They are different only in degree not in kind. Pseudo-ephedrine was in wide use for perfectly legitimate purposes before the crack cookers started using it. Every single legitimate user is now punished because some buyers misuse the stuff.
That said, this law is about as effective as recording sales of .22 rimfire ammunition, which was the law between '68 and '86. I never heard of it stopping or solving a single crime. The same is probably true, or almost true, of the Pseudo-ephedrine and would certainly be true of the baking soda registration law.
No, it's not true, it's not probably true, and it's not almost true. (Got any more weasel words you want to add to your "definitive" statement? Like "maybe true", "I heard it's true", or "it could be true"?)
According to the article, "That law did place a serious crimp in methamphetamine production".