URGENT LETTER

122 Thurman Street Bluffton, Ohio 45817

Dear friends,

I am writing you out of a personal concern that could have major consequences. I am not writing as a representative of any organization or society, nor am I asking for any money. This letter is an urgent plea for your help to prevent the Federal Government from suppressing alternative medicine. If you in turn will write a letter in your own words protesting the actions by the Federal Trade Commission described below and if may others will do the same, together we might be able to stop an organized effort to keep you from receiving and providing truthful information about alternative medicine.

As you know alternative medicine has grown by leaps and bounds during the last few years. In 1990 a study showed that more people went to alternative practitioners than to family doctors. In 1997 there was an additional increase of 50% that visited alternative providers. Organized medicine has been greatly concerned about these developments and because alternative medical treatments are unfamiliar to mainstream medicine, there have been many unfounded complaints to state medical boards against physicians who practice in this are. Frequently, the only defences against these are attacks have been lengthy and expensive court battles and health freedom legislation, which has been passed in several states and is pending in others, as well as in Congress.

Now the Federal Trade Commission has proposed to issue a formal order to conclude its 3-year investigation of the American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM), which is one of the most prominent medical societies that teaches physicians about alternatives. Keep in mind that the FTC has two major functions: to prevent the restriction of trade, and to protect consumers. They are not supposed to get involved in the practice of medicine nor are they supposed to regulate non-profit agencies.

After reviewing the extensive records ACAM submitted voluntarily, the FTC took issue with one seven-page brochure that was provided by ACAM to its member physicians for use with their patients, and to members of the public who sent individual requests to ACAM along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Somehow the FTC called this "advertising". The brochure discussed the use of EDTA chelation and clearly disclosed that other physicians held differing opinions. The FTC rejected the disclosure as being insufficient. The material was posted on the ACAM website briefly, but the FTC has warned thousands of websites without issuing complaints against them.

ACAM responded quickly to the FTC's objections by revising the brochure and reasonable people would consider it obvious that the FTC should require nothing more. Nevertheless, they insisted on a formal order against ACAM that would put ACAM under their supervision for the next 20 years. Now the FTC is fully aware that if they file a complaint against anyone, the legal costs for the accused to contest that complaint, even if the accused wins, will be between $1 million and $2 million. So organizations with limited resources like ACAM have no choice but to sign a consent order or go bankrupt. ACAM's Board of Directors chose not to martyr the organization and let it die. Even though they were convinced that the FTC's action was unjustified, they signed the consent order.

Federal law provides a safeguard on abuse of power by the FTC. There is a 60 day comment period after a consent order is published in the Federal Register. If there are thousands of letters submitted as comments to this proposed consent order, some of the following objectives might be accomplished: the FTC might withdraw the consent order, they might decide not to use the consent order to further suppress chelation therapy, they might decide not to attack other medical organizations that teach alternatives and demand consent orders from them. Congress might investigate why the FTC---through the suppression of information---is actually suppressing competition in the treatment of heart disease and other illnesses when they are supposed to be doing just the opposite.

Your letter along with many others will be extremely effective. The letter you write must be in your own words. Some key points you could make are as follows. -The FTC is suppressing competition in medicine by this consent order. This might cost billions of dollars and countless lives. The FTC should be regulating the claims of bypass surgeons as well, if they insist on regulating alternative practitioners.

• The FTC is suppressing freedom of speech and a free flow of ideas about alternative medicine. This is clearly not in the public interest.
• The FTC is not supposed to regulate non-profit medical societies whose purpose is scientific, educational, and public health.
• ACAM's brochures were used primarily as educational tools by physicians to counsel their patients, which is the practice of medicine, not advertising.
• The brochure included a clear disclosure that there are differing views in the medical community about chelation therapy.
• The FTC's action has depleted the financial resources of an educational, scientific non-profit organization that otherwise would have been used to further its public health and research objectives.

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary Room 159 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington DC 20580

With sincere thanks for your help,

L. Terry Chappell, M.D.

LTC/bta