Have you had a bad reaction to essential oils? Do you know of someone (individual or business) who is making medical claims for the essential oils they sell?  It’s time to take action.

Aromatherapy is a self-regulated industry. To help insure we all can continue to enjoy the freedom we currently have to purchase and use essential oils responsibly and safely, it’s important that we work together to help enforce the laws we have in place.  That means alerting proper authorities when individuals make false or illegal claims for essential oils and aromatherapy products that jeopardize our rights and the freedom in our industry. The agencies such as the FDA rely on consumers to file complaints when a company or individual is jeopardizing the public with illegal claims or dangerous products and report adverse reactions from products.

Note:  It’s not necessary for you to be injured or to have experienced an adverse effect in order to report dangerous products.

The following will direct to you where and how to file complaints and report problems to the Food & Drug Administration as is appropriate.

• If your report involves a life-threatening situation, call 1-866-300-4374 or 301-796-8240 immediately.  (Also contact your health professional for medical advice).
• For Consumers: Bad Reaction? Tell FDA.
• MedWatch is the FDA’s problem-reporting program.  You can fill out their Online Voluntary Reporting Form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form.
• To report adverse reactions or other problems with FDA-regulated products, contact the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for the state in which you reside.
• You can also fill out the form on the FDA’s Reporting Unlawful Sales of Medical Products on the Internet page.
• Forward emails or send screenshots to webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov.

The FDA prioritizes the complaints they receive. If a situation is clearly life-threatening, those complaints are investigated first. The risks of injury to children are taken very seriously. Those complaints get moved to the head of the line as well. If they receive multiple complaints against the same individual or business, those complaints will be given higher priority. So it is important that we each do our part to bring illegal medical claims to the attention of the FDA. Doing so means those who are breaking the law can be held accountable. It also means the rest of the aromatherapy community can continue selling and using essential oils and aromatherapy products safely and responsibly without unnecessary regulation.