Maurice,
Reviewer1 has a number of good posts on the subject of the FDA. He expresses himself much better than I ever will:
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message 24644
In my opinion, Congress has hampered the ability of the FDA to safeguard the public. Any anarchy results from monied lobbyists who seek to enable the snake oil merchants to hide under the "dietary supplement" labels in order to deceive the public with their claims. Their donations to the politicians have been effective. Ephedrine sales, for example, have increase from $4 million in '96 to $600 Million in '98. Ephedrine is sold as a dietary supplement, and although it has been linked to over 800 adverse effects and several deaths, the FDA has no jurisdiction to pull it from the market.
On a personal level, I have had a number of friends who, over the past few years, have died from cancer. I provide them with the latest testing from the NCI, the latest science being published by TCLN and others. The problem is that - rather than giving the patient and the family free choice, it has made them feel that they should be second guessing all of their decisions that they have been making with their doctors. Then, they ultimately feel guilty when the death occurs.
The FDA does have problems. One of the problems is that they insufficient staff to handle the needs. Good doctors are leaving the agency for much better pay at the pharmas. The rules require constant revision with the revolution going on in the field of drug discovery.
Maurice - you see everything in black and white, and you are passionate in your convictions. In the real world, most everything can be seen in shades of gray. I see inconsistencies in the FDA policies regarding trials requiring placebos. I feel that the FDA sometimes errs in defining the clinical endpoints, and other protocol issues. But there has been progress in the FDA, and our needs would best be served if the FDA is given the resources and authority to do its job. I trust them far more than the marketers of cures. As far as being patronizing - I'm only trying to maintain some civility. My goal is the same as yours - and am still hopeful that TCLN will help save lives. |
