Just one more instance of the Bush Administration putting us at risk

Favoring business interests over public safety, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized new guidelines to make it easier for drug makers to promote “off-label” prescription drug uses, which can be deadly. Off-label prescription drug use is when pharmaceutical companies encourage doctors to prescribe medication for broader uses than the one it was created in order to boost sales.

So a doctor could prescribe the drug Nuerontin, created to treat epilepsy, would be given to patients for other things like ADD, pain management, or migraines. What makes this so dangerous is that a lot of these drugs have strong side effects and many have not been definitively proven to be effective for the broader uses. A lot of the sales over the years for Nuerontin have been off-label. An increase in suicide and suicide attempts have been linked to this drug.

The Bush Administration allowed the FDA to relax its oversight on off label use while prosecutors across the country are cracking down. No wonder pharmaceuticals are making profits while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet. To add fuel to the fire, we now have to worry about the drugs our doctors prescribe. Thanks President Bush.