FDA Experts Recommend Pain Drug Ban

Staff / Truthdig Jul 1, 2009 The Food and Drug Administration's expert panel has recommended the agency ban Vicodin and Percocet. Both drugs contain acetaminophen, which is known to cause liver damage. The panel also recommended reducing the standard doses of over-the-counter acetaminophen products, such as Tylenol. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Poster Addict for Tobacco Law

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Jun 25, 2009 It's all right to be just a bit defensive when you're the addict in chief, but President Obama happens to be, hands down, the best possible spokesman for the new FDA regulation. He should embrace the role. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Big Tobacco Targeted by Bigger Government

Staff / Truthdig Apr 3, 2009 The Food and Drug Administration may soon have control over the tobacco industry, if legislation survives Senate obstacles. The bill passed by a wide margin in the House, where its principal sponsor, Rep. Henry Waxman, said, "It has taken us far too long to get to this point." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Inside Bush’s War on Birth Control

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Mar 26, 2009 A court ruling offers a chilling compendium of accounts by doctors and other FDA professionals who were routinely thwarted as they tried to make the "morning after" pill available, especially to teenagers. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Big Trouble in Peanutville

Staff / Truthdig Feb 7, 2009 Uh-oh: Did Peanut Corporation of America knowingly ship out products that had tested positive for salmonella? Yes, says the FDA, which is investigating the plague that has rocked the legume world and caused eight deaths and hundreds of illnesses. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FDA Plastic Decision ‘Creates a False Sense of Security’

Staff / Truthdig Oct 29, 2008 The chemical BPA is common in plastic products such as baby bottles and food containers, despite concerns among scientists and environmentalists about its safety. The FDA has defended BPA use and recently turned to an outside panel for backup. That group of scientists, however, ended up criticizing the agency's guidelines. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Questioning Sushi Safety

Staff / Truthdig Jan 24, 2008 The FDA and EPA already warn against pregnant women and children eating canned tuna because of high mercury levels, but The New York Times has discovered even more mercury in a random selection of fresh sushi tuna. And it's not just those swanky city folk who are at risk. According to one marine scientist: "Mercury levels in bluefin [tuna] are likely to be very high regardless of location [of purchase]." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Franken-Heifers Immune to Mad Cow

Staff / Truthdig Jan 3, 2007 Using a combination of genetic engineering and cloning, scientists from the U.S. and Japan have successfully eliminated the protein that causes mad cow disease. So far the cows in the lab have proven immune to the illness, which shreds its victims' brains, driving them mad. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cloned Food to Go Unmarked

Staff / Truthdig Dec 28, 2006 The Food and Drug Administration is set to approve food products derived from cloned animals and their offspring. Though eating beef from a cloned cow may seem incredibly creepy, the FDA has decided the manufactured twin is just as safe as the original animal, and requires no special identification once in the food supply. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Because Hot Dogs Didn’t Have Enough Strange Ingredients

Staff / Truthdig Aug 20, 2006 The FDA has approved the use of a group of viruses as a food additive for ready-to-eat meat products, such as hot dogs and cold cuts. Companies that use the additive will not be required to inform consumers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FDA: No Medical Benefit From Marijuana

Staff / Truthdig Apr 21, 2006 The Food and Drug Administration's statement contradicts a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

When Politics Defeat Science

Staff / Truthdig Mar 1, 2006 A former FDA official reminds us that the White House is still forcing science to conform to the dictates of Bush-style fundamentalist Christianity. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )