Game, set and match - a truly unplayable serve!
But I seem to recall some black science mumbo jumbo (often paid for by the industry bodies themselves) saying that all of the following had NO harmful side-affects on living people:
- Asbestos
- Smoking
- 245T
- 245DT
- Thalidomide
- Aluminium
- Lead
- Fenfluramine/phentermine (Fen-Phen) - After 24 years on the market - It is estimated that as many as 6.5 million people took it to help fight obesity. After consumers began experiencing heart disease and other pulmonary problems, the FDA set the recall in motion. American Lawyer reported that more than 50,000 Fen-Phen victims have filed suits against Fen-Phen’s maker Wyeth, and legal expenses combined with awards may have exceeded $21 billion.
- Diethylstilbestrol (DES) - It was not until 1971 before it was connected to a rare tumor that kept appearing in the daughters of women who had taken it.
- Cerivastatin (Baycol) - Baycol, prescribed to patients as a treatment for high cholesterol, is reportedly responsible for more than 100,000 deaths and about as many lawsuits.
- Rofecoxib (Vioxx) 5 years on the market - Vioxx, prescribed to more than 20 million people as a pain reliever for arthritis, was found to be responsible for increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Both Merck and the FDA were roundly criticized for ignoring evidence of the dangers of Vioxx before its eventual recall.
- Valdecoxib (Bextra) - 1 year on the market - Pharmacia & UpJohn Company was fined $1.195 billion, in addition to legal awards, after admitting to criminal wrongdoing, specifically with ‘intent to defraud or mislead’ in relation to the promotion of the drug.
- Troglitazone (Rezulin) - 1 year on the market - Rezulin, an anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory drug, was eventually found to be causally connected with hepatitis.
- Able Laboratories Generic Prescription Drugs - Some drugs were found to be too potent; others not potent enough. Moreover, four of its managers were found to have fraudulently distributed misbranded and adulterated drugs.
- Terfenadine (Seldane) - 13 years on the market - The FDA sought a recall from the manufacturer after cases of cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal electrical activity in the heart) appeared in patients taking Seldane with other drugs. The recall is notable mostly for its scale; more than 100 million patients worldwide used Terfenandine as of 1990.
- Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) - over 60 years on the market - For decades it was used for everything from dieting to cold medication to treatment of psychological disorders, existing in a kind of limbo where it was neither banned nor fully endorsed. That is, until an analysis by Yale University in 2000 recognized its connection with cardiac events and stroke, particularly in women.
- Mibefradil (Posicor) - In only one year on the market, Posicor was linked to 123 deaths. Considered relatively safe when taken alone, Posicor became potentially deadly when combined with any of 25 different drugs. The large number of deaths are troublesome considering that the drug was prescribed to no more than 200,000 people worldwide in the space of one year, a relatively small number. Posicor is on this list for stimulating debate surrounding policies encouraging the FDA to hasten the approval of certain drugs. It is often cited as a strong example of what can go wrong when drugs are rushed to market.
This list is a bit out-of date. (Don't mention the Statins...)
but we buy smart. I've never owned a new car. Neither of us owe anything on a car. I don't own the latest phone.
