply to 
packaged food labeling.  You're still on your own with everything 
else.  Here is a brief excerpt from THE GLUTEN-FREE BIBLE by Jax 
Peters Lowell, published 2005 
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805077464).  While this 
information is several years old, I am not aware of any laws that 
have been passed to now regulate listing of gluten in these products.

>"Over the counter drugs, vitamins, minerals, toothpaste, stomach 
>remedies, cough syrups, pain remedies, allergy medications, 
>antidiarrheals, laxatives, decongestants, cold and flu remedies, 
>digestive enzymes, lip balms, and nasal sprays all have to be 
>investigated for gluten ... The same rules apply to over-the-counter 
>medications as do for prescription drugs.  Inactive or excipient 
>ingredients are used in these products to sweeten, color, suspend or 
>otherwise make palatable and may be hidden sources of gluten. 
>Always, always, always call the company to verify, and if you are 
>buying the generic brand, let's say Rite-Aid versus the brand name 
>to save some money, make sure you ask the pharmacist or company rep 
>to verify that the cheaper alternative is gluten-free."

So, as I said, my only hope is that I am wrong about this.  As I 
spend hours and hours researching most any non-grocery item I swallow 
or put on my hair or body (from vitamins to lipstick).  I'll kiss 
anyone's feet who can tell me this is a colossal waste of my time, 
and I can actually trust the labels on these products to list gluten. 
I'd love to have this part of my life back!

Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
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