Legal

This is a fascinating subject of much misinformation, speculation, conjecture, and debate, so we made this page to attempt to clarify the current situation. It is perfectly legal for you to buy Thyroid-S from Thailand, and here’s why.

First, there was an excellent discussion about this on the ERFA-Thyroid (Canada) website (but it’s a broken link now):

http://thyroid.erfa.net/thyroid_forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25

In case that page disappears, we have cached it on October 22, 2011 HERE. The interesting part is near the bottom of that page where they check with the US FDA and find that FDA forms are not required.

The salient points are:

• All the natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) medication sold in the US is NOT FDA approved (and this includes Armour and ERFA-Thyroid).
• US FDA forms are not required.
• ERFA-Canada requires a prescription because NDT is classified as a Prescription Drug in Canada.
• NDT is a non-prescription dietary supplement in Thailand (and not a prescription drug), so we can legally ship from Thailand with no prescription.

Furthermore, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) maintains a list of medications that are “approved” and therefore NOT allowed to be imported without a license. You can search for T4 (levothyroxine sodium), and you will see that there are many medications listed which contain T4, but Thryroid-S and Thiroyd are not on the list. This means that imports of these tablets are not restricted by the USFDA. If they were on this list, you could not legally import them without a license.

USFDA Orange Book – USFDA searchable list of “approved” medications (and “approved” means that they CANNOT be imported without a license).

Next, we should consider if there are any duties or other issues with US Customs for importing this product. Virtually all countries, including the United States, base their tariff schedules on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), making it easier to classify imports, determine applicable duty rate, if any, and conduct international trade. A check of the HTS shows that Thyroid-S and Thiroyd would be classified as “Extracts of Animal Glands”. US Customs import duty rate on this product is 0%. Screen shot of the HTS classification is HERE, and HTS of the US Customs is available online HERE.

And finally, it is prudent to verify that the active ingredients of these tablets are not prohibited or restricted substances. A quick check of the HTS shows that T4 (levothyroxine sodium) is not prohibited or restricted, it has a CAS registry number, and it can be imported duty free into the USA in any quantity. Screen shot of the HTS for T4 is HERE.

Under no circumstances that we can think of should your shipment have any problem at Customs.

We hope this clarifies the situation, and things are constantly changing (and not in a good way) in this area.

Disclaimer: Please note that our advice represents the best information in our possession, but in no way is it meant to replace recommendations by your physician or legal counsel. Our suggestions are not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment and/or advice of a qualified licensed professional and/or expert legal counsel.