Compliance; Love it? Hate it? Embrace it.
You may have heard that some Essential Oil companies ran in to some trouble with the FDA. Specifically, the companies had their hands slapped for not controlling what their independent consultants said. Why? They were making claims that EOs cured diseases. Specific quotes are in the letter linked below (if you're so inclined), but the short of it is consultants made claims that some oils would protect against Ebola, treat arthritis, and some EOs even attack cancer cells. Those are some ballsy claims, hence the FDA smacked YL's pee pee and told them if their EOs are going to make drug like claims then they would be treated as drugs.
US FDA letter to Young Living: https://www.fda.gov/…/Enf…/WarningLetters/2015/ucm416023.htm
Why is this good? Well, have you ever mentioned an ailment or disease and a consultant comes up, unsolicited, and says "You should try essential oils!" I'm not sure about you, but this turns me off to trying them. "You aren't a damn doctor" often runs through my head. Yes, I love that someone is passionate about something and wants to share it, but there are better ways to share. As a company even Young Living agrees and put all consultants on notice.
Letter from Young Living to consultants: https://static.youngliving.com/…/Compliance_Letter_from_Gar…
Why does this suck? Well, it means I'm very restricted on what I can say on the interwebs. There are lists of words I can't say, such as...
Acne
Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD, ADHD)
Allergies
Alzheimer’s
Antibiotic
Anti-Inflammatory
Antiseptic
Anxiety
Arthritis
Asthma
Autism
Burns
Bursitis Candida
But wait, there's more...
Carpal Tunnel
Cholesterol
Chronic Fatigue
Cold
Comparison or Substitute for Any Over-the-Counter or Rx Drugs
Congestion
Constipation
Cough
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Cysts
Depression
Diabetes
Eczema
Fever
Fibromyalgia
Flu
Headache
Heartburn
Hypothyroid
High Blood Pressure
Hyperthyroid
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Illness
Infection
Infertility
Insomnia
Lyme Disease
Migraine
Nausea
Not done yet...
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Over the Counter (OTC)
Pain
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS)
Planter Fasciitis
Prescriptions
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Rosacea
Scars
Sciatica
Shingles
Sickness
Sore Throat*
Still going...
Stomachache
Vertigo
Virus
Wounds
(Link to list: https://static.youngliving.com/en-US/PDFS/25_HotWords.pdf)
That's a lot of words to avoid. Many of them are symptoms, not diseases, so that is very limiting. In my experiments I can't say that "Sully had a cold, so I diffused xyz to help treat his symptoms". I can say "I diffuse xyz around Sully to support a healthy immune system". There are tons of outside resources that use all the hot words and talk about diseases, but I myself can not say these things. If I lived in Canada, though...
Mostly this is just annoying, but eventually I'll get used to this. It means re-writing some posts here and there when friends point out my screw ups. It will also prevent me from becoming a preachy essential oil asshole (I hope).
The good news is in private conversations I still won't make claims to cure diseases or solve all the worlds problems with EO. I can, however, share my resources and have a real conversation with you; my friends. Please don't hesitate to reach out.
Oh, and if you have a preachy asshole you want to leave you alone feel free to take the above information and remind them they're not only being an asshole, but they are non-compliant. The majority of us oily folks will thank you. They're making the rest of us look bad. Unless you live in Canada, then I'm sorry, but you're on your own.
