FDA admits risk in approved drugs

I’ve always said the FDA rushes drugs to market before we know everything we should about them.

I just didn’t expect the FDA to agree with me!

On the one hand, the feds are constantly defending their system, claiming that drugs are only approved after a careful and thorough process, and are safe as a result.

On the other hand, the FDA now has a portion of its Web site devoted to letting the public know about the problems under investigation in the drugs it’s already approved.

It’s so absurd it’s almost comical, but you can check it out right now at in the Guidance, Compliance and Regulatory section of the FDA Web site.

There, you’ll find that a popular weight-loss drug is under investigation for a possible connection to a liver disease; a drug used to help smokers battle their addiction is being looked at as a possible cause of accidental injury and vision problems; and a bladder-control med is being linked to a serious skin condition.

This only serves to underscore the FDA’s approve-first, ask-questions-later approach to drugs. It’s almost like these later studies and concerns constitute a secondary approvals process – but one that takes place only after the drugs are in the hands of patients everywhere.

If our system was a ranch, it wouldn’t be one with a hole in the fence – it would be one with almost no fence at all. And now, it’s like they’re finally building that fence after all the animals have fled.

Almost every day I run across a study showing a new or previously unknown side effect of a common drug.

And I always ask the same question: Why are we learning this now?

A truly deliberative process might not catch every possible flaw and side effect in a drug, but it would certainly catch many of the bad meds that regularly slip through our current system.

The feds may still not act fast enough or early enough, but at least it’s now easier for the millions of Americans who take these drugs to get the latest information about them.

So take a moment and poke around that Web site. See if anything you’re taking made the list. It’s also important that you check it regularly for updates, so be sure to bookmark it.

If you find anything worrisome about the drugs you’re taking, ask your doctor about alternatives.

Or better yet, use this as an opportunity to explore the many drug-free options available to you.

They’re out there – and they work.