Quickies
Quickies: FDA Fails and the Cost of Measles Outbreaks
- Public misinformed about seal of approval from FDA – “Between 2005 and 2011, nearly half of all new drug formulations in the US were approved without companies having to demonstrate a tangible benefit, such as relieving disease symptoms, extending life, or improving someone’s ability to go about normal activities.”
- I was a weight loss success story – Criss’s photos documenting her weight loss went viral and attracted a shitstorm of horrible people making horrible comments. TW for talk of weight loss and abusive language. From Daniel.
- Costs of a measles outbreak – And information about 2014’s first measles outbreak in the US, which thankfully is so far small and contained.
- After a bright explosion, astronomers rush to study new supernova – From Criticaldragon1177.
Amanda,
The FDA really needs higher standards. This is dangerous.
Yeah, the FDA issue is ridiculous, and it doesn’t even include the problem of alt med and supplements, which people assume must work if they’ve hit the shelves. The FDA only cares that it doesn’t kill you, and even then it seems that they wait until a disaster strikes (a la Zicam, the “homeopathic” treatment that took away people’s sense of smell) to pull a product.
Rebecca Watson,
Effectiveness is something that really should be something the FDA has to consider before approving a drug, in addition to the harmful side effects. Taking “homeopathic” “medicine” instead of the real deal, could still be fatal, because instead of taking a drug that is actually effective, you’ll be you’ll take something that won’t have any effect at all, aside from the placebo effect. I wonder how many people have died from shunning real medicine because they actually thought homeopathy would work better.
This is the skeptic topic that I have an unending ability to rant about.