Article from USA Today

June 5, 2010

I have to wonder if any new proposed legislation “squares” with the recent revelations about drug recalls from FDA-approved pharmaceutical companies. There’s already legislation in place to protect the health and safety of the population, yet the government’s own watchdog group has repeatedly failed at keeping contaminated drug products from our shelves. To escalate the issue, even more, we must be attentive to the fact that the majority of recent products under the recalls were intended for use by children. Where was the FDA in protecting our children?

All of the arguments in favor of enhanced regulation are valid – safety, accuracy, cleanliness, effectiveness, and so on. However, the reality of our world suggests that the actual outcomes of additional legislation and oversight will likely accomplish very little – if anything. Dangerous, contaminated products regularly enter our distribution systems and no amount of legislation seems capable of preventing it. While it is good to know when unsafe products are removed from the shelves, it seems that regulations should be more effective in preventing potential harm. Rather than adding another layer of legislation and regulation, it seems more prudent ot discover what’s wrong with the current systems – and fix it. Recent stories suggest that the drug products are being manufactured under filthy conditions. How difficult would it be to at least make sure the manufacturing plants are clean?  Perhaps that should be step number on.