Folly – noun (pl. –ies)
1. foolishness. 2. foolish act, behavior, idea, etc, 3. fanciful ornamental building created for display.
– Oxford Dictionary
News and Analysis Concerning Pharmaceutical Impact on Women and Girls
FDA circa 21st century could be considered laughable, if one could disregard the body count.
— H. Sandra Chevalier-Batik
Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs!
Bipartisan criticism for FDA
“Imposing user fees on an industry, it is charged with regulating, will only increase industry influence at the FDA.”
— Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn.
FDA Woes
AARP Bulletin, Volume 47 No.5, Page 11
“The thing that is really screwy, is they have a huge backlog of generic drugs and yet they (FDA) are not asking for any more money.”
— Rep Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo
FDA Woes
AARP Bulletin, Volume 47 No.5, Page 11
“A lot of people are nervous about what is in their medicine cabinet, and for good reason. The FDA has become too cozy with the industry it regulates…That’s not a recipe for full trust and faith among consumers.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa… A leading agency critic
FDA Woes
AARP Bulletin, Volume 47 No.5, Page 10
“We have to make certain we have a balance of experts, [including] people who deal with the complications and side effects.”
Steven Nessen, M.D.
Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic
Former chair of the FDA’s Cardiovascular Drugs Advisory Panel
Dr. Nessen is co-author of the JAMA article calling on the FDA to reject a drug for which the manufacturers failed to provide an accurate measure of the medications risk factors.
FDA FACTOIDS
- The FDA regulates companies that account for 25% of the US economy.
- The FDA gets more than 20% of its $2-billion annual budget from industry user fees — fees paid by companies seeking the FDA’s approval to market new products.
- The fees, mandated by a 1992 law to speed up the approval process, account for nearly half of the new drug office budget.
- Under 3% of agency funds are devoted to monitoring drug side effects.
- Generic drugs account for 56% of all prescriptions.
AARP Bulletin, Volume 47 No.5, Page 11
Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs! Coalition of Advocates Launch Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs Campaign – Declaring October Just Say Know month; effort aims to get one million people to take a second look at the drugs they are taking. New York, New York, September 25, 2006. A coalition of 10 organizations, advocates, healthcare professionals, academics and concerned citizens have launched a campaign to get one million people to go to their healthcare providers and ask, “What am I really putting into my body? What are the side effects? What are the alternatives?” The effort is called Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs and is driven by increasing evidence that many people are uninformed about the potential side effects of their prescribed medication and are not aware of less-risky alternatives. The advocates are declaring October “Just Say Know to Prescription Drugs Month” and have scheduled a conference in Washington D.C. on October 7th to officially launch the campaign. The conference will report that virtually all people are inadequately informed to assess the genuine risks of the drugs–or combination of drugs–they are taking and will suggest “informed consent as the solution.” Leading up to the event and throughout the month of October, the campaign coalition will unveil a national effort to get a million people to download a form that allows them to evaluate the drugs they are taking. The form collects specific information from their prescribing physicians, requiring the physician’s signature attesting that they have fully informed their patient of the risks and benefits of the prescribed medication as well as non-drug alternatives. “Informed consent in the prescription of drugs is one of the most critical but missing pieces in the healthcare system today,” said Dr. Dominick Riccio, psychologist, Executive Director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc, and chairman of the “Just Say Know” Campaign. “Every day intelligent people are taking prescription drugs that they simply don’t understand and the consequences of not knowing are increasingly dire,” said Riccio. The campaign is being launched on the heels of a $500,000 national AARP campaign to gain public support for the purchase of drugs from foreign countries. The bill that AARP is backing was written by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has bipartisan support and would allow consumers to buy U.S. made prescription drugs from Canada and eventually from other countries. “This is an important initiative aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs. But the corollary is that many people are spending hundreds of dollars a month on prescriptions for which there may be low cost or no cost non-drug alternatives,” said Dr. Greg Tefft, co-founder of the Just Say Know to Prescription Drugs Campaign. Organizations and individuals who want to participate may go to any of the following websites, look for the Just Say Know to Prescription Drugs logo, and download the sheet titled “Take This Form and Sign It.” Instructions will be provided on each form. International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc. Dominick Riccio, Ph.D. www.icspp.org The James Nayler Foundation Robert Johnson, MD. http://truthtrustconsent.com The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights Jim Gottstein, J.D. http://psychrights.org Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Abram Hoffer, MD. www.orthomed.org SelfGrowth.com David Riklan http://www.selfgrowth.com MESICS Fitness Jim Manganiello, Ed.D. http://www.mesicsfitness.com Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazines Steve Downs, Editor-in-Chief http://www.exercisegroup.com/ Psych Truth.Org Laurence Simon Ph.D. www.psychtruth.org Dr. Michael Siebert http://www.drmichaelsiebert.com KPNC Radio Dr.Greg Tefft http://www.kpncradio.com “It’s time for all us to take more responsibility for our own health and to demand that our healthcare providers be more accountable to ensure that we are informed enough to make responsible choices,” said Dr. Laurence Simon, psychologist and vice chairman of the campaign. “Take two of these pills and call me in the morning is no longer acceptable,” said Simon. Join US! 1. Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs! For more information call 212-861-7400 or email us at info@psychtruth.org |