Warning Labels

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 490
Comment this article

A recent survey yet again confirmed the obvious. The majority of us pick up drugs from the neighborhood pharmacy or online, open the packaging and take the drugs. In the real world, the pharmacist probably said a lot of useful stuff, but our eyes glazed over. The idea of reading all the small print on the Consumer Information when we unwrap the drugs from the online pharmacy. Well, why bother? If the FDA has said this drug is safe, it's safe for us to take. What more can this set of notes tell us? Indeed, it's partly because of this casual confidence that so many prescription drugs are abused. Yeah, right, so blame the FDA. Or go to an attorney and blame the drug company for not sitting you down and explaining every last potential problem before you take the pills. So, here's a simple test for you. When you see the ads for medications on TV, do you take notes during that listing of side effects or do you sleep through? This is not blaming you. The whole system is set up to be passive. The information is there if you choose to look or listen but there's no incentive for you to do it.

Why are we asking this? Well, there ...
... are court cases floating through the system suggesting our favorite acne treatment is, well, dangerous. No! Really? Tell us more. Well, one of the more interesting is about a girl who started taking the drug at 13 and continued for two years. Two years? Well, she didn't read the label. No one is supposed to take this drug for more than about three months in any one period of treatment. Anyway, she began to notice some blood in her stools but did nothing. It seems the young have no sense of danger. Later when she could no longer ignore the pain, she was forced to have some of her colon removed. This is a very rare adverse effect. It's mentioned on the label but our girl admitted never reading it. She said there was just too much information. No one could take in that she was in danger if she had "stomach" problems. For the record, she's asking for $10 million in damages.

So assume you're on the jury. Whose fault is it that she failed to read the warnings? Even if this was somehow the fault of the manufacturer or the FDA who approved the wording, she could have avoided the more serious consequences if she had consulted a doctor the first time she saw some blood. In these libertarian times, how far should be go in protecting people from themselves? Her case continues but we are left with the same problem. Accutane is like all powerful drugs. It has side effects. Some are serious which is why you are supposed to take precautions. This is particularly true for girls and women who can have children. Every precaution to prevent conception must be taken. Yet there's evidence that many who buy Accutane online ignore the iPledge approach to contraceptives. When injuries are avoidable, we should strictly limit court cases - unless you're the one injured, of course.