posted on March 28, 2002 12:11:06 PM new
The FDA is concerned when a woman who began taking the over-the-counter "herb" Kava Kava suddenly developed the need for a liver replacement!
In renewed calls, such as the FDA has been calling for over 30 years now, they want to place basic regulations on over-the-counter vitamine and herbal supplements.
* Test the product to see if it harmful
* Test the bottled product to ensure quality
* Test the bottled product to ensure that contents agree with what is on the lable
For over 30 years, the "supplement"(?) lobby has bought off every effort to regulate them. Their claim: To Test to see if what they sell is Harmful, of good quality, and in the quntity specified and the ingrrediants specified on the lable is acutally present WOULD COST TOO MUCH!
Congress, agreeing that this would indeed pose a hardship on their campaign funds, always kills any efforts by the FDA to help consumers in this matter.
posted on March 28, 2002 12:53:46 PM new
The information about kava kava has been in the German press and some books on herbal supplements for a while now. I agree that there's no monetary incentive for companies to test something that they can't patent. Perhaps a government sponsored study is needed since so many people are relying on herbal remedies these days.
posted on March 30, 2002 04:09:17 PM new
Absolutely! The Food and Drug Administration was born out of necessity to protect the public from quack remedies - particularly those which damaged and killed innocent people who were only looking for help. At the end of the 19th century in America, medicines often contained lead, arsenic, heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and other deadly ingredients. The government responded to many newspaper articles and started the FDA.
That was BAD FOR BUSINESS! Yes, the crooks and scoundrels were pushed out, locked up, or executed -- THOSE were the ones who lost out on business! And it's no different today with vitamins and herbal supplements. If federally regulated, ONLY THOSE WHO SHOULD NOT BE SELLING THEIR WARES WILL BE AFFECTED!
That simple things like herpes, warts, and other skin ailments that are not life threatening, but reduce the quality of life are ignored by the regular drug companies as non-profitable and leave it up to quack cures that the FDA can do little about, due to their strong lobby and the giant flow of cool cash into the hands of politicians to vote NO on pro-consumer bills.
I know that some folks who read this will say, "Hey! You don't want to put people out of business! You don't want to drive up prices! You don't want businesses to loose profits -- do you?"
How about this then: I start up a company selling worthless farm manure as a cure-all for some skin ailments and as a beauty aid. People unknowingly are putting horse dung and pig squat on their faces and sensitive body parts. Some it kills, many it makes sick, most it does nothing for them.
Should I be put out of business? I have 200 workers employed gathering up the poop and packing it into jars. Should I be put out of business because some idiots ingested it, rather than reading the label, which states, "DO NOT INGEST"? Should I be put out of business when I'm making so much profit (the farmers actually PAY ME to take the crap away)?
You Bet I should be put out of that business! At the least! And horse whipped to death for hurting, cheating, robbing, and killing all of those people. That's the right thing to do.
Instead, I've already joined the over-the-counter lobby in Washington. I grease the palms of politicians (I got LOTS of money!) who are to vote whether the FDA and law enforcement should get involved. I have those paid off politicians go around telling their voters to support my cause because it would put all of those people out of work, all those farmers would suffer from too much crud that they can't get rid of, the government would be INTERFERRING in my business and taking away my profits!
The result? Not only am I STILL in business with the same product, but now I am growing and charging more! I've become a name brand along with a social cause of millions of gullible voters to back me up! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
posted on March 30, 2002 05:52:27 PM new
If it were only that simple.
Yes many who would be suckered into worthless treatments are saved.
And many educated people who are well able to make their own medical decisions are treated as mindless also and kept from choosing their treatments.
It becomes the first priority to cover everyones butt so no blame can be placed before serving the patient.
The social and legal impact of drugs such as cannibus become more important than the needs of patients. The danger of addiction from pain killers becomes more important than the needs of a patient in pain.
posted on March 31, 2002 12:22:10 AM new
You can not legislate against stupidity. Say for example, the Enquirer prints that "noted researcher" claims cat urine cures kidney cancer. If the FDA banned it, the wackos would get it from Mexico or some place. Ever hear of Laetrile?
Anybody that self-medicates is in charge of their own destiny.
posted on March 31, 2002 08:12:45 AM new
Sometimes medicines that should not be brought to market are approved: Redux, Phen-fen etc. Sometimes the FDA overreacts: L-Tryptophan, a very good sleep aid that was banned from the U.S. market because of a contaminated batch produced many years ago. There is absolutely no reason to think that it would not now be safely produced. Clever chemists can get around many bans with derivatives such as 5 HTP which works almost as well as L-Tryptophan.
posted on March 31, 2002 10:45:00 AM new
OK, let's make another comparison: Foods vs. Vitamines.
FOODS: All ingrediants must be labeled in order by weight. The TOTAL MINUMUM weight or volume must be posted on the outside of the container.
IF, the FDA pulls a box of Corn Flakes off the shelf and discovers that 50% of each box sampled from three different lots contains sawdust, then General Mills is in big trouble.
VITAMINES: Is ALSO being sold as a FOOD. Like FOOD, they must label their contents. However, it is common practice for the makers of vitamines to shortchange the ingrediants. The more expensive ingrediants in a multivitamine often are not put into the mix at all. On one ingrediant formulas, less of the vitamine is put into each pill and more filler is added.
COMPARISON: If Vitamines we forced to live up to FOOD standards, just as all Food Processors do, then:
1) Food Grade. That is the highest purity rating that the FDA carries for consumables. That means that each and every ingrediant is in its purest form with the least additives before entering the ingrediant mixing phase (adding buffers, etc.)
2) Adherence to Labeling. That means that if it is listed on the Label, that's the MINIMUM amount that is in there and it had better be there too!
3) Faulty Claims. With the health claims of ceral makers in the 1950's, regulation reguarding the Truth in Advertising laws came about. IF a Vitamine maker makes a claim on the laebl or in their advertising of any sort, THEN is MUST be true!
Now, this does not hurt anyone but dishonest manufacturers who are purposely cheating the public. What do you have against that?
(changed "... in order by bulk, to 'weight'"
[ edited by Borillar on Mar 31, 2002 10:47 AM ]
posted on March 31, 2002 01:09:06 PM new
>>"L-Tryptophan, a very good sleep aid that was banned from the U.S. market because of a contaminated batch produced many years ago."<<
posted on March 31, 2002 09:59:45 PM new
snowy, those articles refer to fast-track approval of drugs already regulated. How does that tie-in with the subject?
[ edited by Borillar on Mar 31, 2002 10:47 AM ]