Where the bill was introduced and now sits, referred to committee with no hearing yet scheduled
Smallbones
The New Jersey State House itself, not a depiction of any specific hearing or vote. The bill is currently referred to committee with no hearing scheduled.
New Jersey Wants to Ban Creatine Sales to Minors Again, and Lump It in With Diet Pills
Every so often a state lawmaker tries to restrict supplement sales to minors, and creatine ends up swept in alongside a handful of genuinely more speculative ingredients. New Jersey just did it again, and the framing choice underneath the bill is worth looking at as closely as the bill itself.
- New Jersey Assembly member Shanique Speight introduced bill A5487 on September 14, 2026, her second attempt at this exact restriction.
- It would ban selling creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, or green coffee bean extract to anyone under 18, with ID age verification and fines up to 750 dollars per violation.
- The bill's predecessor passed the full Assembly in an earlier session, then stalled in the Senate, and an industry group already expects this version to stall too.
- Creatine is one of the most studied, safety proven supplements in sports nutrition, which is exactly what makes grouping it with far shakier ingredients like raspberry ketone worth examining.
What the bill actually does
On September 14, 2026, Assembly member Shanique Speight introduced bill A5487, which would prohibit selling five named ingredients, creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, and green coffee bean extract, to anyone under 18. The bill groups all five together under the label diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building, and it would require government ID age verification for both in person and online sales, with fines up to 750 dollars per violation.
This is Speight's second attempt at essentially the same restriction. An earlier version, A1848, passed the full Assembly in a prior session but stalled in the Senate. The bill is currently referred to the Assembly Health Committee with no hearing scheduled, and Kyle Turk of the Natural Products Association, an industry trade group, has already called this version a holding bill that will likely carry over again without moving this session.
Why creatine keeps getting grouped with weaker ingredients
Creatine has one of the deepest, most consistent evidence bases of any supplement sold today, with decades of research behind its safety and effectiveness for strength and muscle performance at typical doses. Raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, and green coffee bean extract do not share that track record. Their evidence for weight loss in humans is thin and inconsistent, which is a meaningfully different scientific situation than creatine's. Bundling all five under one weight loss and muscle building label treats a well studied ingredient and several shaky ones as though they carry the same level of risk, when the actual evidence says otherwise.
Honest caveat
This is early stage legislation. It has been introduced and referred to committee, not scheduled for a vote, and the supplement industry's own trade association contact does not expect it to move this session. It may never become law, just as its predecessor stalled after passing the Assembly. This should be read as a regulatory watch item, not an imminent ban, and the bill's ingredient grouping itself, not its existence, is the part genuinely worth scrutinizing.
What this means for you
Nothing changes today for anyone buying creatine in New Jersey or anywhere else. What is useful here is the habit this bill is a good example of: state legislation aimed at diet pills and weight loss supplements regularly lumps creatine in by association rather than by evidence, and it is worth checking what a bill actually names before assuming creatine belongs in the same category as the ingredients sitting next to it.
Primary sources
Common questions
Is creatine actually dangerous for teenagers?
The research base does not support that. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in sports nutrition, with a long safety record in the doses typically used, which is exactly why critics argue it is a poor fit to group alongside far less studied ingredients like raspberry ketone or garcinia cambogia in a single restriction.
Is this New Jersey bill actually going to become law?
Probably not soon. The bill was introduced on September 14, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Health Committee with no hearing scheduled. Its predecessor passed the full Assembly in an earlier session but stalled in the Senate, and an industry trade group has already called this version a holding bill unlikely to move this session.
What five ingredients does the bill actually name?
Creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, and green coffee bean extract, all grouped together in the bill as diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building. It would require government ID age verification for both in person and online sales, with fines up to 750 dollars per violation.
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