When you are prescribed a new drug, you assume that federal agencies have reviewed results of clinical trials before the drug was approved for prescribing. Probably not so!

The agency tasked with this approval process is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are many problems with the entire system now that are borne out by one drug and food disaster after another. All of them could be summed up by one problem - conflict of interest.

Here is a list of the conflicts:

1. Drug trials are not supervised by the FDA but by for profit corporations who are paid by the same drug companies whose drug trials they supervise.

2. The FDA itself derives a large part of its budget directly from the drug companies the agency “watchdogs”.

3. There is a very strong control of American citizens and their use of drugs but a lax buddy-buddy attitude towards the Execs in the drug industry.

4. FDA over-regulation in some areas and under regulation in others leads to falsifying research data and allowing lethal drugs on the market that were not needed in the first place.

5. Because a track record of correct use isn’t enough, many forms of generic cough syrup were given 30 days to obtain approval or get off the market.

We need safe drugs, for a reasonable price, and we only need drugs approved that have a unique value, not one great new drug and a bunch of me-too drugs in the same category that add nothing new. If we have a federal agency to supervise drug safety, then we have to decide how safe we want drugs to be. Do we want everything done in advance for every possible scenario or do we want most things done and then take our chances. Tell me what you think. What is your opinion on drug safety and the FDA system?

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