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Maple Grove, Minnesota (W.C.C.O.) — Maple Grove 7th graders are on a mission to make big changes that could impact millions of Americans.
Adina Togal, 12, has celiac disease and consuming gluten can make her seriously ill.
“I fell ill during the camp, but I never thought that my illness would change the lives of 40 million people,” Adina Togal said.
Two summers ago, Adina Togal was hospitalized with a severe reaction, but it wasn’t caused by anything she ate. It was her antibiotics to treat strep throat. Amoxicillin, like all medicines, may have active and inactive ingredients listed, but potential allergies such as gluten or lactose are not listed.
“There are some things that people don’t see that they should see,” says Adina Togal.
Adina’s father, Seth Torgal, says he doesn’t even know what he’s looking for when he reads the labels on medicines.
“They can’t even get a clear answer from Google,” Seth Torgal said.
When Adina Togal returned home, her family went looking for answers, but the drug company said they didn’t care.
So they visited Congressman Dean Phillips. They wrote every day for several weeks until the conference was held.
The result is the Allergen Disclosure in Non-Food Items (ADINA) Act, co-sponsored by Phillips and 21 other parties.
The bill would require drug companies to make allergen information available to all consumers, but the bill as it currently stands would do nothing, and Phillips said the fight is personal. There is.
“We should all be having a conversation about identifying a person of integrity, not just a Democratic or Republican speaker, but a person of integrity who has a mission to be Speaker of the House,” Phillips said. “Yes, we are working on it. [the ADINA act] I am now ready and will do everything I can to get you into a competent and caring position. ”
Adina Togar knows she’s not yet a voter, but she has an important voice.
“It’s not just me,” she said. “It’s about a lot of people. It has the potential to change a lot of people’s lives and the way they live their day to day lives.”
The ADINA Act has one sponsor in the U.S. Senate, so it has at least a chance of passing on the other side of the Capitol.
