Recently the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of Hydroxycut diet pills and products due to liver problems associated with them. When is the FDA going to change and start regulating over the counter diet products before they hit the stores? The first wrongful death Hydroxycut case stems from the February, 2007 death of Dennis Lopez. He died from liver failure after taking Hydroxycut for 2 months in 2006. How many more people will die before the FDA changes and scrutinzes these products before they reach our store shelves?
The over the counter diet product industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and steadily growing more as our waistlines grow. Their revenues are hardly shrinking in these tough times. Neither is our weight or body fat. The shelves of almost every drug store, pharmacy, grocery, health food and fitness stores are lined with diet pills and products claiming to rid us of our excess weight and burn all our fat off effortlessly.
Before Hydroxycut problems, there were deaths related to Ephedra. Remember the professional baseball player who died taking Ephedra while trying to lose a few pounds for spring training? Before Ephedra there was a host of other products doing more harm than help. Yet, the FDA refuses to tighten its belt and rein these diet drugs in under greater scrutiny. Taking many of these diet products are akin to a health Russian roulette. Today there are even so called “natural” diet pills causing health problems.
The FDA’s regulation of diet pills and products starts after the products go on the market. Isn’t that like the cart pulling the horse? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Of course, as we have seen from prescription drugs, problems still occur even with FDA regulation beforehand. That was the case of Fen-Phen. Yet, I feel assured that some lives would still be saved. How many more deaths will occur before the FDA sees the light?
AndrewBoldman says
Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!
Debbie Hines says
Thanks