Word: fda
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...more of us go online and, perhaps partly as a result, more and more of us meet the clinical definition of obesity (about 66 million Americans today weigh 30% more than they should). So it was no surprise that sales of Xenical, the diet pill that just won FDA approval, exploded across the Net last week. There is, it seems, no shortage of Doritos-gobbling geeks who would prefer to fight flab without doing anything more strenuous than clicking a mouse...
...Xenical, which blocks absorption of about one-third of fat intake, was only 5% more effective than a placebo in clinical trials and came with several unpleasant side effects, including flatulence and greasy stools. "The hazards are not very great," says Dr. Jules Hirsch, an obesity expert on the FDA advisory panel who voted against approval, "but the benefits are not great either. I'd just as soon they didn't sell it altogether...
...Paxil and its manufacturer, SmithKline Beecham, are upping the ante. If the FDA agrees, and it probably will, SmithKline will soon be pushing Paxil as the first-ever formally sanctioned treatment for, of all things, shyness. This isn't as bizarre as it sounds. FDA approval would actually be for the treatment of "acute social phobia," a pathological form of shyness that's more akin to panic. For doctors, at least, it's no surprise that phobia and depression might be treated with the same drugs. "The big secret," says Dr. Brian Doyle, director of the anxiety disorders program...
...bulimia and panic disorder but also migraines, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit disorder, kleptomania, post-traumatic stress and even premenstrual mood swings. (Despite earlier claims about Prozac and attempts to link Luvox to the Colorado school shootings, there is no evidence that SSRIs themselves cause violent behavior.) Although the FDA hasn't approved all these uses for all the drugs, doctors are free to prescribe them for anything they like...
...business decision, a political decision or a moral decision? Wal-Mart, the nation?s fifth largest distributor of pharmaceutical products -- and often the sole druggist in smaller communities -- has decided not to sell an FDA-approved medication. The drug is Preven, a prescription morning-after pill that prevents pregnancy. The company says it?s strictly a "business decision"; Planned Parenthood and others involved in the birth control and abortion debate aren?t so sure. They believe the company is reacting to pressure from pro-life groups, though the company denies...