To answer this question properly, let˙s first break it down for basic facts so that we can
truly understand what is going on.
The first thing to address is this: there is NO "Vitamin" B17.
That˙s right, it simply does not exist. To be defined as a vitamin, a chemical needs to be
essential for cellular health. No such Vitamin B17 exists. So why is this chemical referred
to as "Vitamin B17" if there is no B17 in the list of actual vitamins? The answer is quite
simple, and plays into the myth that the chemical was banned.
Laetrile is a patented, synthetic chemical that was marketed as a chemotherapeutic drug
some decades ago. The patent owner wanted to sell this as a standard chemotherapy.
The problem was that it did not really work, and so it never got adopted for mainstream
use. In fact, because of the levels of toxicity from cyanide (the byproduct of metabolizing Laetrile in the body), the FDA would not approve it for medical use.
This is an important distinction, too: it was not "banned," it was simply not approved
because it failed basic tests of both efficacy and safety.
What is a patent owner to do when the goal is to make money off your investment but
you cannot sell your product because it does not work?
Well, in the great political wisdom of Congress, the supplement industry was deregulated
˙ it used to be that Vitamins had to meet certain guidelines, not that different from
what medications need to meet, in order to be marketed and sold.
However, after the supplement industry was deregulated, it became really, really easy
for soft healthcare claims to be made by companies marketing Vitamins and herbs.
Even though there are lots of B vitamins, and perhaps because there are already a
number of them, the patent owner of Laetrile decided that it would be good marketing
sense to claim that this chemical was a vitamin and, thereby, circumvent the FDA.
Fortunately, the FDA is run by people who understand the basic rules of what constitutes
being a Vitamin. A drug is a drug is a drug, no matter what you call it ˙ and this one is
not approved because it is neither safe nor effective.
The irony, of course, is that it is promoted by people who are generally very anti-
chemotherapy, even though Laetrile itself was originally promoted as just that.
Full story:
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-vitamin-B17-banned-although-it-is-promoted-as-a-cure-
for-cancer
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* Origin: The Hobby Line! BBS (999:1/1)