Politics Has Too Much Influence on the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and received its name in 1930. Although the FDA’s roots can be traced back as far as 1862, its right as a regulatory agency came into effect under the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. This legislation was created to eliminate misrepresentation of food and drugs in an effort to protect the health of the public. Over the years, the FDA’s role has further evolved to overseeing many areas other than just food and drugs. However, its mission has remained the same:

There was a time where there was no limits to what substances were in products we humans consume or use everyday. It is alarming to think that there could be items in our food or medicine that are potentially dangerous and deadly. It is for these reasons that the Food and Drug Administration came to be. It all started in a time where companies could say anything they wanted about a product without any scientific validation or proof. The government stepped in and established the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 along with a new agency: the FDA. This act's purpose was to protect the public against dangerous substances in food and from products identified as healthy without scientific support. This law was an accumulation of many bills and ideas that aimed to protect consumers from contaminated products. (The Pure Food and Drug Act) Now, the FDA conducts recalls, market withdraws, and safety alerts in order to protect the citizens.

A terrible incident happened in Tennessee in 1937 when a drug called Elixir Sulfanilamide was mislabeled and contained toxic quantities of antifreeze that killed over 100 people (FDA's Origin & Functions - FDA History). Before this event, Congress debated substituting the 1906 Act and this instance in Tennessee drove Congress to approve the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 that provided an updated set of standards. Unlike before when the government had to disprove a drug was effective, the new act stated that drugs had to be proven effective before being sold. It not only replaced the Pure Food and Durg Act, but the Sherley Amendment as well (Centennial Edition of FDA Consumer).

According to Miller, Benjamin, and North, “FDA bureaucrats decide whether or not new medicines (prescription drugs) should be allowed to go on sale in the United States” (Miller, Benjamin, and North, page 3). Prior to the 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments being made to the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA was given a limited time frame of 180 days to approve or deny a new drug application. These amendments added a new “proof of efficacy” requirement and removed the 180-day time constraint, allowing the FDA to demand whatever

The Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA or USFDA, is responsible for protecting and advocating public health. They are the official government agency that ensures our drug supply is safe and effective. This is achieved through the regulation and supervision of food safety, dietary supplements, veterinary products, cosmetics, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, prescription and pharmaceutical drugs that can be purchased over- the- counter.

The FDA’s regulations would impact the food and drug production industries in multiple ways. Firstly, the regulation decreased the quantity of goods that the companies had available to sell. For example, before the Pure Food and Drug Act, meat-packing companies could pack and sell deceased animal meat, like from dead cattle. The sum of the dead

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency within the US Department of Health and Health Service, which is apart of the federal executive branch. In June 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Food and Drug Act, known as “The Wiley Act”after its chief advocate. It was not known by its present name until 1930.

The Food & Drug Administration became a possibility because of the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906. Harvey Washington Wiley was the driving force behind this law and headed its enforcement, which provided basic elements of protection that consumers had never had before (FDA's Origin). The FDA is an agency that works within the US Department of Health and Human Services of the executive branch of government (About FDA). The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for protecting the public health of all Americans by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of a large range of products from drugs to cosmetics (What We Do).

The FDA received it start under a different name. First called the Division of Chemistry, which played a small part in everyday life, then in July of 1901, the name was again changed to the Bureau of Chemistry. The FDA that we now know came from the passage of a bill in 1906, the Federal Food and Drug Act shaped the role that the FDA would come to play. The bill gave the FDA its power to regulate over a wide subject matter.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the governmental division that protects the public’s health by guaranteeing food, drugs, and medical devices are safe and effective. It assures that dietary supplements and cosmetics are well labeled, regulates tobacco, protects the users from electronic product radiation, among others.

The United Sates Food and Drug Administration has been protecting American consumers for around 70 years. The FDA assures the safety drugs, medical devices, chemicals, cosmetics, foods and additives by evaluating products for approval. Controversy has recently been surrounding the FDA's drug approval process, due to a general trend to get pharmaceuticals on the market more quickly. The FDA has been under pressure from congress and the public to speed approval, but pharmaceutical companies, who benefit more than anyone form accelerated drug approval, have also been applying pressure to the FDA through congress. The speeding of the approval process helps patients with incurable illnesses

The problem that is depicted in the film is the conflict of interest between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and pharmaceutical companies. It shows that the relationship these two entities have, has posed danger to the U.S public. Before a new drug is allowed to be purchased by consumers, it must go through FDA approval for safety. The film explains that the drugs that are getting approved by the FDA are actually not safe. The FDA is being paid or bribed by pharmaceutical companies to expedite the approval process. The quick process allows pharma companies to get their new drugs out in the market much faster. Every day that passes and a drug is not approved, is a big loss of money for the companies. The other problem is that doctors are prescribing these drugs to patients. Doctors are trusting the FDA system and the pharma companies to provide safe and effective drugs. Doctors are fooled by pharmaceutical “detailers” that are hired

The FDA has come a long way since 1906, but in my opinion, I believe that the FDA should do more to protect our health and have stricter laws in place concerning our food and medicines. The FDA allows products to be on the market without prior approval; for the FDA to take action and recall a product something awful like multiple deaths have to happen for them to realize that the product is harmful. Prime example, Red #3 is food coloring that FDA permits in our food to make the food look appealing. However, studies done on animals have proven to show that Red #3 causes cancer. According to an article published in 1990 in the New York Times states that "Red Dye No. 3 still has some approved uses in foods and drugs, but the F.D.A. said it is

The FDA’s origin did not begin as the federal consumer protection agency it is widely recognized for being today. Prior to the FDA transforming into the present-day agency, the FDA’s emergence can be traced back to the agricultural industry during the 1800’s (History, 2015). In fact, it was Congress that enacted the FDCA (Food, Drugs, & Cosmetics Act) of 1938 that created the modern-day FDA (Allen, 2013). Despite the FDA’s passing of the tobacco law, the ongoing issues concerning the under and over regulation of products, and the high number of drug recalls suggests that the

Although the FDA was not known by this title until 1930, the FDA’s regulatory functions first began with the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, prohibiting interstate commerce in adulterated and incorrect labels on food and drugs (FDA 2). The bill gave the FDA its power to adjust over a wide subject matter (fda 2). This law was the merging of 100 bills over a half of century that was aimed towards abuses in the consumer product marketplace (FDA 2). The meat inspection act was also passed on the same day which set rules for cleanliness and sanitation of meat processing and slaughterhouses