Letter Re: Povidone (Betadine) Will Be Exempted from the New U.S. Iodine Ban But Polar Pure Will Not

Jim,
I was reading through FR Doc E7-12736 (Federal Register: July 2, 2007, Volume 72, Number 126, Rules and Regulations, Page 35920-35931, online at your link this morning when I found this language at the bottom of the document: Sec. 1310.12 Exempt chemical mixtures.

(4) Iodine products classified as iodophors that exist as an iodine complex to include poloxamer-iodine complex, polyvinyl pyrrolidone-iodine complex (i.e., povidone-iodine), undecoylium chloride iodine, nonylphenoxypoly (ethyleneoxy) ethanol-iodine complex, iodine complex with phosphate ester of alkylaryloxy polyethylene glycol, and iodine complex with ammonium ether sulfate/polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate.

It appears that Betadine and some other organic iodine compounds will continue to be available.

Thanks for the great blog, and God bless you and your family. Your brother in Christ, – DF

JWR Replies: Thanks for making that clarification. We can breathe a sigh of relief about Betadine, but sadly, not Polar Pure water purifier, which uses iodine crystals.

The latest that I’ve heard from preparedness vendors is that Polar Pure will not be totally banned from sale, but that the Federal government will soon be mandating a new licensing procedure costing $2,400 per year for wholesalers, and $1,200 per year for retailers, with the costs to be borne by the vendors. There will also be severe purchase quantity limits, and “positive tracking” of iodine products (over 2% solution) through every step of commerce from manufacture to wholesalers, to retailers, and finally and right down to electronic logging the names and addresses of every retail customer. Again, the cost of compliance (and the time required for record keeping) will be borne by the vendors. To offset these costs, wholesalers and retailers will undoubtedly raise their prices. With licensing at multiple levels plus the sales tracking paperwork, the price of Polar Pure and other potent iodine products will surely skyrocket. So stock up now, before prices increase. Polar Pure is still under $12 per bottle from Ready Made Resources, with no DEA paperwork. But if you dawdle a few months, I predict that you will find that it will be selling for $30+ per bottle, and you will have your particulars enshrined in some Federal database. I’ve said it before: Whenever a government interferes and enacts a ban, freeze, or other control, prices are bound to rise.