Petition to Reform the FDA- for incoming Obama administration - need signatures

[Guest guest]

The FDA is a broken agency that censors medical science, obstructs innovation,

and protects the medical monopolies that pay for much of its budget.  

Even while the FDA is approving  faulty and dangerous drugs and medical

devices  by the thousands, it continues what can only be described as a

harassment  campaign against those who want to rely on wholesome foods, dietary

supplements, and lifestyle changes to achieve natural good health.

Here are just a few recent examples:

□ FDA employees recently protested in a letter to Congress that they have

been forced to approve medical devices against their better judgment.  The

letter stated that FDA managers “ordered, intimidated and coerced FDA experts

to modify their scientific reviews, conclusions and recommendations in violation

of the law.â€Â  The devices that FDA regulates impact more than 500 million

adult and pediatric procedures performed every year in the U.S.  

□ The FDA’s current efforts to reinterpret and thus amend the Federal Food,

Drug, and Cosmetic Act threaten continued access to dietary supplements. If the

FDA got its way, a food constituent studied for medical use (and published)

could thereafter not be used as a new supplement. To illustrate how this might

work, one company's fish oil is now an approved drug, and by this definition any

new supplement with fish oil added might be prohibited.  AAHF provided formal

comments in response to the FDA’s deliberation process and explained why

current law prohibits the FDA from adopting these anti-supplement regulations.

The FDA approves toxic chemicals for use in baby formula, baby bottles, and

prescription drugs.

□ The FDA stated that no amount of melamine was safe in infant formula. Then

melamine was found in formula at levels below 1 ppm. Suddenly the agency

reversed itself and stated that melamine was safe provided that (coincidentally)

there was no more than 1ppm. Was there a new study or other science to justify

this claim? No. It appears to have been made up out of thin air in order to

protect commercial interests.   Melamine is a toxic chemical that has been

linked to kidney damage and children are especially vulnerable. 

□ The FDA recently declared Bisphenol a (BPA) exposure to be safe for

infants, even though Canada has banned the chemical from baby bottles. 

Thirty-six scientific advisers on an independent government panel concluded that

the draft decision of the FDA on BPA used “unacceptable criteria for selecting

data and depend(ed) heavily upon a key paper that is fatally flawed.†These

experts concluded that the FDA chose industry-funded research studies and

appeared to ignore hundreds of studies that have been funded by NIH (National

Institute for Health) and its counterpart in other countries.  BPA is linked to

cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver enzyme abnormalities. In

addition to being used in baby bottles, it is also used in water bottles, canned

goods, dental fillings, children’s teeth sealants, and orthodontic sealants.

□ The FDA has approved the use of phthalates in prescription drugs and

over-the-counter medications despite the fact that Congress banned phthalates in

toys and other children’s products.  Widely used as plasticizers, phthalates

have been linked to abnormal reproductive organs, sperm damage, and reduced

testosterone in animal tests as well as some human studies.

The epidemics currently plaguing this country-- cancer, obesity, diabetes,

asthma and allergies, and many other debilitating disorders-- are linked to

manmade products and processes that the FDA has approved and promoted.  These

failures have resulted in the sickest generation in the history of this country.

The agency seems to have lost sight of its mandate to protect the public and has

instead come to see itself as the guardian of corporate interests.  It is time

to end the many conflicts of interest linking the FDA to the pharmaceutical and

chemical industries, conflicts of interest that betray the public and harm so

many American consumers.  It is time to reform the FDA!

Spread the word.  Together, we can make a difference.  We can turn the FDA

around and help restore our national health. Please share this update with

friends and family and ask them to sign AAHF’s petition at Reformfda.org.

Sincerely,

Gretchen DuBeau

Executive Director