Consumers Ask for More Transparency at the FDA
Americans are demanding to know how the US Food and Drug Administration makes its decisions about the medicine they take and the food they consume.
21 Jul
2009
14 Jul
2009
US Censorship of Scientific Free Speech Continues as Bayer Faces Lawsuit over Its Selenium Claims
Bayer Healthcare could face a lawsuit in the US over its claim that selenium may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Bayer makes that claim on advertisements and labels for its One A Day Men’s multivitamin.
30 Jun
2009
Urgent Action Needed to Ensure that the FDA Does Not Create a Monopoly for Weight Loss Supplements!
Pharmaceutical companies have figured out that the FDA can be reshaped into a tool to increase their profits instead of doing its actual job—screening drugs for safety on behalf of consumers. First, there was the pharmaceutical company assault on your access to vitamin B6. The FDA has now ended your access to one of the […]
09 Jun
2009
FDA Seeks Your Suggestions for Increased Transparency
The FDA has established a Transparency Task Force, and has called for public comment. We certainly applaud this as a hopeful sign. Openness in government is imperative, and prompt disclosure to the public of government activity ensures legitimacy and accountability.
09 Jun
2009
Big Pharma and the FDA: Suppress the Science, Ban the Natural Substances, Sell the Drugs!
In 2005, an up-and-coming pharmaceutical company made a big mistake: they invested millions of dollars into developing a drug only to discover that the only active ingredient of the drug, pyridoxamine, was really a common, naturally occurring substance that has been sold for decades at low cost to consumers in the form of a dietary […]
09 Jun
2009
Congressional Panel Wants New Review of BPA Safety
As we have reported earlier in Pulse of Health Freedom, chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long-term health effects, including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government […]
02 Jun
2009
Creating a Generation of Drugged Children
Last November, the journal Pediatrics published research that found medication use among children across the United States is dramatically increasing as more kids are being treated for diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using a database of prescription claims from children with private health insurance, they were able to find prescriptions for […]
26 May
2009
FDA to Receive More Money from Drug Manufacturers, But Denies “Undue Influence”
The proposed budget of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is worrying the Democrats. They are concerned that FDA’s annual increases in industry user fees—$828 million from manufacturers of medical and food products, including hundreds of millions drug manufacturers pay annually to help speed the review of new medicines—might compromise the agency’s independence.
26 May
2009
Nineteen Members of Congress Ask FDA for Official Warning About Mercury in Dental Filling Amalgams
A bipartisan letter authored by Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), and co-signed by congresswomen and men from twelve states, has been sent to the FDA urging them to require clear warnings about mercury toxicity to every dental patient, and to establish specific protections for children and young women.
19 May
2009
FDA Calls Cheerios an “Unapproved Drug”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to cereal manufacturer General Mills for claiming on its cereal box that Cheerios can help lower cholesterol, and saying on their website that “diets rich in whole grain foods can reduce the risk of heart disease.” The letter, dated May 5, called the above […]