What are your thoughts on the FDA and their aggressive actio

caseyp1122

I have a feeling this is a hot button topic and judging by some responses this debate is headed south quickly lol

I don't really see it 'going south'. However, I do see that you are refusing to be open-minded about the topic. I've researched how the FDA determines the safety of a product, but you 'respectfully disagreed'. On what basis are you generating your conspiracy theory?

lol no it's not going south when people are requiring other peoples credentials to speak on a message board topic or when someone disagrees with you they are automatically considered a conspiracy theorist (note sarcasm) lol. Silly me for thinking folks could have civil discourse.
I respectfully disagreed with your assertion that the FDA is not susceptible to special interest, I wasn't disagreeing with your argument of the FDA process.

Well... I actually wasn't arguing with you on that. The paper that I wrote discussed how 'Big Pharma' has influenced the FDA to look the other way on certain issues concerning the approval of psychiatric medicine. I was disagreeing that the move to ban a product like HCG is motivated by special interest. This is a capitalist society and the government is more interested in generating the economy, even on false advertising. The government never makes a move or action on a company or product without receiving a complaint from a private citizen first. Remember that every dollar that HCG manufacturer produces is another dollar that can be taxed and is reinvested into the economy.

That sounds like an incredibly interesting paper to write! I bet you came up with all kinds of awesome primary sources to use! Good discussion and have a great rest of the day Whitney!

Well it would seem that you wish to discuss this with me no further so I will wish you a great day as well.

Definitely not trying to shut anyone down! lol You stated your position, I stated mine and that's that

try2basunbeam

At one time Cocaine was thought to be a miracle drug. Advertised, marketed, given to kids.
Imagine no FDA or Pharmacy group or Council making it's use illegal.

and marijuana was once illegal and now is legal with a prescription...

hmmmm...at least I was thin when I was a crack-head...:smokin:

slashkiss

At one time Cocaine was thought to be a miracle drug. Advertised, marketed, given to kids.
Imagine no FDA or Pharmacy group or Council making it's use illegal.

Wait?! There is something wrong with giving crack to kids?!

TourThePast

I'm reminded of a few years ago when Ephedra was all the craze and I witnessed it work wonders on folks who had issues with weight loss and I certainly didn't know anyone who died from it but yet as quickly as it was proven effective, the FDA had it yanked off the shelves and banned.

Yeah, god forbid that anyone might have to take the truly drastic step of actually eating sensibly and *gasp* doing some exercise, just because the FDA has yanked a product whose side effects include death... *rolls eyes*

caseyp1122

I'm reminded of a few years ago when Ephedra was all the craze and I witnessed it work wonders on folks who had issues with weight loss and I certainly didn't know anyone who died from it but yet as quickly as it was proven effective, the FDA had it yanked off the shelves and banned.

Yeah, god forbid that anyone might have to take the truly drastic step of actually eating sensibly and *gasp* doing some exercise, just because the FDA has yanked a product whose side effects include death... *rolls eyes*

Mature.

maidentl

I agree that personal responsibility is a weird issue in this country (I think of it every time I see CAUTION: CONTENTS MAY BE HOT on a cup of coffee... like, really? No sh&@?). At the same time, though, there are a lot of people who assume that if something is available for purchase, it must be ok. If you go to places like Barbados, where they don't have the same kinds of government regulations, there are all kinds of weird elixirs and tinctures on the drug store shelves because pretty much anyone can market anything and claim that it will make you beautiful and healthy and that, of course, it is perfectly safe to take many, many doses. So I actually LIKE that we have an FDA. I just wish they were less under control of lobbyists.

This! I read through all of the replies waiting for someone to say this. It's not, in my opinion, so much about personal freedom. If they have no rules, then people will put claims on anything, and let's be honest, there are some REALLY dumb people out there. I mean, sure, it would be great to just force the HCG people to stop saying it promotes weight loss and let the naive continue to purchase it, but I think that's a slippery slope to the above scenario.

Jeff92se

I'm reminded of a few years ago when Ephedra was all the craze and I witnessed it work wonders on folks who had issues with weight loss and I certainly didn't know anyone who died from it but yet as quickly as it was proven effective, the FDA had it yanked off the shelves and banned.

Yeah, god forbid that anyone might have to take the truly drastic step of actually eating sensibly and *gasp* doing some exercise, just because the FDA has yanked a product whose side effects include death... *rolls eyes*

Mature.

If you want to be upset with the FDA, then be upset for them allowing the tomato paste in pizza to allow it be classifed as a vegetable in school lunches.

songbyrdsweet

They usually pull stuff when people start acting like idiots and dying from it. While I totally appreciate social darwinism, if no one was there to regulate these items, there wouldn't be many of us left to keep the planet populated.

EricNCSU

TL;DR

The FDA doesnt do anything based on personal fitness. It's called food safety. Do you want to die? I didn't think so.

MaraDiaz

like most aspects of government i believe they have no right telling me or anyone for that matter what we can and cannot do with our bodies, our money, etc. Information is good, making people knowledgable on thing such as drugs and gimmicky fix quick solutions is great but then stepping forward and making the decision for us, NOT COOL.

Same idea with the four loco issue last year. so some dumbass college students drink too much and die, thats nothing new but it was the perfect excuse to ban the drink even though its still completely legal to buy alcohol and add as much caffiene as you want to it at home.

For being in the land of the 'free' we sure have a lot of people controlling every aspect of our lives.

For the most part I agree with this. Also, I flat out don't trust their motives. They let too many killer prescription products go to market, then the products get withdrawn, and the same company is back making a new one before the last corpse is cold in its coffin.

Plus they banned natural ephedra because supposedly it's some kind of super death drug, but ephedra in cold medicine and allergy medicine is still legal?

Money grubbers, all of them. So long as there is corporate and private money in politics, only corporations will have freedom.

mrmanmeat

I was watching CNN and they did a segment on the new HCG diet craze that's sweeping the nation. This got me thinking about the FDA as a whole. I really have issue with the government telling me what I can and cannot ingest in regards to my own physical fitness. I'm reminded of a few years ago when Ephedra was all the craze and I witnessed it work wonders on folks who had issues with weight loss and I certainly didn't know anyone who died from it but yet as quickly as it was proven effective, the FDA had it yanked off the shelves and banned. It seems with each supplement that comes out that proves to be effective for the masses the FDA highlights the incredibly small minority that suffer from negative side effects to make their case as to why it should be banned. Now I don't want to utilize the HCG diet as a primary example because the diet requires you to only consume 500 calories and we all know how incredibly dangerous that is but it definitely lays the ground work for the bigger picture debate.
Also, don't get me wrong, I don't advocate doing away with the FDA because they obviously do good things, but do you think the way they arbitrarily choose to ban supplements or support them is lobbyist driven or do you believe they actually have your best interests at heart? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this debate?

I believe people like you, who think it's ok to take stuff like that not caring for the risks, are the type of people they're protecting against. Because then you die and your family sues because you ingested it willingly, and the corrupt judicial system lets them win.

Get off your *kitten* and exercise instead of spending hours a night watching tv. (not just to you, but to everyone in America)

BobbyClerici

I don't trust the feds sticking their noses in anything.

Let the buyer BEWARE!
And if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. At the end of the day, we all know what to eat.
Whole grains, low fat dairy, lean meats, fruits and veggies....simple deal.

And I like what Jack LaLanne used to say: "If man makes it, don't eat it".
Jack was right!

thelovelyLIZ

I think the FDA was right to step in and say no to the HCG diet. Anyone who has done any reading on it knows it isn't healthy and can have some serious long term side effects. the real issue too, is that the doctors are prescribing HCG as a weight loss aid, which the FDA doesn't approve. HCG is only approved as a fertility treatment. It's not so much ingesting it that's illegal, it's giving it to people for something other than it's intended purpose. It'd be like giving out ADD meds to lose weight.

Overall, I think the FDA is less about regulating what we put in our body and making sure it's safe. Drug companies, at the end of the day, want to make money. The FDA is making sure they're not doing that at our expense.

BobbyClerici

Keeley isn't it amazing that they are soo quick to ban supplements deeming them a danger to your life yet a new Mcdonalds or Burger King is built every 2 minutes. Certainly fast food doesn't instantly kill you but in my humble opinion it's way worse of an epidemic for an obese country than supplements used to help folks.

PERFECT EXAMPLE!
And I am not against McD, but I know when I go, I'd better either be on a "free day" or accounting for those terrible calories offset with some major cardio.

Again, people need to start taking responsibility for themselves and lean less on big brother.

nopeekiepeekie

They usually pull stuff when people start acting like idiots and dying from it. While I totally appreciate social darwinism, if no one was there to regulate these items, there wouldn't be many of us left to keep the planet populated.

Wouldn't this be survival of the "fittest" (or knowledgeable as the case may be) then? Happens all the time in the animal kingdom.

songbyrdsweet

They usually pull stuff when people start acting like idiots and dying from it. While I totally appreciate social darwinism, if no one was there to regulate these items, there wouldn't be many of us left to keep the planet populated.

Wouldn't this be survival of the "fittest" (or knowledgeable as the case may be) then? Happens all the time in the animal kingdom.

Indeed! Maybe we'd avoid the future from the movie Idiocracy. So accurate, it's frightening.

Shanna_Inc86

It's definitely all about money and the FDA is just as corrupt as any other government agency.
They ARE NOT as strict as they should be on food OR supplements. Hell most of the head people who work for the FDA use to work for major food corporations such as smithfield and tyson.
As far as FDA approved drugs:
Total Deaths Reported
1/1/97 - 6/30/05
•TOTAL DEATHS FROM MARIJUANA
primary=0, Secondary suspect=279 Total=279
•TOTAL DEATHS FROM 17 FDA-APPROVED DRUGS
Primary Suspect=10,008 Secondary Suspect=1,679 Total=11,687

And now the whole arsenic in apple juice...the FDA WAS NOT forthcoming in their findings at first

herstrawberri

It's definitely all about money and the FDA is just as corrupt as any other government agency.
They ARE NOT as strict as they should be on food OR supplements. Hell most of the head people who work for the FDA use to work for major food corporations such as smithfield and tyson.
As far as FDA approved drugs:
Total Deaths Reported
1/1/97 - 6/30/05
•TOTAL DEATHS FROM MARIJUANA
primary=0, Secondary suspect=279 Total=279
•TOTAL DEATHS FROM 17 FDA-APPROVED DRUGS
Primary Suspect=10,008 Secondary Suspect=1,679 Total=11,687

And now the whole arsenic in apple juice...the FDA WAS NOT forthcoming in their findings at first

Totally agree. It's all about the money. I personally think they WANT people to remain fat so they can make more money off of us. If everyone became healthy, lots of people would lose alot of money. The FDA included.

try2basunbeam

Totally agree. It's all about the money. I personally think they WANT people to remain fat so they can make more money off of us. If everyone became healthy, lots of people would lose alot of money. The FDA included.

This is EXACTLY what Kevin Trudeau said in his book The Weight-Loss Cure. That they won't ever approve the use of HCG because it will take too much money from the "system".

Steven

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