Posts Tagged ‘ OxyContin ’

If the FDA Wore a Uniform

February 25th, 2010. By Hunter West

You gotta love the good ol’ FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) for its renewed stance on oversight on things such as drug advertising. Four months into the Obama Administration, the FDA gets a new leader—Margaret Gamburg—and all of a sudden things start happening.

Among other crackings of the whip, the FDA issued draft guidelines designed to clarify what is appropriate in drug ads. You know, things like upping the music volume when all those nasty, ‘adverse reaction’ bits appear. Or the use of distracting images and visuals to take the focus away from what you are hearing. 

The renewed focus on what consumers are seeing in medicinal TV ads—which seem to take center sponsor stage on the major network television newscasts each night—stems from a few well-placed cat calls from John Dingell and Bart Stupak. Back in 2008 the two congressmen openly questioned if drug advertising properly presented product benefits and risks. 

Among other complaints, Stupak criticized Pfizer for using the inventor of an artificial heart, Robert Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Dingell, DUI, FDA, Gamburg, OxyContin, Stupak, Trasylol
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 1 Comment »

DEA Swamped With Calls Regarding Jackson’s Death

June 29th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle

On June 27, 2009, the Drug Enforcement Agency issued a press release to members of the media titled: “DEA Responds to Large Number of Calls regarding Michael Jackson’s Death”.

The UK’s Sun newspaper claims Jackson was taking Demerol, Dilaudid, Vicodin, Xanax, Soma, Paxil, Zoloft and Prilosec.

“Due to the large amount of calls from the media regarding the death of Michael Jackson and questions regarding prescription drugs,” the DEA said in the press release, “the DEA has put information about prescription drug abuse and use on the front page of www.dea.gov for your use.”

The headline on the agency’s website for a May 2009, report reads: “Recent Report Confirms Dangers of Prescription Drug Abuse; Young Adults Hardest Hit”

The “National Prescription Drug Threat Assessment,” was prepared by the National Drug Intelligence Center in conjunction with the DEA. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Demerol, Michael Jackson, OxyContin, Vicodin
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »