Drug Safety and the Evil FDA
Ok folks...which do we want? An agency to play Big Brother and tell us what we may and may not put into our bodies while simultaneously allowing us to eat as much McDonalds crap as we want while skydiving and becoming alcoholics? I'm totally confused. A few years ago we had people screaming that the FDA wasn't approving new drugs fast enough. This week everyone is taking studies out of context and running around like Chicken Little scaring the bejeezus out of anyone who ever took a pain reliever in their lives.
Oh the bad naughty FDA who approved Vioxx. Uh, guys...pain and the stress on the body caused by pain ALSO increases your possibility of a heart attack or stroke. Everything we do is a trade off. NO drug is "safe." There are side effects to everything. Then comes Celebrex. The ONE study that concluded that continually taking very high doses of Celebrax can contribute to stroke and/or heart disease is not actually READ by the media before breathlessly announcing how dangerous it is. And the stock market plummets.
Today we get that Aleve is horribly dangerous. Did anyone read THAT study? All participants were over 70, and all were taking very high doses of Aleve every day for over 3 years. Label says "Adults over 65 years - do not take more than 1 caplet every 12 hours unless directed by a doctor." So, is the drug at fault? Should the FDA rush to our defense? Or should people READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on the bottle?
I resent having choices taken away from me because some people are too dumb to read and follow directions. Ephedra was taken off the market because some people abused it. It was an important herb in Chinese medicine, and very useful for many different disorders. Now we have to find an alternative because "Big Brother" must help the stupid. I don't like that. I want to make my own choices, and be responsible for my own mistakes. Oh wait, I forgot. We live in a world where someone else must be responsible. It can never be "my fault." *sigh*