There’s been a bit of a back and forth between the courts and the White House recently over who can buy what kinds of emergency contraception, or the morning after pill. The Food and Drug Administration had approved the one-pill brand name Plan B for any women 15 or older, which didn’t apply to other forms. But now a federal appeals court says girls of any age can buy two-step generic versions without prescriptions while the federal government appeals a judge’s ruling that any females can get Plan B, regardless of age. [More]
Court Gives Females Of All Ages Permission To Buy Generic Emergency Contraception
By June 6, 2013
If European Sunscreens Are So Great, Why Can’t We Buy Them In The U.S.?
By May 28, 2013
As someone with skin that basically ignites upon contact with the sun’s rays, I’m always looking for a better sunscreen to aid me in my battle against the inevitable sunburn. Recently I heard about a product that was anecdotally called “miraculous,” but couldn’t find it in U.S. stores. I bought it from a British retailer online, and subsequently want to marry it. So if there are such great sunscreens in Europe and elsewhere, how come we can’t get them in the U.S.? [More]
FDA Finally Solving The Burning Question Of Whether Antibacterial Soap Is Safe
By May 3, 2013
You put it on your hands, wipe your utensils with it before they touch your food, slather it all over your body and generally dunk yourself in it throughout your life — but is antibacterial soap safe? Or rather, is its resident germ-killer, triclosan, ineffective or even not good for you? The Food and Drug Administration is working on an answer. [More]
FDA Approves Morning-After Pill For Anyone 15 And Older Without A Prescription
By May 1, 2013
The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that the morning-after pill has been approved for girls and women 15 and older without a prescription, as well as putting it out on drugstore shelves instead of keeping it stashed behind the pharmacy counter. [More]
FDA Knew Lab Committed Research Fraud, Approved Drug They Tested Anyway
By April 22, 2013
After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration learned about potentially fraudulent work done on behalf of pharmaceutical companies by a contract research firm in Texas, they didn’t pull the drugs off the market. You might think, though, that they might hold off on approving new drugs based on testing that came from that lab. You would be wrong. [More]
FDA Just Says No To Generic, Crushable Versions Of OxyContin
By April 17, 2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t want to make it too easy for people who might abuse the powerful painkiller OxyContin, and has such has declared that generic drug manufacturers cannot produce their own, crushable versions of the drug. [More]
FDA Approves Morning Sickness Drug It Pulled Off The Market 30 Years Ago
By April 9, 2013
You don’t have to have ever been pregnant to understand one of the yuckiest drawbacks experienced by women — morning sickness, that awful time when lunch won’t stay down and the toilet is a mom-to-be’s best friend. Thirty years ago the Food and Drug Administration put the kibosh on a treatment designed to alleviate morning sickness, the agency is putting it back on the table now. [More]
FDA Says Writing Menu Labeling Regulations That Please Everyone Is A Tough Task
By March 12, 2013
If you’re hankering for a calorie count on your local restaurant chain’s menus, it’s going to be awhile: the Food and Drug Administration says it’s finding the task of writing up menu labeling regulations a very tricky one. The requirement to include calorie counts on menus and in vending machines is part of the 2010 health care law, but the rules on which businesses must comply have yet to be written. [More]
Study: 20,000 Trips To The Emergency Room In 2011 Linked To Consumption Of Energy Drinks
By January 17, 2013
Following on the heels of reports linking ill health effects to energy drinks like Monster and 5-Hour Energy, a new government study says those beverages are “a rising public health problem,” and have been linked to 20,000 visits to emergency rooms around the country. [More]
FDA Replies To Lawsuit Over Food Regulation Deadlines: Slow Your Roll, We’re Working On It
By December 3, 2012
Back in January 2011, the government signed a law that said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have to undertake an overhaul in food safety regulations, the first of its kind in about 70 years. Well, time’s been a-ticking and now a new lawsuit leveled at the agency claims the FDA has missed a bunch of deadlines required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. But the FDA says that’s not the case, it’s just that it’s a big job that it’ll take time. [More]
Processing Plant Behind Great Peanut Butter Recall Of 2012 Won’t Reopen Just Yet
By December 3, 2012
The Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2012 began with a few voluntary recall notices on the shelves of Trader Joe’s, and has now escalated to the Food and Drug Administration making an unprecedented move to shut down the plant where the offending nut products were processed. [More]
FDA Tells Hershey's It Has No Right To Claim Chocolate Syrup With Vitamins Is Nutritious
By August 14, 2012
Listen — we all know that gooey, sweet chocolate syrup is very delicious. But nutritious? Now that is a bold claim, and one the Food and Drug Administration is warning Hershey’s not to make on its labels. It told the company in a warning letter that it can’t just go around calling things fortified and such just to make its syrup seem healthy. [More]
FDA Approves First Pill For Preventing HIV Infections In High-Risk Patients
By July 16, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a major first today, approving Truvada, a drug intended to prevent HIV infections for people at high-risk of contracting it. It’s the first pill approved to reduce the likelihood of getting HIV for people having sex with infected individuals. [More]
Introvale Birth Control Pills Recalled For Shuffled Pill Order
By June 11, 2012
The short description on the Food & Drug Administration website says that the contraceptive pill Introvale is being recalled due to a “packaging flaw.” Well, that’s true, but that flaw is that the pills are in the wrong order. A three-month pack contains 84 “active” pills and seven placebo or “hey, it’s time for your period” pills. Some packs have the placebo pills in week 9 instead of week 13. Manufacturer Sandoz is recalling the affected lots, but since the pills are different colors, it’s not hard to tell whether your pills have been scrambled. [More]
Study Says FDA Could Be Doing Better At Publicizing Drug Recalls
By June 5, 2012
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalls drugs that could be harmful around once a month, a new study says the agency has room for improvement when it comes to publicizing those recalls and informing doctors and patients about them. [More]
FDA: High Fructose Corn Syrup Isn't "Corn Sugar"
By May 30, 2012
Dealing what is surely a mighty blow to those in the corn industry hoping to improve the image of high fructose corn syrup, the Food and Drug Administration has denied the Corn Refiners Association’s petition to rename HFCS as “corn sugar.” [More]
FDA One Step Closer To Approving First Drug For HIV Prevention
By May 9, 2012
The battle against AIDS continues, with a favorable review by the Food and Drug Administration of a pill that has been used to treat HIV. The hope is that the pill could be used to prevent people from contracting the virus that causes AIDS. [More]
FDA Warns Makers Of Inhalable Caffeine Against False Labeling
By March 7, 2012
The Food and Drug Administration is issuing what amounts to a “hey, hey, not so fast, guys,” to the makers of a new inhalable caffeine product called AeroShot Pure Energy. They’ve been under the FDA’s eye for awhile, since Sen. Chuck Schumer brought up his concerns that the canisters could be used as a kind of party drug. [More]
