CU Activists descend on Washington and hit the ground running for drug safety Posted by Meg at 06/14/07 07:12 PM

Consumers Union hosted its first-ever Activist Summit this week in which 50 activists from all over the country came to learn, meet each other and speak out for change in Washington--especially change in our drug safety laws.

Within the course of two days:

Fifty citizen activists visited their Senators and Representatives to talk about drug safety legislation, hospital infections, financial privacy and car safety & children.
Click here to meet the activists!

A full-page ad ran in USA Today highlighting Patricia Slingo's personal experience (one of you, our activists), with a strong message to the entire nation about the need for the disclosure of clinical trial research findings and better drug safety.

NBC featured a story about drug safety issues with statements by Patricia Slingo and CU President Jim Guest.

Jim Guest was interviewed specifically about the pending drug safety reform legislation – on CNBC.

Consumers Union and a number of key lawmakers called a press conference on the need for drug safety reform, with statements by Congressman Edward Markey, Jim Guest, and Patricia Slingo, Kim Witzcak and Kathy Harter – activists who each had a story to tell about undisclosed drug side effects. See the Consumers Union's news Release here.

Even as our activists delivered our drug safety message to lawmakers and their staff in individual offices, many of us attended an important public hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee on the very drug safety reform legislation we’ve been fighting for. CU President Jim Guest was invited to give testimony at the hearing, and spoke about the dire need for reforms in our drug safety system. Check out this clip of Congressman Markey questioning a pharmaceutical representative. Go Congressman!

It was inspiring to have so many people working together in different capacities to bring the importance of drug safety reform to the forefront. Thanks to everyone who came and spoke out!

comments (2)

1 Posted by Craig Health at 06/16/07 01:06 AM

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) says, “enough is enough,” to the Big Pharma Bullies running the FDA. He has introduced bill H.R. 2117 (the Health Freedom Protection Act) into the House of Representatives, which would effectively stop the FDA from censoring truthful claims about the health benefits of dietary supplements.

He wants to put an end to the federal bureaucrats’ meddling with your right to choose healthy alternatives over harmful and deadly patent drugs, and believes Americans should not be prevented form learning about simple ways to improve their health.

This bill puts the burden of proof on the FDA/FTC when it comes to proving that a label or advertisement is false and misleading. As it stands now, the manufacturer has to satisfy an unobtainable standard of proof—as was the case with the American cherry growers a few years ago. The FDA went on a witch-hunt after the growers used evidence from studies funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to state that cherries have anti-inflammatory properties.

The FDA ruled that the cherry growers could not use that evidence to make these claims. Instead, the FDA approved another dangerous anti-inflammatory drug that went on to take the lives of some 20,000 Americans … Clearly, the FDA does not object to the spilling of blood in the course of maintaining the pharmaceutical status quo.

Big Pharma has the FDA firmly in pocket, and censoring vital information—like the fact that eating 20 cherries has the same effect as popping aspirin or a Cox-2 inhibiting drug—is their only way to stay in business! Perhaps bill H.R. 2117 can get enough traction to stick if enough of us stand firmly behind it, pushing at the rear.

2 Posted by Deborah Lynn Dickerson at 07/15/07 04:08 PM

Drug companies are way too powerful and get away with too many questionable practices!!! Please help deflate their power even if it reduces their bottom line and your income from lobby support. Do the RIGHT thing!
Aloha,
Deborah Lynn Dickerson