Dear Rep. Carroll,

Hawaii may be the first in the US to ban aspartame - if they aren't sabotaged by the industry lobbyists, - but they will not be the first in the world.

The Philippines has that distinction, having banned aspartame on October 13, 2005. Anyone breaking that law faces heavy fines. They used the FDA's own list of 92 symptoms attributed to aspartame, which include developmental retardation in children; coma and death.

There are 47 members of parliament in Britain who are pushing to get aspartame banned in their country; Many of the major stores in Britain have voluntarily chosen to stop using aspartame in their products; and there are movements to get aspartame banned in other parts of the world.

Is this product really that dangerous?

I consumed a soda drink for nearly six years which contained aspartame. It was not a 'diet' or 'light' soda and not advertised as such. I consumed just one-and-one-half liters per day. This means I was consuming approximately 227,5mg of aspartame; of which 22,75mg was methanol. This amount of aspartame is well below the daily limit allowed.

Methanol is poisonous. It converts to formaldehyde in the body. These are facts, not guesswork.

When I began consuming this product I was evaluated at 19% disability because of mild arthritis. In less than six months my disability rating had shot up to 65% and I was in a wheelchair. Any doctor will tell you that arthritis does not deteriorate at such a rate unless there is some outside agent that is causing severe damage to the joints. Spondiloarthrosis is arthritis of the spine, which is what I have been diagnosed with.

In under a year my disability has soared to 84% and I was also diagnosed with an enlarged heart. Other toxic effects that I had from aspartame are:

• Grand Mal Seizures during the night - disappeared since I stopped consuming aspartame.
  
• Restless Leg Syndrome - disappeared since I stopped ingesting aspartame.
  
• Arrythmia and loss of pulse - improved since I stopped ingesting aspartame but will reappear if I unknowingly consume anything that has aspartame.
  
• Severe pain in all my articular joints including fingers and toes - this has improved and the pain is not as severe since I stopped ingesting aspartame and the degenerative progression of the arthritis has slowed down since eliminating aspartame from my diet.
  
• Extreme fatigue - chronically tired and unable to function normally.
  
• Heavy sedation - I was sleeping between 16 to 20 hours daily, feeling as if I was recovering from general anaesthetic but without fully recovering my sense.
  
• Vision disturbance in the left eye and pain in the optic nerve - disappeared since I stopped ingesting aspartame.
  
• Extreme joint pain including fingers and toes - This has improved since I stopped ingesting aspartame, but not fully; the degenerative progression of the arthritis has slowed down, but there is permanent damage to the joints of the spine. The doctor has prescribed morphine PRN for those days when the pain is severe and does not respond to the usual analgesics prescribed for this.
  
• Severe depression and personality changes - disappeared since eliminating aspartame from my diet.

All of this is medically documented.

I am now on a disability pension. I have been assessed for a dependency rating; I need a caregiver 24/7. I stopped using aspartame products November 2, 2006. I sincerely hope that Hawaii legislature will have the courage to do what is right for their constituents. Anything else would be criminal negligence.

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Lady C. Ann Davies-Joubert