Consumers Beware: FDA to Regulate Homeopathy Cures Practice Out of Existence

Despite the fact that people have turned to homeopathic remedies for hundreds of years and enjoy their health-boosting benefits to this day, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is coming down hard on such products, issuing safety alerts and encouraging people to report any side effects.

Wait a minute.

If anything, many people use these products to avoid the side effects they've incurred while ingesting or applying some physician-prescribed pill or cream in the first place. Homeopathic remedies improve conditions, rather than make them worse, which is far more than what can be said of many conventional approaches.

Still, the FDA forges on, adamant that anything other than what Big Pharma and mainstream head-nodders espouse to be life-improving must be heavily scrutinized and done away with. They're planting the "homeopathic is bad" seed in the minds of consumers and doctors using fear-based tactics such as the one in their safety alert about homeopathic products designed to help provide asthma sufferers with some relief.⁽¹⁾

What the FDA has to say in its alert about homeopathic remedies

"FDA is warning consumers not to rely on asthma products labeled as homeopathic that are sold over-the-counter (OTC)," the alert begins.⁽²⁾

What do they recommend? Surprise, surprise: prescriptions!

"Although there is no cure for asthma," the alert continues, "there are many prescription asthma
treatments approved by FDA as safe and effective, as well as some products that are marketed OTC in accordance with an FDA monograph."⁽²⁾

The alert uses the fact that the FDA has not evaluated homeopathic remedies for effectiveness and safety as reasoning behind why people should turn to what they have approved, which are, of course, costly and often ineffective pharmaceuticals.

They clearly outline an us-versus-them mentality in their explanation and subsequent recommendation.

OTC asthma products labeled as homeopathic are widely distributed through retail stores and via the internet. Many of these products are promoted as "natural," "safe and effective," and include indications that range from treatment for acute asthma symptoms, to temporary relief of minor asthma symptoms.⁽²⁾

The predictable, money-making FDA recommendation

Following is their suggestion:

RECOMMENDATION: Speak to your health care provider if you think you or your child may have asthma. Consumers with asthma can take an active role in managing their condition by making certain they have appropriate treatments on hand in the event they experience an asthma attack or a worsening of asthma symptoms, and by consulting with a health care provider when needed.⁽²⁾
From there, the FDA urges people to report any adverse reactions from homeopathic products, despite the mainstream media and medical establishment routinely claiming such products are "inert" due to dilution:

The FDA encourages health care professionals and consumers to report any adverse reactions related to OTC asthma care products labeled as homeopathic to the agency's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program....⁽³⁾

http://www.naturalnews.com/049381_homeopathy_FDA_asthma_treatment.html

Drug Companies Undermine Official Safety Warnings and FDA is Helping Them Get it Done

""It is obvious that an FDA warning about the use of a drug can scare off buyers, but according to the recent FDA's proposal, drug manufacturing companies would be able to provide doctors, hospitals and other customers with information that might conflict with the official FDA advice about their products.

This proposal has got the support of the pharmaceutical manufacturers. They claim that if the proposal is accepted, the new policy would allow them to present the doctors, the hospitals and other customers with the latest research and studies.

It might sound great, but this proposal has already gotten raised eyebrows because the public health advocates think that the drug companies can easily mislead the customers by providing only selected information from the latest studies. According to the Washington Post, most of these individual studies differ widely in their results, and many of them are funded by the industry.

The founder of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, Sidney M. Wolfe, says that "The proposal seriously undermines FDA authority. Its main supporters are drug companies and their associations, all of which would benefit from being allowed and encouraged to sell more drugs by making them seem safer than FDA has judged them to be.""

http://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/4355/20150317/fda-proposes-letting-drug-companies-undermine-official-safety-warnings.htm