FDA Stops Bus Full Of Seniors

[salin]

FDA Stops Bus Full Of Seniors

WASHINGTON, April 22,

(AP) A senior Food and Drug Administration official said Wednesday that it was unfortunate his agency stopped and inspected a busload of seniors returning from a medicine-buying trip to Canada.

"This is not consistent with our current practice," said John Taylor, the FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "I would not expect it to happen again."

The FDA says it cannot guarantee the safety of medications purchased in Canada and has been increasing pressure on state and local programs that help people buy the lower-cost prescription drugs there .

The bus-stopping incident occurred last October but wasn't made public until Wednesday, when Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., wrote to the FDA to complain about it. Dayton, a millionaire, donates his entire Senate salary to pay for the bus trips from Minnesota, allowing seniors to take advantage of the much lower drug prices in Canada.

more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/22/politics/main613086.shtml

[aquart]

1. And DID WHAT?

We all hope they didn't confiscate necessary prescription medication.

What flaming balls.

[Superfly]

2. Funny...

"The FDA says it cannot guarantee the safety of medications purchased in Canada and has been increasing pressure on state and local programs that help people buy the lower-cost prescription drugs there."

How are the Pfizer products purchased there any different from the ones purchased here? After all, they are both made in Ireland.

[SoCalDem]

27. It's absolutely amazing

that there are any Canadians LEFT.. They must be scared all the time.. Poor Canadians...having to take toxic medicine.. Maybe they will read this stuff and quit buying their meds..FROM US :eyes:

We must be selling them toxic drugs...that may be why we are afraid to have our oldies buy it back.. We must be saving the "good stuff" for ourselves (at high prices) and selling the "bad stuff" to Canada..

Oh...the humanity :(

[Supormom]

3. Way to go, Senator Dayton!

We here in Minnesota are SO proud!
:toast:

[histohoney]

4. FDA Cannot

guarantee safety of the medications from Canada?
Half the drugs we use in this country are made overseas anyway.
Oh and like Canada just lets anything in.
Sorry Friends but this just bites. We pay more for drugs in this country than any were else, and we use the most.
I say let the market decide, over priced here are cheaper in Canada.

[Canuckistanian]

23. I think it was the Governor of Minnesota who said

"Show me the dead Canadians"
Am I wrong?

[mark11727]

5. The whole FDA Canadian-drugs-may-not-be-safe mantra

never really made much sense to me --- it's not as though Canada has ever had a nationwide scandal involving thousands of sick, overdosed, or flat-out poisoned Canadian citizens because their drug agency isn't necessarily on the same page as the FDA (don't remember any cyanide-laced Tylenol scandals there, either).

[liarliartieonfire]

10. What is Canada's version of our FDA?

surely Canada has SOME kind of drug safety agency.
This is such a crock!

[daa]

12. Not really

Everybody orders one time and dies.

[Canuckistanian]

25. It's called Health Canada (imaginative, no?)

Health Protection Branch. Just as stringent as your FDA.
They share a lot of policies and procedures.

[mbperrin]

6. Ze papers, pliz!

Und mach schnell!

Gosh, why didn't they just shoot the old traitors not wanting to spend their bucks here in Murka?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. So elderly people went to Canada so they could pay a REASONABLE

price to keep their blood pressure in check and the FDA stopped the bus and made their blood pressure rise.

IT was an intimidation tactic so that the elderly that took Senator Dayton up on his offer would decide the risk was not worth the benefit...now our government public protectors are arms of the drug industry..what crap!

[Toucano]

8. WTF?

"The FDA says it cannot guarantee the safety of medications purchased in Canada..."

They can't guarantee the safety of medications purchased in the USA!

The people who've purchased counterfeit drugs have bought them in the US.

[ninkasi]

15. It's hypocritical

of an administration which thinks nothing of letting corporate polluters poison our air and water, to make the claim that they are concerned about the safety of drugs from Canada.

If they gave a rat's ass about our health, we'd have national health coverage. As a Texan, I'm in awe of a politician trying to help his constituents. Can anyone in their wildest dreams see Tom Delay donating his salary to help the people in his district?

[bemildred]

9. I don't want the FDA's help.

They are just a bunch of drug company shills in any case.

[hatrack]

11. When globalization works for drug companies, it's good.

When they produce in lower-wage countries to increase their profits, that's OK.

But when Americans try to take advantage of the same global marketplace to get a better deal for drugs they need, that's BAD.

[cosmicdot]

13. it's unfortunate our agency stopped the bus ... but, you did, Blanche ...

... you did ...

[saigon68]

14. ABSOLUTELY-- TOTALLY DISGUSTING

words fail me-- the ones that do not fail me, would get me banned.

[zbdent]

16. You know, the next time that a RWer tells you that the Canadian version

of the drugs are not likely to be safe, explain to that person that they are giving Canada carte blanch (sp?) to sue the asses off the American drug industry. Then ask if you can have his/her name for the record.

[BattyDem]

17. "FDA cannot guarantee the safety of medications purchased in Canada"

Give me a break! It's not some third world country ... it's Canada!!! :eyes:

[damnraddem]

18. Is it the Food and Bus Administration?

They shouldn't get by with just an apology. There should be congressional hearings, at the very least.

[leetrisck]

19. "Cannot guarantee the safety"

of the drugs from Canada but that is where all the drugs come from for the Veteran's Administration - but then hell, those are just the drugs for "those people"

[Serial Mom]

20. Thousands & thousands technically buy from Canada

Eckerd (sp?) recently sold all its pharmacies to CVS Pharmacies.

CVS Pharmacy now has approx. 5,000 stores in the U.S.

CVS is Canadian owned.

Now I am not saying that they get the drugs from Canadian suppliers, but a good portion of the purchases go to Canada one way or another.

So why is the FDA and this Administration so against this except for greed and campaign donations.

My husband worked for a pharmaceutical returns company for over a year (got laid off in Nov. of 03), but I learned just how much $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ these drug maker companies make. One example - there was a prescription inhaler on the market that contained CFCs and had to be taken off market by order of the EPA. His company was in charge of the returns - the notice to ALL pharmacies in the US to return these for credit was to be sent by 7/14 at the latest in order to comply with the EPA. His company was going to send the notices 7/1, but the pharamceutical company told them not to send until the last day, cause they still had sales of ONE MILLION a day on the product and wanted those profits each and every day before they were required to remove it from the "shelves"! And, there were/are many more stories about these drug makers!

[Paranoid_Portlander]

21. The FDA cannot guarantee that they are not lying.

I'm sure some Canadian agency has already guaranteed the safety of the drugs, so the FDA's statement is technically true but highly and deliberately misleading and deceptive. Does the FDA really think that Americans think that Canada is a third world country that manufactures pharmaceuticals in rusty old bathtubs? Please note that my webtv won't let me read any of the replies in this particular thread, so please excuse any duplication. I can read replies later in the day.

[Spazito]

24. We certainly do have a commiserate agency to the FDA...

which is governed by the Food and Drug Act. Here is the site for those who might be interested in what the REAL truth is regarding the safeguards Canadians have:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/drugs.html

[DemoTex]

22. There is a bus-load of votes for Kerry.

Thanks FDA!

[Yavin4]

26. It's Like "Midnight Express" With The Elderly-nt

.