What's The Fda For?

For years under the Bush administration, the FDA found itself under pressure in two different ways. The first was a general cut-back in funding - something experienced by all the regulatory bodies with the GOP in power. The second was a political attack. With the pharmaceutical industry leading the charge, the FDA was often told to approve new drugs with less scrutiny or not to investigate reports of problems in newly licensed dugs. When a manufacturer has just spent tens of millions in getting approval, it does not want anything to prevent it from recovering its investment and producing a profit as quickly as possible. The results were easy to see. Staffing levels fell and the quality of those that remained was often less impressive. The work of regulating food was scaled back, enforcement of manufacturing was reined in as fewer inspections were made, and action to force the withdrawal of potentially dangerous drugs was limited. With a new President, funding is improving and the regulators are getting more interested in protecting you as consumers. One of the most positive signs of this is the enforcement action against the marketing of natural products.

The FDA is limited in its function to drugs. Anything classified as "natural" can be sold without first having to get a license. Not surprisingly, the majority of manufacturers try to get their products labeled natural and avoid the heavy costs of clinical trials (particularly because these trials might discover the natural products have no effect). The FDA's only power is to monitor the way these products are marketed. If there is evidence the products are being misdescribed, they can be pulled from the market. Well, we now have a not-too-surprising development as the manufacturers of "natural" products try to give themselves an edge by quietly including real drugs in the mixture. In a recent survey, the FDA discovered a wide range of weight loss, body building and sexual products were benefitting from the inclusion of the basic chemistry of the erectile dysfunction drugs. So here's the thing. If you read the label or that annoyingly long consumer information page for erectile dysfunction drugs, there are lists of things to beware. There were no similar warnings on any of the natural products. As the FDA commented, this was likely to cause injury or death.

As a result, the FDA has now issued a formal warning to all who spike their natural products with licensed drugs and fail to warn their customers. The manufacturers and the distributors may find the products seized, injunctions issued and criminal prosecutions follow. In a sense, this is the biggest possible compliment the "natural" marketers could pay the drug manufacturers. Everyone in the business knows Cialis is the best so it's hardly surprising that, when crooks are looking for a way of making their product better, they should mix in Tadalafil, the generic version of the drug. That way, they seem to have created real competition using natural ingredients. Hopefully, the FDA will carry through with its threat to police the market and drive out the fakes trading on the real power of Cialis and the other erectile dysfunction drugs. Don't be deceived into paying a premium for a "natural" product. Buy the real drug at a discount online.

By: Patricia Dunn

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Patricia Dunn has shared his vision and professional opinion on a vast array of topics and www.medicplace.net/natural-products.html is one of the sites where you can read more of Patricia Dunn's contributions.