FDA Failings?

[Dillinger]

Hello everyone,

I am writing a research paper on the subject of junk food regulation, specifically, how the FDA in the past has failed to truly act in the best interests of Americans. For example, the banning of stevia, an all natural sugar substitute and the potential bans on PVs or e-cigs.

In my paper I am to include informal interviews as support and that is why I'm posting it here. Please share your thoughts on WHY the FDA would act this way. Is it regulatory capture (cases where the FDA has acted in the interests of the industry being regulated, rather than the interests of society)? Something else? Conspiracy theories? Anything you got, please share. Also, what do you think could go right/wrong in the regulation of junk food based on past regulatory performance? I realize a lot of this has been talked about already, but for my paper I need to ask again. Be forewarned, anything that's posted here I may quote in my school paper.

Thanks~
Dillinger

 

[rolygate]

Well, there is actually a limit on the comments that can be made about the FDA due to libel laws; but the whole idea that government acts in the public interest is severely flawed at best - anyone who has been involved in the battle to have e-cigs legalized knows very well that such a perception is naive in the extreme.

It has been reported elsewhere that the FDA is the most corrupt large government agency in the world. I would stress this is not my wording and it is purely an allegation. You will find that the UK's equivalent, the MHRA, has a similar reputation.

How could this even be envisioned, you might ask? Unfortunately there seem, on the surface, to be several facts that tend to support this position, and facts that contradict it are a little thin on the ground. The FDA and MHRA are funded by the pharmaceutical industry, in that their budgets are derived from pharmaceutical licenses; they have very close ties to the industry; they even share staff with the industry (ex-pharma employees work for the agencies); they have memoranda of agreements with the industry; and most importantly, there are few if any cases on record where a decision was made in the public's interest that hurt the pharmaceutical industry financially (quite the opposite).

In fact there are a plethora of cases currently where drugs that have lethal effects for many patients are still on the market when a reasonable person would expect them to have been withdrawn. Chantix, the 'quit smoking' drug, for example, which is linked with hundreds of deaths worldwide.

If you google for Dr Edmonds you'll find a list of court cases brought by doctors against the FDA which all succeeded as the judges found enough reasons to decide in the complainants' favor.

If you look at this link:
The MHRA - skullduggery and corruption
...you'll find a list of allegations of incompetence and corruption within the MHRA.

It's the same old story by the looks of it: follow the money. The pharma industry has millions to disburse on, shall we say, lobbying. A cynic would say that the regulatory agencies are in bed with the pharma industry but of course that would not be me, I believe that this must somehow be a strange anomaly of statistics or some such cause. I'm sure there are good reasons for the way they consistently seem to act against the interests of public health and to the benefit of pharma income.

One might, naively perhaps, think that if it seemed a good idea to save 450,000 lives each year lost to death by smoking in the US and 150,000 a year in the UK, then a fast-track introduction of e-cigarettes backed by government and promoted widely by TV advertising paid for by by public funds would be a good idea. Strangely, this does not seem popular in government circles for some reason. Perhaps the billions of dollars in lost tobacco tax revenue, and the millions of dollars lost in useless NRT sales by the pharma industry, who perhaps have some influence within government, may have something to do with that.

Of course, I personally don't believe such a thing, it must be to do with the difficulty of adjusting various regulations or similar. Government will surely always act in the best interest of the public, and saving millions of lives will of course always be far more important than tax income or hurting the pockets of a few friends.

 

[Dillinger]

Very good stuff. Thank you rolygate. Way to CYA also. lol

 

[Automaton]

I'm with Rolygate.

At the end of the day, it's all about money. Pretty much every government body is.

Specific to your topic, let's think about what junk food does. It puts you at risk for obesity, heart problems, diabetes, and a number of other ailments that, guess what, we have drugs for!

And the FDA makes a boatload of money off those drugs, one way or another. There's tax money and per-application money, but there's less publicized aspects as well. Lobbyists have "special dinners," or Big Pharma has a nice tight fist on the FDA itself. Probably all of the above. It's in their financial best interest to get as many people on those drugs as possible.

What's worse is that it seems like every year, we're discovering FDA-approved drugs that either don't work, or actually may be detrimental to the patient's health.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3434486.ece
Narrative Review: Lack of Evidence for Recommended Low-Density Lipoprotein Treatment Targets: A Solvable Problem — Ann Intern Med

They are so financially driven that not only do they not seem to care if people are being harmed by something that is openly sold, but they don't even care if the medications they're approving to treat that harm are actually treating it. They're even kicking back and let Big Pharma build their research centers, and decide on their own research with what seems to be little to no oversight.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21298130/

This is the heart of the problem. Rather than being at the mercy of the budget they are allowed, to be doing the things they are supposed to be, they get a perk every time someone gets sick, and buys a drug they approved.

This is also the same reason they are trying to get rid of e-cigs, yet sell NRT which has not only nicotine, but every other chemical they found in e-cigs, and fails 95% of the time. They get rich when you get sick.

 

[Club42]

Not anything to do with E cigs but here's a classic example of the FDA favoring pharmaceutical companies over common good. What is DMSO?

 

[andygee]

They've become a drug dealer protection racket. Anyone who has dealt with older relatives addicted to internet prescription oxycontin knows what I'm talking about.

And somehow if a drug grows hair, loses weight, or gets you a woodrow, 500 years of scientific method gets sucked up the vacuum hose.

They can pound sand.

My two cents, and I do not believe a government agancy can sue for libel.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

They've become a drug dealer protection racket. Anyone who has dealt with older relatives addicted to internet prescription oxycontin knows what I'm talking about.

And somehow if a drug grows hair, loses weight, or gets you a woodrow, 500 years of scientific method gets sucked up the vacuum hose.

I've been down the road of addiction to prescription pain killers with my mother and one of my best friends. They both lost.

This is just my opinion, but I think that Big Pharma is all about their bottom line, not about helping people feel better or become healthy. Look at all the drugs that have come out, then been taken off the market because they were killing people. Look at all the money that's been spent on advertising and commercials telling everyone that they're depressed or have ADHD, but there's a little pill to make it all better. Just beware of the myriad of side effects!

 

[Magus86]

Look at all the money that's been spent on advertising and commercials telling everyone that they're depressed or have ADHD, but there's a little pill to make it all better. Just beware of the myriad of side effects!

Yeah, myriad of side effects, including, but not limited to, DEPRESSION and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. Hey, everybody. Are you depressed? Well guess what!? Now you don't have to be. Instead, you can BE DEPRESSED and maybe even KILL YOURSELF when you take this pill! What a great idea... Don't forget about headaches, internal bleeding, and .... leakage too. Oh, and death... Go, pharmaceutical industry... And thank heavens we have the wonderful FDA looking out for us... like a cat looks out for a mouse.

 

[Automaton]

Yeah, myriad of side effects, including, but not limited to, DEPRESSION and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. Hey, everybody. Are you depressed? Well guess what!? Now you don't have to be. Instead, you can BE DEPRESSED and maybe even KILL YOURSELF when you take this pill! What a great idea... Don't forget about headaches, internal bleeding, and .... leakage too. Oh, and death... Go, pharmaceutical industry... And thank heavens we have the wonderful FDA looking out for us... like a cat looks out for a mouse.

Worst part is they don't even work. My first link above is about depression meds, specifically SSRI's, which account for the majority of people on anti-depressants. This study (one of the first not done by Big Pharma or their cohorts) found they are no better than placebos. Except for your risk of being even more depressed and offing yourself.

We might as well be handing people sugar pills with "Prozac" on the bottle. It would work just as well, with no risk of suicide from the medication.

I almost wish Big Pharma would just hand out sugar pills on those things. It's bad enough they're willing to suck people dry for drugs that cost pennies to make and don't work. Do they have to ACTUALLY kill people with them? Sugar pills would be less harmful, more honest, and just as effective as what they're doing now.

 

[Hobbes]

The FDA is not any different then most government departments...mired down with political posturing and appeasing special interest groups that support their bosses (politicians).

Funny you mention stevia. A co-worker just got some stevia plants and I have finally found some in my grocery store. But the sugar lobbyists have some VERY deep pockets even if it has been used successfully in Japan for a long time.

And who loses? We do. We lose products that are better for us because manufacturers of tobacco (and sugar) can pay to have public opinion spun against something they can't control.

 

[KissMint]

This has nothing to do with e-cigs, just another example of FDA protecting the public.

Last night while in bed, I was watching "I'm Alive" on the Animal Planet. A teen boy was bitten by a Black widow spider. Doctors at the hospital said they have some synthetic spider antivenom (FDA approved) that may help him, HOWEVER could also kill him. How can it be approved by the FDA if it could kill someone. The doctor also said there's a Mexican antivenom that can help the teen boy, but it's not FDA approved and considered illegal. His doctor could also lose his license. However, his doctor agreed to help give it to the teen if his family can get it. The teen's stepdad contacted people across the boarder and arranged to get the antivenom. He flew to Mexico and smuggled it back into the US.
Long story short, it was a happy ending true story, thanks to the illegal unapproved antivenom.

 

[t9c]

There is an interesting discussion started by Petrodus in the Campaigning forum that would be of great interest to the OP and everyone. There is a link "click here" to an interview on George Noory's radio show with an attorney, Jonathan W. Emord who has successfully sued the FDA 7 times. If anyone knows why the FDA does what it does, he knows and he's telling all of us. It's an incredible eye-opener.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/campaigning-discussions/135770-fda-truth-sticky.html

 

[Stephaniems]

Even the FDA's own scientist say they are corrupt.

 

[andygee]

Funny you mention stevia. A co-worker just got some stevia plants and I have finally found some in my grocery store. But the sugar lobbyists have some VERY deep pockets even if it has been used successfully in Japan for a long time.

Has stevia been pulled off the market? Last year I was getting Zevia soda sweetened with stevia, but then we remembered we're not really big soda drinkers.

 

[Hobbes]

From what I remember it can't be sold as a "sweetner"...just as a dietary supplement or something like that. According to stevia.net

Since the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), stevia can be sold legally in the United States, but only as a "dietary supplement." Even so, it can be found in many forms in most health-food stores, and is also incorporated into drinks, teas and other items (all labeled as "dietary supplements"). It cannot, however, be called a "sweetener" or even referred to as "sweet." To do so would render the product "adulterated," according to the FDA, and make it again subject to seizure.

 

[floridamale]

There is an interesting discussion started by Petrodus in the Campaigning forum that would be of great interest to the OP and everyone. There is a link "click here" to an interview on George Noory's radio show with an attorney, Jonathan W. Emord who has successfully sued the FDA 7 times. If anyone knows why the FDA does what it does, he knows and he's telling all of us. It's an incredible eye-opener.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/campaigning-discussions/135770-fda-truth-sticky.html

That was a great interview very eye opening if you didn't know how sleazy they were already. All the power in this country rests in the hands of a half dozen dot gov agencies where not a single person is elected or accountable for their actions. The elected politicians don't have the nads to stand up for what is right so they defer the major decisions to them. FDA, Homeland Security, ATF, EPA, Department of Energy. Osha, these are the agencies that are running our country and they answer only to corporate America and the Lobbying groups that push their buttons.

 

[Willriker]

I believe Karl Rove is behind this. He is behind everything!

 

[Automaton]

floridamale - Thanks for the link, listening now.

Willriker - I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

FDA, Homeland Security, ATF, EPA, Department of Energy. Osha, these are the agencies that are running our country and they answer only to corporate America and the Lobbying groups that push their buttons.

Not forgetting the SEC - good job they did with financial regulation and preventing financial crime, eh? I recently read a book by Harry Markopolos (the person who was submitting reports about the Madoff Ponzi fraud to the SEC since about 2000, although they refused to investigate). It was a good read, and shows just how badly wrong it can go when regulators get too cosy with the firms they're regulating, to the point that the regulators are actually protecting the industry rather than the public. One of his comments (made to a congressional hearing into the Madoff case) was that apart from the SEC, the FDA was the other agency that he had witnessed as being in bed with the industry they purported to regulate.

Madoff Whistleblower Harry Markopolos Tells Congress FDA Is Captured! | CareToLive

 

[floridamale]

Not forgetting the SEC - good job they did with financial regulation and preventing financial crime, eh? I recently read a book by Harry Markopolos (the person who was submitting reports about the Madoff Ponzi fraud to the SEC since about 2000, although they refused to investigate). It was a good read, and shows just how badly wrong it can go when regulators get too cosy with the firms they're regulating, to the point that the regulators are actually protecting the industry rather than the public. One of his comments (made to a congressional hearing into the Madoff case) was that apart from the SEC, the FDA was the other agency that he had witnessed as being in bed with the industry they purported to regulate.

Madoff Whistleblower Harry Markopolos Tells Congress FDA Is Captured! | CareToLive

Your right about that lets take care of the good old boy's they are part of the club, screew the avarge guy what can they do besides pay the bill.