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Pills claiming to shield people from radiation are thriving, but some experts warn against using them.
By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 21, 2002
TAMPA -- Potassium iodide pills: They're not just for Armageddon anymore.
The tablets, long stored away by survivalists and others fearing nuclear fallout, are making an appearance in health food stores around the Tampa Bay area.
With concerns about possible terrorist strikes against nuclear facilities, federal and state agencies have been stockpiling the drug since the Sept. 11 attacks. Potassium iodide protects the thyroid from radiation poisoning that can cause cancer and other diseases, one of the main threats from a nuclear disaster.
What has been showing up in recent weeks in health food shops -- along with organic carrot juice and multivitamins -- is a supplement that purports to do the same thing. It has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as the fine print indicates.
"These are commercial entrepreneurs trying to make a fast buck," said Dr. David V. Becker, a professor of radiology and medicine at the New York-Cornell Medical Center in New York. "I would be very concerned about the quality of the product."
One offering, called No-Rad, tells shoppers to "be prepared." It features a little nuclear symbol and can be found in checkout lines at some health stores.
The packaging says the pills protect against harm from radiation in the event of a power plant accident, nuclear waste spill or "dirty bomb" explosion. It also can be bought over the Internet at a cost of $11.99 for a 10-day supply.
Its makers, Natural Balance of Castle Rock, Co., produce a variety of energy-enhancing supplements such as Cobra, which claims to improve the male libido. Natural Balance began selling No-Rad last October.
"The heightened awareness that Americans have with terrorist threats has created an interest in potassium iodide that simply wasn't there a few years ago," said Scott Smith, vice president of corporate development for Natural Balance. "We looked at the market and found that families that wanted the security of having that at home couldn't find it very easily."
Smith said No-Rad had become the fastest seller of any product the company has launched in the past 20 years.
Several stores contacted for this story reported mixed sales.
Alan Morris, president of Anbex Inc., said buyers should be skeptical of the new products. Morris,of Palm Harbor founded Anbex 20 years ago to sell his Iosat brand of nonprescription potassium iodide pills. Anbex was one of only two companies to secure FDA approval for the drug.
Making the pills available to the public was a mission for Morris for 20 years. He said his $10, 30-day supply gave people a way to protect themselves from one of the main threats of a nuclear fallout.
But Iosat attracted little interest, selling mainly to survivalists, nuclear plants and some state health departments.
That changed on Sept. 11. Anbex secured a contract to sell 6-million tablets to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to create stockpiles in states with nuclear plants. Earlier this month, the U.S. Postal Service announced that it was buying 1.6-million of the pills.
Morris said there was a reason so few companies have secured FDA approval to distribute the drug. It's not easy to produce in large quantities, and quality control is costly.
"I don't mind competition," he said. "It would be nice to spend money on marketing. But we don't go out and try to beat the bushes to scare people."
Potassium iodide works to block radioactive contaminants from collecting in the thyroid. But Dr. Becker, at Cornell, said it could cause harm to small children in improper doses and is less effective in older adults.
This year, Florida health officials debated whether to distribute potassium iodide to Crystal River residents near Florida Power's nuclear power plant. They decided to hold onto the pills rather than create a false sense of security.
"This is not a silver bullet," said Bill Parizek, spokesman for the Florida Department of Health. "If we were to have some type of radiological event, our No. 1 priority would be getting people out of there."