Consumer Reports Update

[Alia]

Forum readers may recall the September 2016 Consumer Reports (CR)-- 15 supplement ingredients to avoid, which listed Piper methysticum, kava, could cause liver damage and sudden death. After nearly a year of back and forth communication with CR, they have sent me this which suggests they meant that only the supplements are in question, not the traditional beverage. I added the RED font within their quote.
"We did forward your previous comments to our editors, ... With all due respect, our information is geared to inform consumers here in the US about the products sold and advertised as Kava. While indigenous Polynesian cultures may have originated certain preparations using the kava plant, by and large that has no bearing on our readers, and means no disrespect to any culture where this preparation originates. Issue should be taken with producers of the supplements sold here that produce a product which has known problematic effects".

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Wow! Interesting. For fairness, they should make a public statement,

 

[Alia]

Yes, I asked them to do so...but who knows if they will...

 

[Ricardo Piquant]

That response sounds generated by an attorney

 

[Alia]

I agree and the amount of back and forth correspondence was stunning but the fact that they addressed this issue at all (even just to my small Hawai'i 'awa non-profit) is pretty impressive. Back in 2004 when NPR was reporting that "kava causes liver failure" we tried to get them to differentiate traditional beverage from pills and extracts...even University of Hawai'i researchers wrote NPR and they were never even answered not did they correct the miss-information .

 

[The Kap'n]

I agree and the amount of back and forth correspondence was stunning but the fact that they addressed this issue at all (even just to my small Hawai'i 'awa non-profit) is pretty impressive. Back in 2004 when NPR was reporting that "kava causes liver failure" we tried to get them to differentiate traditional beverage from pills and extracts...even University of Hawai'i researchers wrote NPR and they were never even answered not did they correct the miss-information .

I'm not sure who is behind this username, but you're obviously suiting up and showing up for Kava. On behalf of everyone who loves kava, thank you for what you're doing.

 

[kasa_balavu]

Thanks for your efforts, Alia.

This highlights yet again that Pacific Island nations really need to protect the name "kava". Like Lebot said, kavalactones are not kava in the same way that caffeine is not coffee.

So long as one can slap the "kava" label on anything even remotely derived from kava will always be a significant risk to the industry.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I'm not sure who is behind this username, but you're obviously suiting up and showing up for Kava. On behalf of everyone who loves kava, thank you for what you're doing.

Alia means "everyone" in Latin, not sure if that's a clue or not....

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

Thanks for your efforts, Alia.

This highlights yet again that Pacific Island nations really need to protect the name "kava". Like Lebot said, kavalactones are not kava in the same way that caffeine is not coffee.

So long as one can slap the "kava" label on anything even remotely derived from kava will always be a significant risk to the industry.

While it is important to distinguish between kava as a whole plant and kavalactones, it is equally as important that extracted kavalactones are not thought of as dangerous as it will give sufficient reasoning for restrictions and bans. The excuse will be made that it is a threat to society because the lactones could potentially be extracted.

 

[Bula Kava House]

While it is important to distinguish between kava as a whole plant and kavalactones, it is equally as important that extracted kavalactones are not thought of as dangerous as it will give sufficient reasoning for restrictions and bans. The excuse will be made that it is a threat to society because the lactones could potentially be extracted.

Exactly. There are quite a few safe extracts and supplements available. The liver problems didn't arise due to kavalactones being extracted.

 

[kasa_balavu]

While it is important to distinguish between kava as a whole plant and kavalactones, it is equally as important that extracted kavalactones are not thought of as dangerous as it will give sufficient reasoning for restrictions and bans.

Other than those whose entire knowledge of kava is limited to 5 minutes of googling, there is nobody who thinks that kavalactones are dangerous. That will not change, so there is no need to worry about kavalactones *or* kava being banned or restricted in the US. Caffeine is safe too and faces no risk of ever being banned or restricted, but it isn't coffee.

Exactly. There are quite a few safe extracts and supplements available. The liver problems didn't arise due to kavalactones being extracted.

Agreed.
Your kavalactones are safe and definitely much better than every other kavalactone product out there. But your kavalactone paste is not kava. This is not kava. This is not yaqona. This is not awa. This is not ava. This is not sakau.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

But your kavalactone paste is not kava. This is not kava. This is not yaqona. This is not awa. This is not ava. This is not sakau.

Agree, agree, agree, agree, agree, agree, agree.

100%

 

[verticity]

I'm looking forward to Consumer Reports warning its readers about all the medications for which there are case reports of liver damage at the same (extremely low) or greater rates than kava. For example, acetaminophen:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep.20948/full
... no wait, in that case they recommend using acetaminophen as a great way to save money compared to prescription medications for back pain:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/09/when-an-otc-drug-is-the-best-first-bet/index.htm

 

[verticity]

Consumer Reports "Best Wine Buying Guide"
Consumer Reports "Best Beer Reviews"
Consumer Reports: Health Benefits of Wine (this article does mention some of the possible negative effects of excessive alcohol drinking, but doesn't say anything about liver disease)

... etc.

 

[Bula Kava House]

Agreed.
Your kavalactones are safe and definitely much better than every other kavalactone product out there. But your kavalactone paste is not kava. This is not kava. This is not yaqona. This is not awa. This is not ava. This is not sakau.

Yeah, it goes without saying on this site that kava extracts aren't kava. My point was that although there were some kava extracts that caused illness in the past, Consumer Reports is wrong to imply that all supplements and extracts have a risk.

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

Other than those whose entire knowledge of kava is limited to 5 minutes of googling, there is nobody who thinks that kavalactones are dangerous. That will not change, so there is no need to worry about kavalactones *or* kava being banned or restricted in the US. Caffeine is safe too and faces no risk of ever being banned or restricted, but it isn't coffee.

You don't understand how out of touch the government is here. I know and you know that kavalactones are not dangerous but facts are irrelevant to these people (multiple times plants and other substances are put up for ban based on google searches). Many plants on the controlled substance list are safe in their whole plant form yet people face punishment of up to life in prison for using them. Some of the areas that have banned K@ have done so based on the fact that it is a synthetic cannabinoid - it is neither synthetic nor does it contain any cannabinoids. Our VP signed a law as state governor banning K@ because he and the legislators in the state believed it was a synthetic substance.

There has also been talk of banning caffeine powder after some people have bought it and fatally overdosed. More news reports about the dangers of that "drug" have been coming out over the past few years.