Finally! Medications Are Being Exposed as Dangerous Due to Drug Recalls
December 16th, 2010
Natural News
By: David Gutierrez
The number of drug recalls in the United States has surged in recent years, raising concerns about the overall safety of pharmaceutical products.
“Overall, I am concerned about the quality of drugs,” said Prabir Basu of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education.
The number of recalls ballooned from 426 in 2008 to 1,742 in 2009, with more than 1,000 of the recalls from a single company. That company, Advantage Dose, has since gone out of business. Even removing Advantage’s recalls from the picture, however, the number of recalls still increased 50 percent from 2008.
“We’ve seen a trend where the last four years are among the top five for the most number of drug recalls since we began tallying recalls in 1988,” said analyst Bowman Cox. “That’s a meaningful development.”
Already 296 drugs have been recalled in 2010, continuing that trend.
“If we continue at this same rate, we could get 600 or more recalls by the end of the year,” Cox said. “That’s still a very high rate of recalls.”
The errors responsible for recalls have included low-quality raw materials, contamination, and faulty labels and packaging. Analysts attribute these errors largely to manufacturers’ efforts to be the first to bring generic versions of drugs to market, and the ensuing temptation to cut corners and skimp on testing the product before releasing it.
“So they get the application. They make and market the drug, but they could still have problems down the road if they haven’t really understood the optimum way to make that drug,” said Cox.
Because competition can be so fierce in the drug business, especially for companies selling generic drugs, manufacturers also seek to cut costs by outsourcing production to potentially unreliable third parties.
“It is very expensive to make drugs,” Basu said. “It also costs a lot of money to maintain adequate quality controls.”
Click here for the full report from Natural News
NYC to Start Billing For Ambulances
December 16, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
December 16th, 2010
Natural News
By: Ethan A. Huff
The City of New York is considering a new proposal that would directly charge its residents for using emergency services like ambulances and fire trucks that respond to vehicle accidents. New Yorkers already pay for these services with their taxes, of course, but the city wants to implement the new “crash tax” anyway in order to garner some extra cash.
According to a recent CBS New York report, the new system would charge residents $490 to receive emergency services for a car fire or accident that involves an injury. Without an injury, the cost would be $415. For any other type of vehicle accident without injury, the city would charge $365. And the worst part of all is that it makes no difference whether or not the person is at fault: he or she would still be obligated to pay the fee.
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) claims that the fees will “relieve pressure on the taxpayer and place it on those at fault and their insurance,” but the proposal clearly states that everyone will be required to pay, even if they are not at fault. And New Yorkers will still have to pay the local taxes that already fund such services, which in essence subjects them to double taxation.
The FDNY plans to hold public hearings in January, but the proposal is expected to pass regardless of public opposition because the City Council does not have to approve it for it to pass, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already expressed support for it. The implementation date is July 1, 2011.
According to 2007 data from the Insurance Information Institute (III), the crash rate in New York City is actually more than 30 percent less than the national average. Yet New Yorkers pay the fourth highest insurance premium rates in the nation. So if city taxes are somehow not enough to cover the costs of emergency services, it would make more sense that insurance companies food the bill rather than the individuals who are already paying for such services with their tax dollars.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Panel Wants FDA to Examine Mercury Dental Fillings
December 16th, 2010
CNN
By: Val Willingham
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee said Wednesday that the agency should look at updated data on mercury amalgam dental fillings that may indicate possible medical problems for patients.
The panel — after hearing two days of testimony from experts, members of the public and dental professionals — recommended the FDA look at information updated since the agency ruled in 2009 that the mercury in dental fillings is not harmful.
Committee members noted, however, that the FDA’s decision was solid, based on information available at the time. The committee also stressed that more studies need to be done on amalgam fillings, especially in children.
Public pressure prompted the panel’s review, initiated less than 18 months after the agency’s decision.
Committee members listened to testimony by consumer and dental groups claiming the FDA used flawed science when it set the current guidelines for mercury safety levels.
“We need to see where the science is and if there are gaps.” said the panel’s chairwoman, Dr. Marjorie Jeffcoat, a dentist and researcher with the University of Pennsylvania.
In its final rule, the FDA concluded clinical studies did not establish a causal link between dental amalgam and health problems in people age 6 and older. But it did add that developing fetuses and young children may be more sensitive to the neurotoxin.
Amalgam tooth fillings are an alloy made up of various metals and 50 percent mercury,
Mercury toxicity has been well documented, but when it comes to amalgam fillings there isn’t a lot of data. Many dentists favor these fillings because they are cheap, easy to put in place and durable.
Dental professionals also argue that mercury fillings last longer than resin composites, and are easier on the tooth. The American Dental Association agrees with the FDA that amalgam fillings are safe.
Yet, some experts say mercury from these fillings penetrates into the body and damages human cells, especially in the brain, bones and kidneys. How much damage it is unknown, which is why the advisory committee is revisiting the issue.
In Wednesday’s public hearing, 30 people testified for and against the use of amalgam fillings.
Jessica Kerger, an attorney from Toledo, Ohio, said she was a healthy child until she started getting amalgam fillings. As she got older, she faced numerous health problems and a variety of diagnoses. She even had her amalgam fillings removed. It wasn’t until a doctor tested her for mercury poisoning that she realized her problem, she said.
Now, after being treated for excess mercury in her body, Kerger said, “I’m an active mother, attorney and I have a black belt in karate. I blame my fillings and I am begging the FDA to get rid of them.”
While others testified that mercury in their fillings caused such health problems as loss of memory, impaired vision, miscarriages and paralysis, many dental professionals asked that amalgam fillings remain.
Addressing the board, Dr. Vincent Mayher, a former president of the Academy of General Dentistry, said public accusations that dentists force patients to receive amalgam fillings is exaggerated.
“It’s Inflammatory. No dentist I know of forces a patient at any time to get amalgam fillings these days, especially pregnant women and little children.” Mayher testified
Andrew Read Fuller, a dental student at UCLA and member of the American Student Dental Association, noted there is no scientific data that amalgam fillings cause the problems some attribute to them, and said that, as a future dentist, he would use amalgam fillings on any of his patients as well as himself.
“In the absence of new evidence there is no reason to question the FDA’s decision.” Fuller said.
Yet some dentists did say they would avoid using amalgam fillings because of numerous public reports of mercury poisoning.
“I always wondered why we were told by the (American Dental Association) to be careful when disposing of mercury. If it’s so dangerous to the environment, why not my patients?” asked Dr. Stephen Markus, a dentist in the Philadelphia area.
The committee also recommended that the FDA come up with models that could be used to look at the effects of mercury vapor exposure from dental fillings. And when designing these models, it said, the agency should take into consideration age, health history and physical makeup of individuals.
There was also discussion that more data needs to be looked at to come up with stronger models, especially those based on younger children and unborn fetuses.
More information on amalgam fillings should be posted for both for patients and dentists, the committee said.
It also noted the FDA’s biomarker using urine to detect mercury exposure is not perfect but is the best available for adults. Members also noted that more updated data is needed before the agency can make stronger guidelines on amalgam fillings.
Although the committee’s recommendations will go to the FDA board for consideration, the board does not have to follow them. Traditionally, however, it does.
Click here for the full report from CNN
10 Foods You Should NEVER Eat!
December 16, 2010 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
I know I’ve posted this before, but as the new year approaches us, I feel that you may need to be reminded. I have this framed in all of my offices, so I would suggest you do the same!
1. Microwaved Food
2. Excitotoxins (MSG – monosodium glutamate, aspartame) and anything you can’t pronounce
3. Homogenized and non-organic dairy products
4. Any product that contains hydrogenated oil
5. Anything you can’t pronounce do not put on your skin (propylene glycol / mineral oil)
6. Non-filtered water for drinking, showering, bathing and swimming
7. Pork and shellfish
8. White sugar and white flour
9. Any meat that’s not totally organic, range free, grass fed, and properly killed
10. “Fat Free”, “Sugar Free” anything
-KT
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 12-15-10
Today, Kevin reveals how the government is ‘helping’ the economy by letting you get sick and why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Self Help:
Save Your Body
Avoid Skin Cancer
Safe Sunscreen
Chemical-Free Make-Up
Get Rid Of Gut Bacteria
The Good Stuff
Health:
EPA Still Evades Zonolite Warnings
Toxin From Receipts May Lurk in Cash
HIV-Positive Porn Actor Wants Mandatory Condoms
Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers On The Rise
Gut Bacteria & Obesity May Be Linked
People Consume Up to 46 Teaspoons of Sugar a Day!
Swimming Pool Disinfectants Linked To Cancer
Americans Bombarded With Cancer Causing Chemicals
Big Brother:
Government Seeking to Track Cell Phones
Big Brother To Track Medication Compliance
Wealth:
Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs
Everything Kevin:
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Watchdog Says FDA Risked Integrity
December 15, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
December 15th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal
By: Alicia Mundy
Congress’s watchdog arm has criticized the Food and Drug Administration for creating the appearance of favoritism toward a Boston company that won lucrative first rights to sell a generic drug after providing free consulting work to the agency.
On Tuesday, a congressional committee plans to release a report by the Government Accountability Office that says the FDA risked giving the appearance that it had compromised its integrity because of its dealings with the company, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Winning the first right in July to sell the generic version of the blood thinner Lovenox has already meant hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for Momenta and its partner, Novartis AG’s Sandoz unit.
Also critical of the FDA’s actions are Momenta’s rivals—including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer, and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc.—as well as a recently retired official in the FDA’s generic-drug division. The drug companies’ applications are still awaiting FDA action.
The controversy centers around Momenta’s performance of months of free work for the FDA during a high-profile investigation of tainted Chinese drug imports in 2008. At the same time, agency officials were reviewing the company’s application to sell the generic version of a blockbuster blood thinner.
As a result, “agency officials ran the risk of undermining public confidence in the integrity of FDA’s operations,” including heparin-related drug approvals, the report says, according to a copy reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In response to the report, requested by Rep. Joe Barton (R., Texas), the FDA said it needed to draw on Momenta’s expertise to find the cause of the tainted Chinese imports, but it acknowledged it should have considered potential conflicts of interests and done more to disclose them.
The FDA has said its reliance on Momenta’s free work had nothing to do with its approval of the company’s drug ahead of competitors’.
Momenta said it conducted the investigation for the FDA in the interest of public health, not because of its drug application.
Momenta’s newly approved product is a generic version of a fast-acting form of heparin. Until the July approval, Sanofi-Aventis SA’s Lovenox drug had a monopoly on that market, with world-wide sales last year that topped $4 billion.
Since Momenta and Sandoz won FDA approval for their rapid-acting heparin in July, the drug’s sales have topped $300 million.
The small biotech company doesn’t have other marketed products.
Teva officials told the Journal that the company met with the FDA in October and raised questions about possible bias. It has said its application, which was filed two years before Momenta’s, is stuck in bureaucratic limbo, and that it received delayed notice when the FDA changed the terms for evaluating the drugs.
Amphastar filed the first application to make generic Lovenox in 2003. It says the FDA told it in late 2007 that it met the standards for “sameness” but then the standards changed. The company sued the FDA in October, alleging favoritism.
Richard Adams, a former official in the FDA’s generic-drug division who retired this year, agreed with the bias allegation . “Everyone closely involved saw that it was stacked and the whole direction was toward Momenta,” he said.
Momenta’s chief executive, Craig Wheeler, has said that the company’s science for copying complex drugs such as Lovenox surpasses that of other companies. Its scientists have spent more than a decade developing ways to pinpoint the molecular structure of Lovenox, he said.
The FDA turned to Momenta for help in early 2008, when it was trying to figure out what was tainting a widely used older form of heparin. Hundreds of people were suffering severe shock after taking the drug, which was linked to 81 U.S. deaths that year.
The FDA said that Momenta’s researchers did an excellent job identifying the contaminant. “This successful effort to protect public health would not have been possible without the unique expertise and extraordinary efforts of the outside scientists,” it wrote in a response to the GAO.
Rep. Barton criticized the FDA for failing to name the culprit for the tainted heparin and said the report shows the agency’s “fundamental weakness” in dealing with the surge of Chinese medical imports.
Click here for the full report from The Wall Street Journal
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 12-14-10
Today, Kevin reveals inside information behind why the government really wants the Dream Act passed and what you need to do to prepare yourself for the upcoming revolution!
Self Help:
Invest In Gold
Make A Residual Income
Maximize Your Downline
Be Prepared
Government:
Lame Duck House Looks To Pass Dream Act for Illegal Aliens
Harry Reid Goes All In With Online Poker
Wealth:
Feds Raid 3 Hedge Funds Linked To Trading Probe
Everything Kevin:
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Kevin is on YouTube!
Sign Up For Kevin’s FREE Podcast
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Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC through iTunes!
Click Below to Watch the Kevin Trudeau Show LIVE!
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 12-13-10
Today, Kevin finally reveals the secrets to making money and becoming successful! Plus, find out what natural cure can lower blood pressure, which one can make you look younger, and which one can reduce appetite to lose weight faster.
Self Help:
Lose A Pound A Day!
Natural Cures
Learn The Secrets
Make A Residual Income
Natural Stress Buster
Bathe In Clean Water
Change Your Way of Thinking
Oral Chelation & Heavy Metal Detoxes
Deception:
Rental Car Companies Aren’t Required To Send Cars In For Recalls
Deadly Diet Drug Recommend By FDA Panel
Police State:
Florida Woman Fined For Dyeing Dog’s Feet Pink
NWO:
Strange Signal Comes From Alien Planet
Everything Kevin:
Become An Insider!
Kevin is on YouTube!
Sign Up For Kevin’s FREE Podcast
Follow Kevin on Twitter
Become Kevin’s Friend on Facebook
Kevin’s Film Club
Kevin’s Book Club
Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC through iTunes!
Click Below to Watch the Kevin Trudeau Show LIVE!
Royalty Attacked By Protesters Over Tuition Hikes
December 13, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
December 13th, 2010
Yahoo! News
By: Cassandra Vinograd
British officials defended the country’s security establishment Friday after rampaging student protesters attacked a car carrying the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
The chief of the Metropolitan Police pledged to launch a full and detailed investigation into the incident, which saw protesters set upon the heir to the throne’s Rolls Royce as it drove through London’s busy West End Thursday night. A group of up to 20 protesters, some chanting “off with their heads!” smashed a rear window and splashed white paint on the vehicle. Charles and Camilla were visibly shaken, but unharmed.
The security breach is particularly embarrassing for police and the Royal household in the run-up to Prince William’s 2011 wedding, raising questions over whether or not security protocols need to be reviewed.
Prime Minister David Cameron said police must learn from the lapse in security but not be blamed for it, insisting that protesters should feel “the full force of the law.”
“Let’s be very clear about where responsibility lies,” Cameron, speaking in Downing Street. “Responsibility for smashing property, or violence, lies with the people who perpetrate that violence and I want to see them arrested and punished in the correct way.”
The premier also shrugged off claims that violence was limited to a small minority of protesters, saying “there were quite a number of people who clearly were there wanting to pursue violence and destroy property.”
Metropolitan Police Chief Paul Stephenson commended officers for their bravery and said the nearly 3,000-strong contingent of officers out to deal with Thursday’s protests showed commendable restraint in dealing with the “dreadful” actions of “thugs.”
Buckingham Palace said it does not comment on security procedures.
Click here for the full report from Yahoo! News
FDA Pulls Painkiller Due to Safety Risks
December 13th, 2010
Fox News
The maker of the painkiller Darvon is pulling the drug off the market under pressure from public health officials who say it causes dangerous heart rhythms.
The Food and Drug Administration says the drugmaker Xanodyne will halt marketing of Darvon and related brand Darvocet. The FDA has also called on generic drugmakers to stop marketing low-cost versions of the drug.
The FDA action puts the U.S. in line with Britain, which banned Darvon several years ago due to suicides and accidental overdoses.
Darvon, first approved in the 1950s, is an opioid used to treat mild to moderate pain.
Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, said Darvon is still prescribed for chronic pain, mostly in generic form, although not very often.
“These types of drugs are in a class of their own,” Alvarez said. “They are old and there are certainly newer drugs that are far more sophisticated and even safer.”
The consumer watchdog group Public Citizen had petitioned the FDA to ban the drug, saying its benefits didn’t justify a risk that added up to several hundred deaths a year.
Click here for the full report from Fox News
