Drug Safety
America's committment to drug safety began in 1906, when the agency that would become the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was created. Our drug safety laws have been improved throughout the intervening century, but the most important addition was the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which granted the agency real power for the first time. Most importantly, the 1938 act was the first law to require the testing of drugs before they were sent to market. It also banned drugs that didn’t list all their active ingredients and forced companies to truthfully describe the effects of their products. (Before the FDA got to it, Listerine advertised its ability to cure tuberculosis.)
Commentary
How a Shadow Drug Industry Tries to Avoid Regulation
Behind the Meningitis Outbreak: Pharmacies fought FDA regulation
Cry Wolf Quotes
[Government intervention would mean dealing with] a pestilential lot of spies, meddlers, and informers. The Federal Government was not created for the purpose of cutting your toe nails or corns. I believe there are millions of old women, white and black, who know more about good victuals and good eating than my friend Doctor Wiley and all his apothecary shop.
If a murderer kills you, it’s homicide. If a drunk driver kills you, it’s manslaughter. If the FDA kills you, it’s just being cautious…Our own federal government’s bureaucratic and apparently unaccountable Food and Drug Administration [blocked drug approvals while Americans] died in agony from a disease other nations controlled for years.
You are about to lose a substantial amount of advertising revenue from food, cosmetic and drug manufacturers…You need to bring all the personal pressure you can upon your Senators and Representatives. You need to enlighten and thereby arouse your public against this bill that is calculated to greatly restrict personal rights….We would be only one of the many drug, cosmetic, and food advertisers who will be forced to liquidate in this manner.
If the regulations go into effect, the products will be taken off the market because the manufacturers won’t take the health-claim labeling off. They are the lifeblood of the industry.
Related Laws and Rules
Backgrounders & Briefs
Good Rules: Ten Stories Of Successful Regulation
Demos looks at ten laws and rules that we take for granted.
Resources
Consumer Federation of America defends the consumer interest in fields ranging from housing and financial services to food safety.
Alliance for A Stronger FDA tries to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration by increasing the appropriations allotted to the agency.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, since 1971, has been a leading advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alchohol policy, and sound science.
