State and Local Public Officials Mercury-Free Caucus
316 F St., N.E., Suite 210-B
Washington DC 20002
March 24, 2010
Joshua Sharfstein, M.D. Principal Deputy Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration –
via e-mail JMSharf1@fda.hhs.gov and fax 301-847-3531
Re: FDA should not try to block state and local amalgam fact sheet laws
Dear Deputy Commissioner Sharfstein:
We regret that last year the Food and Drug Administration chose to adopt a rule allowing amalgam to be sold without even informing dental patients and parents that it is mainly mercury. Fortunately, legislatures in several states and some city councils feel otherwise, and have mandated fact sheets be distributed so dental patients and parents will know about the mercury and know they have alternatives such as resin.
We understand you are writing a letter to the City of Philadelphia about its fact sheet.
We urge you to respect the right of states and political subdivisions to write consumers protection laws that differ from your personal views about disclosure. Any effort by FDA to block state legislatures and city councils from making disclosures about amalgam continues to take our country down the wrong path, and may be of questionable legality. Instead, we urge you to focus on rewriting the rule you adopted last year.
Sincerely,
Hon. Daylin Leach, State Senator, Pennsylvania
Hon. Blondell Reynolds Brown, Councilwoman, Philadelphia (author, Philadelphia amalgam fact
sheet ordinance)
Hon. Jay Goyal, State Representative, Ohio
Hon. Michael J. London, Councilman, Trumbull, Connecticut
Hon. Marvin L. Van Haaften, former Director, Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy
(“Drug Czar”); and former Sheriff, Marion County, Iowa
Hon. Ann Clifton, RN, BSN, former Assessor, Thurston County, WA
Hon. Charles G. Brown, former Attorney General, West Virginia
Hon. Ron King, DDS, former Member, Minnesota Board of Dentistry
Hon. Kevin Biggers, former Member, Dental Board of California
Hon. Chester L. Yokoyama, DDS, former Member, Dental Board of California