Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The FDA Formed 100 Years Ago - Are We Safer Because of It

A century ago, in an era of snake-oil salesmen, dangerous medicines, and horrifying conditions in the meatpacking industry, Congress created the Food and Drug Administration. Consumers’ health and safety has improved remarkably since then. Yet problems with our food and drugs today echo the very reasons the FDA was established.

Congress and some states are considering legislation to require that drug companies make public their clinical trial results. And measures in Congress would empower the FDA to require drugmakers to complete any requested follow-up safety studies once their products are on the market, so patients and doctors know about harmful side effects. But the bills languish, fought by a pharmaceutical industry that flourishes in the status quo. Read the entire article here at Consumer Reports.

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